COOPERATION between banks and social-insurance provider Sociálna Poisťovňa has been ongoing since the beginning of March, as was planned in December. No complications have occurred so far, Slovenská Poisťovňa's spokesperson Miriam Fuňová told the SITA news wire.
The project's goal is to reduce the risk of loan fraud. Data available to Sociálna Poisťovňa will help banks recognize "good" and "bad" clients. Banks can thus verify a loan applicant's income and whether he or she provided them with true data.
The banks agree this will simplify and speed up the loan process, which required clients to go through several administrative procedures. Under the new project, banks can ask Sociálna Poisťovňa 16 questions about each potential loan applicant. To protect clients' personal information, Sociálna Poisťovňa will answer only briefly: yes, no, or I don't know.
Banks' representatives claim that people in Slovakia have relatively easy access to consumer loans, which banks provide without any guarantees. Banks assume that if this new partnership helps prevent organized crime, the costs of banks will decrease, which might lead to lower prices of loans.
