Creditinfo appoints Satrajit Saha as new Global CEO
Former CEO of TransUnion Europe – Satrajit Saha – brings his expertise to Creditinfo, planning to drive growth across its credit bureaus globally.
London – 29th November 2023: Creditinfo, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, has today announced the appointment of Satrajit Saha as its Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With over 20 years of experience in banking and credit bureau, Satrajit will drive the growth of Creditinfo and the maturity of its credit bureaus globally. He joins the company from TransUnion Europe, where he held the position of CEO for the last five years.
In his role, Satrajit will lead Creditinfo in advancing its strategic initiatives, with a particular focus on promoting financial inclusion worldwide. Drawing on his rich background in the credit information industry, spread across Asia, Africa, and Europe, he will lead the next phase of Creditinfo’s growth on a global level as it strives to become a truly global bureau and the leader for facilitating access to finance in both developed and emerging markets.
As an experienced strategic leader, Satrajit has an impressive reputation in the financial services space. At TransUnion Europe, he led the board of all TransUnion’s European owned entities. Before joining TransUnion Europe, he was Chief Business Officer at TransUnion India, where he was responsible for crafting and executing TransUnion’s CIBIL’s market strategy. He was also Cards Head, Africa Region, at Barclays Bank.
Satrajit Saha, newly appointed Global CEO at Creditinfo said: “I am honored to take on the role of Global CEO at Creditinfo, a company that is at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion. Together with the talented team at Creditinfo, we will continue to leverage innovative data sets and solutions to bridge information gaps and create opportunities to facilitate access to finance for individuals and businesses globally.”
Monty Ismail, Director at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and Creditinfo Group Board member said: “We are delighted to welcome Satrajit “Satty” Saha as our new Global Chief Executive Officer. He is an accomplished executive with successful leadership experience relevant to our business, including his time as CEO of TransUnion UK. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Creditinfo, and we are excited to see Satty, with extensive knowledge of our key markets, take over as CEO. We are looking forward to working with Satty in continuing to expand our global footprint and unlock access to finance for millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Paul Randall for his important contribution as CEO. He has been key to our success, and we are all grateful for his leadership and dedication.”
He will begin his new role as Creditinfo CEO on 1st January 2024 and will report directly to the Creditinfo Group Board.
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About Creditinfo
Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions.
With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals.
For more information, please visit www.creditinfo.com
Creditinfo completes strategic acquisition of Ugandan and Namibian credit bureaus
Latest acquisitions cement credit expert’s position as leading solutions provider in Africa.
Kampala and Windhoek/London, 25th May 2023 – Creditinfo Group, the leading global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, today announces the acquisition of two credit bureaus in Uganda and Namibia. As part of the acquisition, Creditinfo has taken on all employees working in the credit bureaus, which were previously owned by Experian. Creditinfo will combine their invaluable local expertise with its own extensive experience in delivering private credit solutions to African and European nations to help millions access finance.
Creditinfo has a unique mix of market knowledge that it will draw on to complement the work of the strong management teams already in place in Namibia and Uganda. Its experience working with more traditional lending markets in Europe combined with its knowledge of the different trends in lending markets in sub-Saharan Africa – such as the drive-in mobile wallet use in Kenya – will help both Namibia’s and Uganda’s credit bureaus go from strength to strength.
Coupling this experience with its advanced software and analytics products, Creditinfo will deliver its world-leading credit bureau solutions to help the two bureaus facilitate access to finance for both individuals, SMEs, and corporates in the regions, whatever their social and economic needs.
Paul Randall, CEO at Creditinfo said: “We are committed to sustainably growing our business and identifying ideal opportunities to add strong and profitable credit bureaus to the Creditinfo Group, while helping more local citizens and businesses access finance. Uganda and Namibia are ideal partners for us in this respect and all our new employees are a credit to the Creditinfo name. As the leading credit bureau provider in Africa, we eagerly look forward to working together to provide the best service possible in each country”.
Mark Charles Mwanje, Country Manager of Uganda said: “We are delighted to join the Creditinfo Group. We believe their years of expertise and knowledge will be a great asset to our existing team of dedicated and talented employees. We look forward to joining forces to help the local people and our growing economy.”
Karin Jansen van Vuuren, Country Manager of Namibia said: “Working with Creditinfo provides us the chance to tap into new opportunities for further growth. The company’s in-depth experience will be instrumental in helping banks and other lenders to extend credit, while ensuring we’re still a private credit bureau run by local people for local people, with all their best interests at heart.”
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About Creditinfo
Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software, and decision analytics solutions.
With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments, and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals.
For more information, please visit www.creditinfo.com
AS Creditinfo Eesti appoints Elari Tammenurm as new CEO
Estonia, 9th May 2023 – Creditinfo Group, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, today announces the appointment of Elari Tammenurm as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its Estonian branch. Elari will support and maintain Creditinfo’s legacy as a leading partner for business and risk management decision making and drive the sustainable growth of AS Creditinfo Eesti.
Elari joined Creditinfo in 2019 as Director IT in the Baltics, progressing to Management Board member and Head of IT Baltics. Now as CEO, Elari will be responsible for the largest and oldest credit bureau in Estonia.
In his role, Elari will work with various internal and external stakeholders to ensure the company’s approach to strategy and growth remains first class in terms of meeting customers’ expectations and needs.
Elari Tammenurm, CEO of AS Creditinfo Eesti said: “Today everyone has access to vast amounts of data; however, the abundance of data can make it more difficult to make well-informed business decisions in an ever-changing business environment. In my new role, it’s my goal to further ensure the facilitation of this process through delivering world class solutions to the Estonian market including various new Decision Analytics and Scoring related products. This will allow us to continue driving valuable and positive outcomes for our clients and enable greater access to finance and economic growth in Estonia.”
Paul Randall, CEO of Creditinfo Group, said: “With roots in financial services and IT strategy, Elari knows how to solve our clients’ unique business challenges. His knowledge of the company, our people, our industry, and our clients is a huge advantage for AS Creditinfo Eesti’s innovation and growth as we continue to expand in the Estonian market. We’re proud to have Elari leading the way.”
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About Creditinfo
Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions.
With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals.
For more information, please visit www.creditinfo.com / www.creditinfo.ee
Webinar: Baltic Market Overview
Register and join Jekaterina Rojaka, COO Creditinfo Lietuva , as she hosts another session on the Baltic market overview.
During this session, you will get the latest updates on the following:
- Improving sentiments – will it strengthen economic growth?
- Rising interest rates – what is the impact on the market?
- Sectoral perspective – losers and winners
Please complete the registration form below to receive the event link. The session will be in English – http://ow.ly/MSjh50NHVVX
Kredītinformācijas Birojs and Citadel Bank Sign an Agreement to make It easier for Ukrainian citizens to receive Financial Services
It has already been reported that last year the “Credit Information Bureau” of Latvia (KIB) concluded an agreement with the “International Credit Information Bureau” in Ukraine ( Мидрождение бюро кредитних історий ) on the exchange of credit history data of Ukrainian nationals.
Creditinfo Estonia Management Change
EXTERNAL ANNOUNCEMENT
07/02/2023
Ms. Ege Metsandi, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board for Creditinfo Estonia is leaving her position at the company. During the next 6 months, Ms. Metsandi will be working closely with the interim Chairman and CEO, Mr. Elari Tammenurm, currently the Head of IT – Baltics, along with the Estonian team to ensure a seamless handover continues until a replacement is found.
Paul Randall, Group CEO for Creditinfo, advised, “During her 6 years of tenure, Ege has successfully developed the company, both financially and commercially. I want to personally thank Ege for her efforts, utilizing her experience and great insight in risk management to build the Creditinfo brand in Estonia.
Everyone at Creditinfo wishes Ege well for her future.” Ege added, “I leave a very strong and talented team behind at Creditinfo. I look forward to making certain of a smooth transition to keep up the positive momentum that we have established together over the last 6 years.” Established in 1997, Creditinfo Group provides credit information and automated risk management services around the world.
Creditinfo launches ESG Data Platform
Reykjavík / London, 20th October 2022 – Creditinfo Group, the leading global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, has today announced the launch of VERA, a new environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) data platform. The pioneering platform will provide financial services with a standardised overview of their ESG performance, helping them comply with ESG regulation, and will also create a way for other organisations to easily provide sustainability data to the financial sector.
VERA is a centralised platform that congregates information from a range of sources, including data directly reported by companies as well as external sources such as media coverage, judicial information, and supply chain operations. The information is then automatically standardised to allow organisations across financial services to obtain a holistic overview of ESG factors and performance, and easily establish how best to comply with regulation.
Initially being rolled out in Iceland, with other regions to follow globally, the platform can also be used by non-financial corporations when conducting supplier assessments to determine the ESG performance of their supply chains, and to provide sustainability data in a standardised way to the financial sector, helping to attract investment.
Reynir Smári Atlason, Director of sustainability at Creditinfo said: “Providing ESG information to financial services strengthens the presence and engagement of financial institutions – especially in markets where sustainability data is generally limited. It’s not only an ethical decision but a practical one – various markets don’t have the regulations in place to hold companies to account, yet ESG data is needed if they’re going to attract investment through sustainable financing. We’re really proud of how this platform levels the playing field and makes this information accessible and digestible.”
The VERA platform comes on the heels of Creditinfo’s own sustainability policy as the next step in its overall ESG strategy. Creditinfo’s aim to facilitate better decision making in financial services and enable greater access to finance for underserved SMEs, companies and individuals without credit ratings means it plays a vital role in social sustainability globally, and transparency in its environmental and social dealings across its regions must be a fundamental part of this.The next step will see the company publish its inaugural sustainability report evaluating performance areas against its sustainability policy in 2023.
Paul Randall, CEO at Creditinfo said: “Our ESG data platform and sustainability policy are just the first steps in understanding and addressing our wider external impact and helping others to do the same. Not only do we need to make sure we comply with regulation in this area, but the responsibility also lies with individual companies to be proactive when it comes to innovating in a sustainable and responsible way. We’re ready to lead by example here and I’m very excited by our ESG data platform and sustainability policy to ensure Creditinfo and other financial services are on track and compliant with regulation.”
Creditinfo’s sustainability policy can be found in full here.
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About Creditinfo
Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions. With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals. For more information, please visit www.creditinfo.com
Paving the way for a brighter future through SME lending
Developing modern solutions and removing barriers, paves the way for a brighter future through SME lending
SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) are known as one of the biggest business sectors in each economy, being important contributors to job creation and global economic development. They create more than 50% of employment worldwide.
SMEs have gained importance in developing economies. Although SMEs have some weaknesses, they are less affected by economic crises due to their flexibility and ability to keep up with changing conditions. SMEs are vital establishments to create an effective innovation ecosystemThis is shown by recent studies that SME’s can contribute to over 55% of GDP and over 50% of total employment.
SMEs can find it increasingly difficult to borrow money from traditional banks because of strict requirements. It is often seen that SMEs are riskier than large institutions as it is difficult for banks to evaluate them in the same way since they often do not have solid accounting systems. This difficulty in assessing their creditworthiness often impacts the bank’s ability to provide affordable credit. As a result, many SMEs are forced to look at alternative solutions such as expensive credit lines charging high interest rates or offering costly collateral. Neither of these options are sustainable for small businesses.
SMEs need fast decisions and a more agile, digital approach. This is where Creditinfo and local Fintechs are working in collaboration to support the sector. Together, we specialize in using technology to quickly assess each SME’s entire data footprint and then provide tailored financial solutions. Based on our experience in Africa, we can assess the credit risk an SME poses by using real-time data from multiple sources, including e-wallets, credit bureaus and credit scores. The traditional method, consisting of manual processes and hard copies, is now an outdated approach in the digital world.
Digital SME finance, using alternative data, offers an extraordinary opportunity for addressing some of the challenges. Every time SMEs and their customers use digital services, conduct banking transactions, make or accept digital payments, use their mobile phones, or manage their receivables and payables through a digital platform, they create alternative data. This real-time and verified data can be analyzed to determine both capacity and willingness to repay loans.
Specific SME assessment methodology can also be applied. For example, small companies tend to have a greater level of owner centricity. Therefore, blending business and personal data can enable the development of highly predictive blended scorecards that utilize the payment behaviour of business owners and managers and company credit data to produce a more comprehensive risk assessment.
Help is also needed from Central Banks to continue to support this sector. We are seeing reforms happening globally where Central Banks are implementing mandates for all banks to lend a set percentage of their credit portfolios to SMEs. Boosting the availability of finance for the SME sector, the reforms aim to ease the flow and reduce the high cost of credit to a sector that is considered an engine of growth for the future.
SME lending is rapidly growing, and by putting the customer needs first and using new solutions and data, we can begin to shift the status quo. Globally there is a shift toward digital lending solutions, which can support a level playing field for SMEs. By transforming this lending sector as a whole, we can make it more accessible for small businesses to grow and continue making a difference.
Joe Bowerbank – Business/Commercial Development, Creditinfo Group.
Paul Randall marks 15 years at Creditinfo Group
We recently sat down with our CEO, Paul Randall and asked him 15 questions to mark his 15 years at Creditinfo Group. Get to know a little more about Paul as he celebrates this milestone:
- Describe yourself in 3 words? Competitive. Curious. Optimistic.
- What was your first job? JD Williams in Manchester -a clothing retail outlet that sold clothes on credit.
- How many countries have you worked in? Over 50 countries and counting.
- How long have you worked in the credit industry? Over 35 years; not only just the credit industry, but also in telcos, retail, and utilities.
- What has been your most shocking discovery working in this industry so far? I think some of the practices on collections. I feel that collections processes need to be more humane. There is also the fact that there are additional costs to customers particularly those who are borrowing short term. There is a place for short term lending, which has a higher cost than low risk lending, however this needs to be done fairly.
- What has been your highest moment working at Creditinfo Group? Meetings with central banks particularly in West Africa in Senegal. The BCEAO is very prestigious organization, which is very well respected, and for us to demonstrate that we could provide meaningful services to that region, was very important. Other great moments were winning major tenders with organizations such as Pefindo and Safaricom.
- Out of all the markets we are present in, which one intrigues you the most and why? So many markets intrigue me in different ways. I think the variety is what intrigues me the most – working from SME’s, business lending, all the way to trade credit, and everything in between.
- Working at Creditinfo opens doors to meeting a lot of personalities to look up to. Who have you met so far that has influenced your career? There are a number of personalities in the in industry that I’ve met and worked with. I have been lucky to have had a lot of good leaders. I have also learnt from team members, that gave me important feedback. When I was in banking, I had a risk management director Caroline Hendra, who was really inspiring as she went into a very male dominated banking environment in the 90’s, and through her intelligence, she transformed the business. Graham Platts, was also a big influence in terms of understanding of risk management and credit scoring. When I was at Experian, Mark Gaudart made it clear that it’s not only about having knowledge, but also how you communicate that information that is critical to ensuring that the message is passed. I have also learnt a lot from Reynir Grétarsson on being entrepreneurial, taking risks and having emotional intelligence when it comes to negotiation.
- How do you as Paul maintain the equilibrium between work and life? I spend my spare time on sporting activities (practicing and watching). I also make time for my family and friends, and this to me brings balance.
- As our Group CEO, how can you say this role has transformed you? I’ve learned a lot about business; understanding the appropriated strategy and how to make that happen; dynamics of people within the business and I have also been so impressed by the quality of the teams that we have and how hard they work.
- What has been your greatest motivation? Seeing the success of team members will always continue to motivate me. Witnessing their growth in different stages is always something that pushes me as well so that we all excel in the end.
- What are you currently reading? True History of the Kelly Gang – Winner 2001 Man Booker Prize (UK).
- What is your morning routine? Training in the morning – through zoom videos while overlooking the sea at 7:00 o’clock in the morning as the sun is rising is quite fantastic!
- What fun fact can you share that we don’t know about Paul Randall? As you can see from the countries I have been in, I am curious and always learning about new cultures and trying out different cuisines (anything with seafood always a favorite!)
- Parting shot? Give us a quote in Paul’s words. I like the phrase – “It is better to have fought and lost than to have never fought at all.” But I like to win!
Top trends that will shape banking in 2022
We sat down with our Direct Markets Director at Creditinfo Group, Samuel White, to discuss some of the key trends that will shape banking in the MENA and Asia region. These were some of his thoughts:
New market players from non-traditional lenders such as telco or payment providers
We are seeing an increasingly number of non-banks entering the markets. There has been a clear sign that these companies have a wealth of internal data through their platforms and usually e-wallet transactions. It has been proven that this data is extremely valuable during the risk assessment process.
SME finance
SMEs are playing an instrumental role in local economies but still struggle to receive the access to banking products in a timely fashion. In the region every country is looking at how better to serve these customers and provide them with the solutions they require.
Digital Banks, Neo Banks, Born Digital Banks
Many of the traditional lenders are based on legacy technologies and we have seen an accelerated approach to digital transformation over the last 2 years. We have also seen some banks create new digital arms to their organization setup with new technology away from legacy portfolios. These Born Digital Banks are increasing in the region, and anybody left behind can expect to lose some market share in the future.
BNPL
Buy Now Pay Later (or as some are calling it Save now pay later) is not a new concept but there is no doubt it is growing with popularity. The demand for flexible payment offerings is at an all-time high. Typically, these smaller value loans are based on impulse buying so lenders must make sure they have the process in place to offer instant decisioning.
We also asked him how Creditinfo is playing a role in shaping these trends:
How is Creditinfo helping banks lead in the digital era?
At Creditinfo we are focusing on helping banks streamline and improve the credit process across the full credit lifecycle, from origination through scoring, risk, decisioning and portfolio management. We are offering enhanced digital channels to meet the customer demands and reach the underserved or unbanked segments. We recognize it has become more accessible for individuals and SMEs to make use of digital financial services and by working with Banks we can develop software and applications to deliver services that are more transparent and automated.
What is Creditinfo’s business model and how do you see this model shaping the banking industry?
Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide, one of our primary goals is to help facilitate access to finance. We have built credit bureaus globally and across different markets, giving us key insights and knowledge into best practices. Creditinfo has a vision to create successful partnerships with lenders, governments, central banks to help increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for individuals and SMEs.
Creditinfo wants to continue building products and working with partners to add further solutions and data to enable lenders to further lend in a responsible fashion. Lenders are shifting their attitude towards FinTechs to keep pace with change and remain competitive. There is a huge variety of FinTech offerings available today using wide range of data that’s delivered through applications to provide lending decisions in only a few seconds.
