Credit data
Credit reference systems: CRA, CDS, LOS and LMS explained
Put four commonly confused layers in the right place and understand where a data service ends and a lender’s operating system begins.
Resource hub · Hong Kong lending operations
Hong Kong lending software resource hub
Practical guides for Hong Kong lenders covering credit data, LOS, LMS, eKYC, AML, credit scoring and rules, electronic signing, software procurement and Credit Data Smart readiness. Every guide explains the operating workflow and includes a printable self-assessment.
Credit data and CDS
Separate external credit data from internal lending workflows
Start with the data source, purpose and responsibility, then decide what a system should connect, retain and produce.
Credit Data Smart
CDS readiness: the proposed 2027 data and access requirements
Map the proposed 1 June 2027 arrangements, 30-day data cycle, data ownership and submission rehearsals using official Hong Kong sources.
Free interactive tool
Credit Data Smart readiness assessment: 15 operational checks
In about five minutes, assess scope, data inventory, reconciliation, the 30-day operating cycle, privacy and security—then receive a score, weakest area and five priority actions.
Origination and servicing
Connect application, approval, repayment and portfolio operations
The front office decides and disburses; the servicing operation maintains accurate balances and customer outcomes. The hand-off is where gaps often emerge.
Loan origination
Loan origination systems for Hong Kong lenders
Design a traceable journey for application intake, documents, credit review, affordability, approval authorities, terms and disbursement hand-off.
Loan management
Loan management systems for Hong Kong lenders
Connect repayment schedules, payment allocation, reconciliation, arrears queues, borrower service, settlement and portfolio reporting.
SME lending
Origination, credit assessment and commercial data for SME loans
For banks and non-bank lenders that lend to companies. An SME loan is decided on a company file, financial statements and security rather than a payslip.
SME origination
SME loan origination software for Hong Kong banks and lenders
Company file, documents, financial spreading, security, approval authority and facility letter in one traceable workflow, with what a Covenant Desk SME deployment covers.
SME credit assessment
SME credit assessment software for Hong Kong lenders
Financial spreading, debt-service cover, bank-account analysis, scorecards and stress tests, with missing inputs shown as unassessed instead of passed.
Commercial data
Commercial credit data for SME lending: CCRA and CDI
What the Commercial Credit Reference Agency and the HKMA’s Commercial Data Interchange are, who can use them, and how external data should enter an SME file.
SME letters
SME facility letter and credit memo: what to include
The recommendation, security, conditions, covenants and terms, written from one approved record.
SME security
SME collateral and guarantees: valuation, haircut and loan-to-value
The value, date and basis of each asset, the haircut, prior charges and guarantor capacity.
SME covenants
Financial covenants for SME loans: types, testing and waivers
Covenant types, test dates, breaches, cure periods and recorded waivers.
Credit early warning
Credit early warning for SME and commercial loan books
Indicator families, triggers, watchlists and review, from signal to recorded action.
MAS AI guidelines
The MAS AI risk management guidelines, applied to credit decisions
Scope, timeline, AI inventory, materiality and the human checkpoints a credit team needs.
SME approvals
SME approval matrix and four-eyes control
Authority limits, escalation, second-person checks on exceptions and a decision record.
SME documents
Documents for an SME loan application in Hong Kong
Company records, directors, financial statements, bank statements and security documents.
Identity, AML, decisions and documents
Connect four implemented controls to the lending journey
These guides explain the implemented workflow, the evidence retained for staff review, and the decisions that remain with the lender.
eKYC
eKYC software for Hong Kong lenders
A procurement guide to HKID capture, liveness, iAM Smart, exception review and privacy. HKID extraction, liveness and iAM Smart are available, enabled for your institution on request.
AML
AML screening for Hong Kong lenders
A procurement guide to PEP, sanctions and watchlist controls. Covenant Desk provides PEP, sanctions and adverse-media screening with ongoing monitoring.
Scoring and rules
Credit scoring and lending rules engines
Turn eligibility, DSR, exposure, scorecards, reason codes, versions and human authority into testable requirements.
Electronic signatures
Electronic signatures for Hong Kong loan agreements
Control templates, term merging and signer authentication through to completed copies, timestamps, delivery and audit evidence.
Background checks
Borrower background checks for Hong Kong lenders
Criminal records are not searchable in Hong Kong, but judgments, company and directorship records, insolvency, regulatory enforcement, adverse media and sanctions are. What can lawfully be checked, and in what order.
Billing and repayment
Loan billing and repayment operations
Instalment schedules, interest calculation, billing runs, payment allocation, arrears ageing and bank reconciliation on one loan record.
Lending data security
Lending data security and access control
Role and company scoping, an audit trail that records reads, masked identifiers, encryption and controlled integrations — the questions worth asking past a certificate.
AI in lending
AI in Hong Kong lending operations
A control guide for AI in lending. The Covenant Desk AI banking agent reads documents, prepares credit memos, answers staff questions and raises early-warning flags; credit officers approve every decision.
Lending compliance
Lending compliance and regulatory reporting
Turning licensing conditions, PDPO duties, AML obligations and reporting into controls that produce evidence inside the workflow.
Product information
Explore the Covenant Desk platform
The guides explain market concepts. These pages document what the Covenant Desk product and implementation approach actually provide.
- What is Covenant Desk? CRA, CDS, LOS and LMS compared
- About Covenant Desk
- Financial operations software development
- Company facts
- Leadership: founder and director
- Product map
- Hong Kong lending technology glossary
- Product overview
- How it works
- Integrations
- Security and compliance
- Implementation
- Frequently asked questions
Primary sources
Official sources and editorial note
Our guides reflect official material available on their review date. Requirements can change; each institution should check the latest licence conditions and obtain legal or compliance advice. The guides are not legal advice.
- Covenant Desk editorial, sourcing and corrections policy
- Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau: consultation conclusions
- Companies Registry: money lender licensing conditions and guidance
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority: consumer credit reference agencies
- Privacy Commissioner: Code of Practice on Consumer Credit Data
Next step
See the live product scope beside the procurement guides.
Try Customer 360, controlled access, built-in scorecards, optional staff-facing AI, repayment operations and the CDS data-readiness preview in Covenant Desk.
Covenant Desk is the AI lending system for banks. It does not provide loans, issue credit reports or replace the lender’s final credit decision.