Credit Bureau Begins Operations in Cambodia

The long-awaited Cambodian Credit Bureau (CBC) launched yesterday, a move that is expected to increase the amount of information banks retain on the history of borrowers in the banking system. Despite loan disbursals in the banking sector growing by 25 percent last year, banks have so far struggled to gain reliable information on individuals and businesses looking for credit. But the credit bureau could help change that by recording the information on all current and future borrowers and making it available to banks. Steve Vaile, a consultant with the CBC, said that the bureau would allow banks and microfinance institutions to benefit from reduced credit risk. “As of today, we are already taking requests in our systems, and people are running credit reports,” he said. … The CBC, a joint venture between the Association of Banks in Cambodia, the Cambodia Microfinance Association and Veda Advantage, an information technology firm based in New Zealand, officially registered with the government in December. Under a government proclamation, all banks and MFIs must provide the CBC with information about all of their borrowers. …