The need to assess a borrower's creditworthiness and capacity through the use of national credit bureaus was highlighted at an annual conference held by the European Association of Credit Bureaus “ACCIS” in Brussels in the past month.
Topics also discussed ranged from upcoming legislative developments at the EU level, personal data protection, as well as developments and innovations in services offered by Credit Bureaus in order to fulfill their core mission, which is the support of responsible lending and responsible borrowing.
One of the participants in the conference was Cyprus' Artemis Credit Bureau, a company that has been a full member of ACCIS since the beginning of its operation in 1990. General Manager Yiannis Tomasides highlighted the importance of data from a wide range of categories in order to correctly gauge the overall credit picture of a consumer.
He stated, "The inclusion of data from the widest range of credit facility categories is the only way to form a complete image of the borrower's financial behavior, which on the one hand ensures creditors an objective assessment of the borrower's creditworthiness and on the other hand protects the borrower from receiving a new credit facility which, based on his available income and his existing obligations, he cannot fulfill".
He also referred to the essential role played by Credit Bureaus, as Data Exchange Systems, in the development of the infrastructure of the financial system and, by extension, the economy of a country.
"It is for this reason that Data Exchange Systems are, according to the World Bank, one of the three main pillars of an efficient financial system, contributing to the financial stability of a country," he said.
Tomasides explained that Credit Bureaus, such as Artemis Credit Bureau, are positioned between credit providers and credit takers (borrowers-consumers) and help both creditors and consumers make more informed decisions.
With information from CNA
