Banks fail to provide full info to Credit Bureau; credibility suffers

| By K Raveendran| A number of banks have failed to complete the process of providing credit data of their customers for the past two years.

The Etihad Credit Bureau, the federal government entity responsible for administering the credit data base, has expressed concern over the delay and pointed out that effectiveness of the bureau’s reports would depend on the submission of quality data by the banks within the stipulated time frame.

The board of directors of the Bureau expressed such views at a meeting to review the body’s readiness to start operations. Technically, the bureau can start operations once the legal process is completed though the publication of the bylaws in the official gazette

On its part, the Bureau has fulfilled all of the requirements for issuing credit reports, including establishing secure links with all  financial institutions, and undertaking of internal and external risk assessments.

The board also highlighted the need for banks and financial institutions to use Emirates ID as the  only valid form of identification for all customer transactions and operations. This will ensure that the Bureau’s record matching process is 100% accurate, the board pointed out.