The Central Bank of The Bahamas selects CRIF to establish and operate the country’s first credit bureau

CRIF has been selected by the Central Bank of The Bahamas through an international tender process launched in April 2018 and has been invited to apply for a license to establish and operate the first private credit bureau in the jurisdiction. Following the evaluation process, CRIF was chosen as a strategic partner thanks to its proven track record in the development of credit information systems worldwide.

The upcoming private credit bureau will manage credit information sent by Bahamian organizations through an advanced technology platform, which will integrate and consolidate all data on the reliability of a credit applicant into a single report. The formal licensing process has started and will lead to the set-up of a wholly-owned local company in charge of market management. The local entity will operate under the supervision of the Central Bank of The Bahamas.

The Bahamas, with a population of 395,361, has the second highest per capita GDP in the English-speaking Caribbean, with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and financial services (source: cia.gov). In this economic scenario, the establishment of a credit bureau will help develop the local credit market, allowing SMEs and consumers to move to a more advanced market based on credit references. At the same time, thanks to the availability of comprehensive and updated credit information, lenders will be able to deliver financial services at significantly reduced costs and expand the credit offer to the consumer and SME segments of the economy.

“We are very proud of our selection by the Central Bank of The Bahamas. As we have already experienced in many other countries, the evolution of the economic framework heavily depends on the availability of effective information systems, which streamline credit risk management and consequently support the financial needs of businesses and consumers. We firmly believe that the credit bureau will facilitate access to credit for Bahamian businesses and consumers”, commented Carlo Gherardi, President of CRIF.

“CRIF’s commitment is to help lenders make more accurate decisions based on a detailed credit profile of borrowers and improve their risk management. On the other hand, businesses and consumers will benefit from a faster and more reliable lending process, which will facilitate access to credit. A credit bureau is a country-sized project which involves all possible the relevant beneficiaries and users, and CRIF demonstrated in many countries the ability to bring value in such kind of projects”, explained Davide Michele Meo, CRIF Sales and Direct Markets Director.