Azerbaijan, Baku, June 24 / Trend N.Ismayilova /
In the initial phase, the credit bureau being created in Azerbaijan under the Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Advisory Services Project (ACAFI) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) will have five shareholders, Project Coordinator in Azerbaijan Teymur Heybatov said.
"It is assumed that the country's first credit bureau will be set up by five shareholders and will apply for a license to the regulatory body. Then through the competition the bureau will choose a foreign technical vendor to enter in the capital, will be authorized for management and provide its experience, and most importantly, specialized software," he said.
According to him, today the bill regulating the activities of the private credit bureau in the country has been prepared and is under consideration by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA). The text of the memorandum of understanding to be signed by all potential shareholders has also been agreed and the business plan of the credit bureau has been finalized.
To create its own databases, the private credit bureau will need two or three years, and it is proposed to use base available in the Central Credit Registry in the CBA, which has been functioning since 2005. For this purpose, today negotiations are conducted with the Central Bank on tariffs and other issues.
Today, the CBA offers three pricing models - the annual fee from the Bureau to the Central Credit Registry, the fee for each appeal and one-time fee for the license," he said.
Under the very fast development of events, the bill can be adopted by next year, after which the Bureau will need to be licensed by the CBA and implement technical solutions of the international partner, said Eyvazov. Given the minimal cost of these processes, the Bureau can begin activities no earlier than spring 2013.
ACAFI aims to strengthen financial market infrastructure in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan by developing effective credit information sharing between financial institutions and introducing formal risk education and certification for financial institution employees. The project should help financial institutions make faster and more accurate credit decisions, thereby increasing the availability and affordability of financial services for individual consumers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region. The project will run for three years and is being implemented in partnership with the Government of Switzerland.