The Bangladesh Bank project – funded by the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID) – consists of the modernization of the technological infrastructure, and the complete redesign of existing credit bureau processes, still based largely on manual procedures. The Bangladesh Bank manages the public credit bureau which gathers credit information contributed by law by the country’s credit institutions. The system manages data on credit relationships, including those related to consumer credit.
“We are very pleased that the Bangladesh Bank has chosen CRIF as its technical partner in order to develop and implement its credit information system” explained Enrico Lodi, General Manager of Credit Bureau Services at CRIF. “The key factors in obtaining this result were cutting-edge technology, experience recognized on an international level and the performance of our services, in addition to the significant benefits in terms of opportunity cost. This important success definitely represents a further step in the development of the Group’s presence in Asia and, above all, confirms the capacity of CRIF and of the people that work there to compete in a global market among leading players in the sector”.
With the current operating information system, banks in Bangladesh need to wait some days in order to obtain a credit report for a loan application. This long processing time impacts on application assessment, and loan approval and granting, added to other constraints which do not guarantee the full efficiency of the credit bureau, such as limitations in sharing credit information. An efficient credit bureau on the other hand, is fundamental in obtaining accurate information on a loan applicant in a quick and precise way, with resulting benefits in terms of the expansion of access to credit.
“We have chosen CRIF as a partner for its demonstrated skills and international experience in the realization of advanced technological platforms in the management and centralization of credit information systems” said Md. Abdul Hye, General Manager, Credit Information Bureau, Bangladesh Bank.
In terms of project delivery in the 13 month period, CRIF will guarantee not only the complete supply of software and know-how for installation, but will also be responsible for hardware, and making suitable sites to house IT plant and equipment available, as well as putting them into effect. In order to best fulfill these requirements, CRIF has formed an alliance with a local IT partner, which will work according to the specifications and technological guidelines provided by the group headquarters in Bologna. “This strategic choice, which is fully in line with CRIF’s distinctive ‘glocal’ approach, uniting a global vision and expertise with a strong capability to respond to the specific needs of individual countries and markets, was another element in determining the final choice of the Bangladesh Bank” explained Lamberto Barbieri, Operations Director of CRIF Credit Bureau Services. During the project, a CRIF team (comprising experts in IT service delivery management and consultants from the Credit Bureau Services division) will guarantee constant support and the necessary supervision of the various development and implementation steps. In addition, the supply contract to the Bangladesh Bank will include 3 years of full assistance for hardware and software.
There are around 153 million inhabitants in Bangladesh, and today only 10% are reached by banking services, even if the rate of increase in the banking population is close to 20% per year. The country’s growth prospects – on an overall national economic level and specifically in the credit market – are considerable. Regarding the number of transactions managed by the central bank credit information system, it is expected that there will be around 50,000 requests processed per day within 5 years.
