The Bahrain Monetary Agency (BMA) has approved the establishment of a credit reference bureau (CRB), which will serve as a database of information related to loans to individuals and corporates in Bahrain. The first phase of the CRB is scheduled to go live on February 20, 2005.
The CRB will be operated by the Benefit Company, which operates the national automated teller machine (ATM) system. In its first phase, the CRB will cover information related to loans extended to individuals, who are Bahrain residents, by all commercial banks, specialized banks and finance companies. It will be mandatory for all financial institutions providing loans to individuals to relay information relevant to such credit to the CRB.
The Benefit Company will be obliged to protect the security of the information and disseminate it among 'permitted users', who may be financial institutions and companies licensed by the BMA.
The second phase of the CRB would cover corporate borrowers. Work on this phase will begin immediately after the launch of the first phase. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
