Central Bank of Uruguay sends draft bill to keep minors out of credit risk and private debtor registries

The Central Bank of Uruguay has sent the Ministry of Economy and Finance a draft bill that would require credit information arising from loans or credit card contracts entered into by parents, guardians or other legal representatives on behalf of minors to be recorded only in the adults’ names. The proposal would prevent those obligations from creating a credit record for the child. Under the draft, minors’ data could not be reported either to the Credit Risk Center operated by the Central Bank of Uruguay or to private sector debtor registries. That prohibition would continue even after the individual reaches the age of majority for obligations incurred before that point. The measure is framed as protecting children and adolescents from negative consequences of financial transactions undertaken by their representatives, in line with Uruguay’s Code on Children and Adolescents and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Uruguay ratified in 1990.