The Pre-approved Loan

So after a lengthy battle between Mr. Setu Mathan and The Central Bank (TCB), the verdict has been delivered. From today onwards, every citizen of this country has the right to get their credit report wiped clear if they want to. There are tears on the left and smiles on the right (no, not the political orientation line). To appreciate the end (no, we are not ‘for’ the verdict), we will start at the beginning.

It was a hot winter evening when Mr. Ramadhan Setu Mathan was found in a cathartic yet dead state at his home by his son Mr. Setu Mathan. A post-mortem confirmed a heart attack from a sudden surge of exhilaration which the heart of his advanced heart couldn’t handle. Further probing revealed the cause to the achievement of perfect “N-fecta”.

Mr. Setu Mathan, who has been deemed as an eccentric by his close ones, colleagues and respected psychiatrists post his emergence into limelight because of the lawsuit, was horrified upon learning the reason for his father’s demise. He couldn’t understand what impelled his father to be so ecstatic at the pre-approved loans. It was a mind tearing phase for him. He knew the country revolved around the “N-fecta”, accepted it and yet so close to him, he couldn’t for the reason of his life figure out why his father cared for it so much. As such, pursuant to his own confusion, he started out to figure out how the “N-fecta” was being driven. He knew the “why” - the incessant growth and its key driver - credit. And if top banks deemed you worthy of their credit facility, you were “special”. It was too big a problem for him to solve so he looked for the “how”. And that’s when he came across these ubiquitous reports that determined almost everything in your life - the credit reports. What he found astounded him.

·     Admission to schools & colleges - Parents credit reports

·    Application for jobs - Your credit report (look at the fine print)

·     Application for loans - Your credit report

·     Application for insurance - Your credit report

·   Application for buying a home/car/land - Your credit report

·     Admission to hospitals (if you don’t have an insurance) - Your credit report

·     So on and so forth

He eventually found his way to the Credit Bureaus who created this report. And then he found the behind machinations of what seemed the entire world to him. Banks with their tentacles everywhere collecting the data on us and sharing it with the Credit Bureaus who then run their ML models and give us all a score between 300 - 900. 300 means you are undeserving and 900 means you are compliant. He said, “Imagine each of us reduced to a number”. But that was not the epitome. It was the concept of a “pre-approved loan”. He saw that banks don’t refer to our reports only when we apply for a loan but they proactively seek out such reports basis the data crumbs we leave around and basis it, choose to offer us pre-approved loans. He understood that in social hierarchy being pre-approved is more prestigious than getting something when one wants it and applies for or buys it. And when it’s credit that we are talking about, the elixir of our times, it’s right at the top.  

After spending some time processing all the information he had figured out, he spent some more time trying to figure out how to avoid his father’s fate for others (even though they didn’t ask for it and although like his father, a lot have suffered the fate). And that’s when he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court for the right to have the credit report wiped out if one wanted. The PIL that has just concluded.

The PIL has been a bitterly fought battle throughout and one that has generated a lot of interest outside the courtroom too. Initially, there was a huge cry from consumerists, capitalists, communists, socialists, activists, government and so on so forth. TCB the opposite party to the case highlighted the need for credit reports for the “greater good”. Their, what seemed interminable, defence revolved around their main argument which was a “what-if” scenario - what if defaulters started asking for their reports to be deleted? It will create instability in the financial markets and that will like a contagion eventually spread everywhere. Like dominos, everything will fall. Society will devolve into anarchy. And Mr. Mathan responded to all their differently-worded-but-same-point query with the same answer -  “Segregate the choice for defaulter and non-defaulters. Or for different classifications as you wish. You cannot take away the choice of everyone just because of a few”. In the end, Supreme Court agreed with him. And here we are.

The one and a half year long fight has been a strenuous one for Mr. Mathan. From being a sturdy build middle age man he has turned into a ghoulish old man who gives the creeps. Add to it the “cold shoulder” he is receiving from a lot many places, people and organizations. But he says that he is okay with it. We don’t think so.

In any case, tomorrow begins a new day in the history of our civilization. And like all, we are mostly terrified of what it may hold.