MANAMA, 28 April 2004 — The Bahrain Monetary Agency on Monday approved the establishment of a Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) to serve as a database for information relating to debts and bad loans of individuals and corporations in Bahrain. The bureau will be operated by Benefit Company, which operates the national ATM network in Bahrain. The approval for the license was signed by the governor of the BMA, Shaikh Ahmed ibn Mohammed Al-Khalifa.
Shaikh Ahmed said that there was a need for a database on consumer and corporate debtors “in order to better manage individual indebtedness as well as protect the financial system from credit-related risks.”
In its first phase, the CRB will cover information related to loans to Bahrain residents from commercial banks, specialized banks and finance companies.
It will be mandatory for all financial institutions providing loans to individuals to pass on all relevant information on such credit to the CRB.
The first phase of the project is expected to be operational by Feb. 20, 2005. The second phase will cover corporate borrowers. Work on this phase will begin immediately after the launch of the first phase.