Credit bureau to begin operations soon: AMBD managing director

BRUNEI'S credit bureau is set to begin operations "soon", said the Managing Director of Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) yesterday.

Technical work for the credit bureau has been finalised whilst the legal framework is already present, said Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Rosli Hj Sabtu yesterday.

"Insyaallah, we are nearly there, and we will be operating soon", he said during an engagement session between the Energy Department at the Prime Minister's Office (EDPMO) and financial institutions in the country at the Empire Hotel and Country Club yesterday.

Dato Hj Mohd Rosli thanked all the banks involved for their close cooperation and assistance in providing data and information for the setting up of the credit bureau.

"With the credit bureau online, it will address some of the issues mentioned by financial institutions regarding the access to the credit history of borrowers, and not just individuals, but corporates as well," he said, adding that it will also help in terms of providing transparency of borrowers and access to financing.

"This is something that the (we) can assist on as mentioned earlier," he said, in reference to Hjh Rashidah Hj Sabtu's earlier presentation on AMBD's role to promote the financial sector, entitled "Regulatory & Infrastructure perspectives".

Hjh Rashidah, the acting executive director of Banking and Specialised Markets Supervision Division, said that one of the ways to strengthen the financial sector is through the establishment of a credit bureau, where its objective is to assist banking and financial institutions in making more informed decisions on borrowers.

"We hope that with this facility, banks will be more forthcoming to granting credit to qualified borrowers, that include corporates," she said.

Another point Hjh Rashidah made during the discussion was the Asset Maintenance Ratio (AMR) under the Brunei Darussalam Deposit Protection Scheme (BDPC) established in 2011, which will further strengthen the financial industry.

"This was set up to administer the deposit protection scheme and provide protection to depositors for up to maximum of $50,000," she said.

Hjh Rashidah added that AMBD is reviewing current regulations on the single borrowing limit.The Brunei Times