Friday, December 13,2019 / 3:49 PM / NifemiTaiyese for Proshare WebTV / Header Image Credit: @CRCCreditBureau

CRC Credit Bureau Limited, in association with Dun& Broadstreet, celebrated its 10^th Anniversary with a discussionon the theme: "Providing Insight; Enabling Growth".

The event brought together stakeholders in theNigerian financial market, corporate executives and key operators in the CreditBureau business.

Giving the opening remarks, the Chairman of CRC CreditBureau Dr. Gregory Ovie Jobome said the credit industry had come a long waywith CRC Credit Bureau playing a critical role in the sector.

He said as a Credit Bureau, CRC set out to providecredible information to assist lenders in Nigeria.

Jobome emphasized on the need for a framework thatimproves access to credit in Nigeria. He said such a framework was vital tolending and creating economic opportunities including achieving the nationalobjective of financial inclusion and economic development.

He was of the view that Nigeria needs to deepen itscredit penetration level, which he saw as critical to increasing economicactivities and empowering citizens.

"The CRC Credit Bureau also works with major banks andinvestors. The Bureau also has an effective governance structure because of itspeculiarity to attract partnerships," he said.

He informed stakeholders that CRC Credit Bureau haddeveloped 13 products currently in the market, thereby giving leadership to theindustry in Nigeria.

Jobome raised the importance of the state of access tocredit in the country, which he considered very important to lending andcreating opportunities for economic development.

On his part, Mr. Tunde Lemo, OFR, CFA, Chairman of theevent in his remarks, said the credit bureau industry increased access tocredit support and responsible lending, reducing the incidence of credit lossesby delinquent borrowers and strengthening  banking supervision and themonitoring of systemic risks.

Lemo, giving insights into the evolution of theindustry, said prior to 1990 Nigeria witnessed a surge in non-performing loans(NPLs) before the first private credit bureau made its entry.

According to Lemo in 2008, the central bank releasedguidelines for licensing operations and regulations of credit bureaus inNigeria and subsequently issued market licenses to three private creditbureaus; the First Central Credit Bureau, CRC Credit Bureau and CreditRegistry, CRC was, therefore, among the three pioneers of credit bureaubusiness in Nigerian.

"Since the intervention of the Central Bank in 2008with the licensing and regulation of private credit bureaus, credit reportingin Nigeria has become a pillar of the economy, regulatory policies wereformulated to increase financial inclusion in the economy such as themicrofinance lending policy and framework launched in 2005 and revised in2011," Lemo said.

The CEO of CRC Credit Bureau Mr. Tunde Popoola in hisspeech said the 10^th anniversary forum was designed to stimulatediscussion in an important area of focus which is, "Access to Credit".

Popoola stressed that in the last ten years, the CRCCredit Bureau has strived to live up to the vision and mission of deployinginnovative products/services and entering strategic partnerships that enhanceaccess to credit for consumers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The event featured a keynote address by Mrs Eme EssienLore the Country Director for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), whoshared insight into "Evolving a New Lending Model for the Economic Developmentof Nigeria".

Lore believed leveraging digital concepts andprocesses will be critical to deepening the credit industry and financialinclusion in the coumtry, thereby transforming the Nigerian socio-economicspace.

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