Abu Dhabi: Al Etihad Credit Bureau (Aecb), the federal government company mandated to implement and operate a credit reporting system across the UAE, has begun to issue credit reports to UAE citizens and residents.
Individuals can now obtain their own credit reports by visiting the Bureau’s customer service centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and providing their Emirates ID details. The fee for getting a credit report is Dh110.
Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi, Chief Executive Officer of Aecb, Marwan Ahmad Lutfi said that it has now completed the first phase of its operational roll-out, which included uploading 24 months of credit data from banks and financial institutions operating in the UAE to the Bureau’s database, for all individuals with bank accounts.
“This has ensured that banks, financial institutions and UAE residents can now obtain a copy of consumer credit reports, and make informed lending or borrowing decisions,” Lutfi said.
He said that the company database includes information for 2.8 million individuals, which represents 97 per cent of the total credit active population of the UAE. This data features 6 million credit facilities of individuals living in the country.
Financial obligations
To date, 43 banks and financial institutions have submitted their customers’ credit data, 29 of which have subscribed to Aecb’s credit reporting services.
He said that these credit reports will help individuals to understand their debt levels and have a clearer picture of their financial obligations.
“This will in turn enhance their ability to plan for future borrowing, and manage their finances responsibly. The credit reports will play a key role in helping banks and financial institutions to assess risk accurately, enabling them to make informed lending decisions and lower lending risks.”
The Bureau will implement its second phase in the coming days. This includes issuing credit reports on all companies operating in the country, bounced cheque details and telecommunications companies’ payment information for the past 24 months.
Credit reports issued by the Bureau include details about consumers’ debt levels, financial obligations, credit payments history and default payments for the past 24 months.
When asked whether credit reports will be made compulsory, he said they would consider it at a later stage.
“I think it’s something a lot of institutions have asked for in order to regulate and to make sure that lending activities are done in a best practice mode and some have requested to make it a mandatory law. But now we are not thinking about it but we would consider at a later stage.”
