What’s in a credit history?

What’s in a credit history?

The Union of Arab Banks recommends regional governments to set up a central credit bureau to help protect banks from defaults. It’s a start.

September 29, 2009 12:24 by Dana El Baltaji

The Union of Arab Banks (UAB), a community of Middle East-based financial intuitions, has called for the establishment of a central credit bureau and risk management firm for banks in the region, reported Gulf News on Monday.

“A unified credit bureau will strengthen the GCC financial sector and lead to greater transparency in the regional economies. Such a move will reduce the possibility of systemic risks to financial sector emerging from corporate frauds,” Adnan Ahmad Yousuf, chairman of the UAB, told the Dubai-based daily.

He added that the central bank governors were informed of the UAB’s recommendation: “The idea was accepted by the governors,” Yousuf said. “The implementation of it will be a significant step towards data sharing and creation of a unified risk management system across the Gulf region.”

However, given the political spats sparked by the decision to make Riyadh, Saudi Arabia the headquarters for the GCC monetary union’s central bank, choosing the location of a regional credit bureau won’t be easy. But that’s another matter altogether.

Out of the 420 banks in 22 Arab countries, 340 of them are members of the UAB. According to Yousuf, the banks have suffered due to the financial crisis, but they do not face significant risks.

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Tags: credit history, default, Emcredit, gcc, loan, Union of Arab Banks

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3 Comments

Jeff on September 30, 2009 2:40 am

That’s a very very bad move IMO. This will probably make it easier for people to have credit, but they (the people) will pay for it in basically losing any confidentiality when it comes to their bank accounts. To say that this system is good is either naive or very deceptive, the US has this system implemented for decades, and take a look at the economy there now. What’s interesting is that the banks that got stronger in this crisis are the Lebanese banks where banking secrecy is enforced.
DeniseTheMenace on October 3, 2009 11:00 am

Jeff – You are corelating the proposed Credit -info-sharing system (In american context) with the current state of affairs in USA…. I havent read a comment as dumb in a year as this one….Welcome to the White Expat Club of ME (you certainly belong high in the hierarchy…) Is this all you could come up with after a decade of baccalaureate schooling (somewhere in West…) and a college degree…. Or you;d had one too much the other weekend bash party when you managed to punch wrong keys in hazy weather….

Pls spare the readers, for whatever is still left in you….

And yes, no pun intended For Chirst’s sake, keep your cool !!!
Wael on October 13, 2009 7:56 pm

Jeff: As long as this is being done for the right reasons (not to empower banks and corporations) and forever shackle people the way they do in the West (try doing anything without a credit history), then it’s fine. This has nothing to do with the strength/weakness of the economy, so your reference to banking secrecy and the strength of Lebanese banks is highly irrelevant.

Denise: There is no excuse to derogatory comments. If you have anything useful to share, please do so whilst maintaining a minimum degree of respect. Just because you know something (even though you don’t seem to), doesn’t give you the right to insult others.