October 2009 – Compuscan Direct, a leading Credit Bureau solutions provider in Africa, entered into an equity, support and technical provision agreement with CreditScan limited Nigeria. They will partner with CreditScan Nigeria by providing superior information technology that will form the backbone of its service infrastructure. This technology will give CreditScan's customers/clients access to innovative credit management tools and software products to deal with the obstacles involved in making risk decisions within the credit industry.
CreditScan will tailor its products and services to the unique requirements and needs of Nigerian customers, ensuring easy deployment and management in order to make credit decisions with confidence and control. CreditScan is set to become one of the leading private credit bureaus operating in Nigeria, as it is hoped to be the fourth such company to be licensed after 3 earlier firms. The new credit bureau is designed to provide credit reports to banks, microfinance institutions and other lending institutions which will in turn extend consumer credit in Nigeria's teeming population.
CreditScan is expected to deploy the most up-to-date version of the Compuscan Credit Bureau solution which includes a state of the art credit bureau platform based on the latest technology to provide both positive and negative credit account information on borrowers, including information on previous credit applications.
Other advanced offerings expected to be offered to its subscribers include value added products such as a credit scoring system (Compuscore), a credit application processing system (Xcellerator), a credit decision matrix (Codix) and a bureau rules engine (BRE).
The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) announced its strategy of adopting a number of Corporate Governance standards on market discipline articulated in the recently published Walker Review – Review of Corporate Governance of the UK Banking Industry. Greater emphasis will be placed on the enforcement of the code of Corporate Governance for operators and regulators alike in the financial sector. A credit bureau will definitely assist in achieving these objectives and all future credit bureaus will have their current operational challenges resolved by ensuring that they embark on some measures aimed at achieving credit bureau operations that meet best practice in Nigeria, as well as liaising with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) with a view to enhancing the national identity card project. In this way, it will ensure that no new credit is extended to anybody unless the person has the national identity card which will bear a unique identification for each Nigerian.
This gives confidence that the country is headed in the right direction, and policy objectives are in the interest of the successful take off and serviced provision of credit reporting institutions in the country. In addition to the credit bureau operation guidelines, the CBN intends to issue instructions directing banks and other financial institutions to have data exchange agreements with the licensed credit bureau and make it compulsorily to obtain credit reports from at least two licensed credit bureaus on all current and intending borrowers. CreditScan is poised to benefit from the CBNs repositioning of the Nigerian financial system as a strategic economic imperative that would be taken forward in line with international best practice, paying close attention to the three 'Rs': Risk management, Regulation and Reporting.
The new credit bureau services will encourage lending and commitment to loan repayments. The economy will develop positively overall and it will ensure institutional and business growth. People and organisations will be able to get access to much needed loans to fund their plans and objectives.
CreditScan is committed to the acquisition of reliable information on borrowers which must be accumulated over time. A great deal of research has been conducted in relation to the set up of the credit bureau, especially with regards to the tools that need to be deployed in order to meet the required goals and objectives. CreditScan is now currently seeking private initial funding to start up. It is expected that the credit bureau will commence operations in the first quarter of 2010 after meeting the CBNs requirements and raising start up capital for its operations. Key staffs have already been identified, and were chosen from the world’s best sources, and will be bringing a wealth of diverse international and local experience on board.
Partnering with a "home grown" African solutions provider like Compuscan offers many benefits. The software solution was carefully selected to meet the requirements of operating a credit bureau in the Nigerian economy. Compuscan’s software was developed to serve the African and the global market, and has been proven successful in several countries in the African region. Its efficacy and reliability has been proven in several African countries with similar economies to that of Nigeria and we believe that with the provision of this advanced platform, information sharing and lending will be easy.
The leader of the credit reporting and reference industry will no longer be in doubt with the emergence of CreditScan and its international management team in the Nigerian economy. CreditScan will have a number of the very best tried and tested hands running its affairs. The products CreditScan will offer promises to be of tremendous value to entrepreneurs, business professionals, small businesses, individuals, corporate organisations, government and other institutions. This is a cutting edge product far superior to anything in the marketplace.
For more information on Compuscan Direct and the services we offer, please contact Roberto Giannantoni on roberto@compuscan.co.za or visit www.compuscandirect.co.za
Should you require more information about CreditScan, please contact Ladi Smith, Partner SIAO on ladi.smith@siao-ng.com or visit www.siao-ng.com Compuscan Direct is the partner of choice for Central Banks, Banking Associations and Entrepreneurial groups that wish to develop Credit Bureau initiatives in emerging markets.
