A Central Bank IT error has led to 20,500 borrowers potentially having incorrect credit risks assigned to their accounts.
The Central Bank has described this error, discovered after a member of the public filed a complaint earlier this month, as a data breach and has reported it to the Data Protection Commissioner.
According to the bank, certain borrower information was stored in the Central Credit Register (CCR) for an additional three months and included in credit reports, which should not have been the case.
The Central Bank has identified this incident as an “archiving error”.
This IT error is particularly embarrassing for the Central Bank as it coincides with their investigation into a major IT failure at Bank of Ireland last week, which caused disruptions to online banking and ATMs.
The Central Bank has informed other banks about the error.
According to the bank, out of approximately 476,000 inquiries made by lenders or borrowers for CCR information between June 1 and August 7, 2023, the records of around 20,500 borrowers showed repayment difficulties in May, June, or July 2018, which could have impacted their ability to access finance.
The Central Bank clarified that there is no security risk to personal data due to this error.
The bank stated, “We wish to state clearly that borrowers’ data has not been compromised or accessed by any unauthorized third parties as a consequence of this error.”
According to the Central Bank, a member of the public brought this issue to their attention earlier this month.
The bank explained, “As a result of this error, additional, outdated information relating to these three months was available on the CCR database for inclusion in credit reports issued to borrowers and lenders in the period 1 June to 7 August, 2023. While this information was accurate, the additional three months of information should not have been made available, and constitutes a data breach under data protection legislation.”
The glitch occurred due to a technical error in the automated deletion process of historical records in the CCR, according to the bank.
The Central Bank emphasized that the CCR information is just one of many factors lenders consider when evaluating loan applications and that the information accessed by lenders does not guarantee its use in credit decisions. They stated, “At this stage, therefore, the Central Bank is not in a position to determine with accuracy the extent to which credit applications were adversely affected by this incident.”
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