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Creditinfo gets approval for Jamaica’s first credit bureau

Published:Friday | March 9, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips (right) officially opens GraceKennedy Financial Centre on Duke Street, downtown, Kingston on Wednesday, March 7. Here are (from left) Custos Steadman Fuller, Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites; Courtney Campbell; and Don Wehby. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Minister of Finance, Planning and the Public Service, Dr. Peter Phillips has granted approval for the first licence to be issued for the establishment of a credit bureau in Jamaica.

The licence has been awarded to Creditinfo Jamaica Limited, a joint venture between local partners Coalesce Credit Solutions Limited and a leading international credit bureau, Creditinfo Group based in Northern Ireland.

Creditinfo Jamaica last year applied to the Bank of Jamaica – the authority designated under the Credit Reporting Act – for a licence, but the legislation also required that it received the approval of the Minister of Finance.

The Ministry, in a statement yesterday, said now that ministerial approval has been received, Creditinfo is expected to fulfill its licencing requirements to allow it to be operational by mid-year.

Dr. Phillips, speaking at the official opening of the GraceKennedy Financial Centre in downtown on Wednesday said he hoped that by issuing the licence there would be some improvement in the quality of banks’ loan portfolio.
Approval of the licence comes 11 years after former executive director of the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (FINSAC), Dr. Gladstone Bonnick, proposed the setting up of a central credit bureau in Jamaica to establish, update and keep a credit history of borrowers.