Two years after its establishment, the operations of Guyana’s first and only credit bureau, CreditInfo Guyana (CIG), can be deemed a success.
However, despite the success, CIG’s main challenge remains the lack of widespread understanding and adoption of the credit bureau by both the business and consumer sectors.
These statements were made by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CIG Judy Semple-Johnson during a recent interview.
On August 30, 2013, CIG was granted a licence by the Bank of Guyana to commence its operations. A credit bureau collects information on a borrower’s obligations from various sources and produces a comprehensive credit report which is in turn used by potential creditors.
Since its establishment, the body has accomplished a lot, Semple-Johnson said. However, she added, things have not been easy. According to her, there are still areas which needed to be tackled, including the important consideration of the role of the credit bureau in national economic development and in creating a modern economy, particularly in light of a new government.
“During the month of January 2015 the first credit report was issued and within the last three months in excess of 10,000 inquiries have been made,” she said. She explained that these inquiries came mainly from commercial banks and trade creditors in an effort to improve the effectiveness of their credit decisions.
“In these circumstances it is important for the borrowing public to understand that banks are now utilizing the credit bureau services to complement their credit decision-making process with information from within the credit bureau database. The result is more efficient and better informed credit decisions,” she stressed.
She further highlighted other problem areas which had arisen over the years.
“Over the period, many opinions have been expressed as to the relevance of such an entity to a small, cash based economy as ours,” Semple-Johnson said.
She continued, “Fears of the confidentiality of information, which banks are involved, the sufficiency of data in the credit bureau database, how soon credit reports will be available are only a few of the questions CreditInfo has had to address over the period.”
Additionally, she said, some areas needed to be “fully expounded and understood” such as the concept of irregular information and its impact on business decisions; the ability to access financing; and helping those who are off the mainstream economy to gain access to resources that are otherwise unavailable to them.
“Going forward, CreditInfo Guyana would need to embark on a national sensitisation campaign highlighting international best practices in credit bureau implementation and drawing, particularly on the success of its sister companies in the global arena,” she said.
“Public awareness of the concepts of creditworthiness and the importance of credit history towards greater access to financing from the formal system is therefore critical to the rate of development of the financial sector through the credit bureau.”
She added that there is perhaps the need for a better understanding of the benefits of a credit bureau.
Benefits
Semple-Johnson emphasised the benefits of a full service credit bureau, including efficiency and quick access to information.
“A full service credit bureau such as CreditInfo Guyana contributes not only improved risk assessment based on the availability of data from a wide cross-section of sources, but also provides improved efficiency in the credit granting process since this information is available to subscribers in a matter of seconds,” she said.
She continued, “It is also important to note, especially for those who operate in the small and medium enterprise sector, that before any bank or credit grantor can advance credit to an individual or business it must first have an idea of the risk associated with granting credit to that customer.
This helps the institution to determine whether to grant the customer credit and on what terms to do so. It means therefore that customers with a good credit history can now have access to financing on more favourable terms.”
She further explained that without a credit bureau the process of assessing a customer’s risk is difficult since the institution would simply have to base its decision to lend credit mostly on its relationship with the customer rather than a broad range of sources. Additionally, the institution would have to wait longer periods of time before granting credit.
The businesses are not the only beneficiaries, however; Semple-Johnson said the regular man is expected to benefit significantly by having greater access to much needed funds for sustaining the livelihood of their households as well as through improved financial literacy and sound management of personal finances.
In terms of national economic development, she opined that the possibility of credit expansion in the local context would give rise to growth in the business sector, particularly amongst small and medium enterprises.
She said, too, that the financial sector as a whole would be deepened.
“Additionally, the credit bureau, by improving overall access to credit, can improve the country’s ranking on the global competitiveness index, thereby making it more attractive to investors,” she said.
She added that the findings of the World Bank’s Doing Business 2015 Report which ranked Guyana 165 out of 189 countries in the area of getting credit in informative. In comparison, Jamaica was ranked 12th. Guyana and Jamaica are the only two countries within the Caribbean region to have national credit bureaux.
“The reasons for this disparity are varied but can be attributed mainly to issues related to differences in legislation, education or culture, and level of commitment,” she said.
According to Semple-Johnson, CIG has been able to enlist the support of the banking and other sectors since its launch in 2013. Through this support CIG is in the process of mobilizing the subscription of the “non-traditional” financial sector.