FNC passes credit information draft law

Abu Dhabi: A draft law on credit information, which provides for the creation of an independent company that will keep data on every Emirati and expatriate, was passed on Tuesday by Federal National Council.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said the proposed company provide banks and financing firms licensed by the Central Bank with information concerning the clients applying for loans or credit cards.

He assured the House the company would run its affairs in complete confidentiality.

The Government, Al Tayer said, would hold the majority of shares in the company so as to exercise strict control and guarantee the rights of customers and safety of data. The company, he added, would include shareholders from banks and financing institutions.

The clients whose information will be presented to financing firms must first agree to the measure in writing and the credit information company must keep these approvals, according to the draft law.

Al Tayer told the House the legislation will provide assurances of confidentiality. The customer's consent will be required to pass on his data to those who demand them. A customer who applies for a loan will automatically agree to the delivery of information. Otherwise, the agency will provide the information about him only after contacting him to take his permission, he explained.

Those who break the law would face a jail term of not less than two years, a fine of Dh50,000 or both.

Hamad Harith Al Madfa, chairman of the FNC committee which prepared the draft law, said it agreed with the government to identify a safe mechanism to deliver these data to banks through a secure instrument to prevent squandering of their capital at the hands of borrowers and customers who are not eligible for these facilities.

He said many banks have lost their funds because they lent money and issued credit cards to people who did not qualify. Such people took several loans and owned multiple credit cards from different banks. This, he said, has impacted the performance of banks amid the current global financial crisis.

Al Madfa added the proposed credit information agency will empower banks to get the correct financial records of the customer and his ability to meet his commitments. This will help the banks to select reliable customers, and serve the national economy and cushion the banks against potential risks.

The Central Bank has a credit risk management system but it keeps records of customers who receive bank funds worth more than Dh500,000.

The proposed law would deter those with multiple credit cards and fail to honour commitments, Al Madfa said.