The Creditinfo Chronicle

Visiting Indonesia

Indonesia

We will be visiting Jakarta very soon regarding one of our recent responses to a request for proposal. The Bank of Indonesia is currently reviewing the provision of a new Public Credit Reporting (PCR) system as one of the strategies to support the development of the dual credit reporting system in Indonesia. As such, the Bank directly wrote to Reynir to provide a proposal outlining our abilities, core business and strategic outlook as a prospective partner  to support this initiative.

Analytical research on default level and DTI correlation on the basis of FCB (Kazakhstan) data

kanat kKanat Khalilov (Халилов Канат Маратович), Senior Risk Manager, First Credit Bureau Kazakhstan, today joined the Creditinfo Academy to deliver a presentation on “Analytical Research on Default Level and DTI Correlation on the Basis of FCB (Kazakhstan) Data”.

 

 

View the presentation here in English: Kanat Khalilov – FCB Kazakhstan

And in Russian:  3 – Презентация по DTI ppt_final_аним

Contact Kanat via:

Email:  KKhalilov@1cb.kz

Linked in:  kz.linkedin.com/pub/kanat-khalilov/20/66/a67

Website: www.1cb.kz

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Risk Assessment International Approaches

paul-2Paul Randall, Director of Business Development, Creditinfo International gave a presentation on Risk Assessment International Approaches

Click the link to view the PPT presentation. Paul Randall – Webinar_24_April_2014V1

You can watch Paul’s presentation video here: Vimeo

Paul can be contacted at:

Tel.: +33 607934884

Email: paul.randall@creditinfo.com

Skype: paul.randall.mc

Linked In: www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-randall/0/497/bb4

 

Risk Challenges 2014: New Legislative Limitations in Kazakhstan

The LLP “First Credit Bureau” of Kazakhstan (1CB/PKB) with the support of the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan recently hosted an event in Almaty dedicated to discussing the introduction of legal restrictions on the leverage ratio (KDN) and limiting growth of unsecured lending, which entered into force in Kazakhstan from 1 April 2014. The relevance of the event was confirmed by the interest of more than one hundred representatives from the banks, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, financial institutions and the business media.

Amongst the speakers, representatives from Creditinfo Group, First Credit Bureau, International Centre of Economic Literacy joined senior spokespersons from a number of influential banks such as Kaspi Bank, Sberbank, Kazkommertsbank, Nurbank, the National Bank of Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as more than 100 prominent industry specialists who attended this event held in Almaty. Continue reading »

Romania's transformation from old to new office

As you know, Creditinfo Romania moved to new offices recently. We thought you’d like to see the transformation from old to new

Click on the Dropbox link to download a PPT movie show 

NOTE: This is a very large file but good to watch!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nj6xoak571x33s3/Creditinfo%20Romania_New%20Office.rar

1 - Copy (1)

Hello Everyone!

Almar

Almar is the CEO of Creditinfo International

I hope most of you enjoyed your Easter break and took some well deserved R&R.

As you know, Creditinfo continues to extend its push globally, increasing its support to its clients and partners. We need to fully support that investment and those efforts, and do everything in our own individual power to make this growing group of companies a success.

As a member of our team, you perform an important role by providing your unique skills, experience and expertise, without which we could not achieve results. Each person within the Creditinfo family contributes to realising our overall vision and mission. So make it count!

News of Creditinfo HQ being moved to Europe

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Creditinfo HQ in Reykjavik

As some of you may already know, we have been in the news in Iceland recently regarding the possibility of moving Creditinfo Group HQ.  We have been moving towards this for some time, both as regards the legal registration and physical location.  The legal aspect has mainly to do with financing.  Iceland still has currency restrictions and the government is keeping businesses in the dark regarding relaxation of this.  We have enough Icelandic Kronas but at times lack other currencies.  Interest rates in Iceland are also high.  As for the physical location, what we need to do is to have a base for expansion closer to new markets. Reynir used to be the only one in Iceland working for international operation, now we are 6, with the need to add a few more, considering all the opportunities that are presenting themselves. Continue reading »

Player of the Month: Kazakhstan

With the support of the Association of Financiers of Kazakhstan, 1CB Kazakhstan recently hosted a very successful event in Almaty dedicated to discussing the introduction of legal restrictions on the leverage ratio (KDN) and limiting growth of unsecured lending, which entered into force in Kazakhstan from 1 April 2014. The relevance of the event was confirmed by the interest of more than one hundred representatives from the banks, the National Bank of Kazakhstan, financial institutions and the business media.

Ruslan Omarov, CEO, 1CB, Kanat Khalilov, Senior Risk Manager, 1CB and Paul Randall, Business Development Director, Creditinfo International spoke at the event. You can watch a recording of Paul & Kanat’s presentations on the internet which they kindly repeated for the Creditinfo Academy.

 

Team Outings

outingCreditinfo Solutions went to a ice hockey match of the Russian Continental League between HC Lev Prague and HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Dima is a dedicated supporter of Lokomotiv and he invited a few colleagues to see the match with him. Alex, Almar and Seth went are along with our lone warrior Dima!

skiingAlso, CIS had a skiing weekend in Austria. CIS people who participated: Radek Bittner, Tomáš Tichý, Jarda Jirava, Filip Kratochvíl, Tomáš Straka, David Kvasnica, Filip Hodúl and a few other friends of the team.

Welcome Jóhanna Magnúsdóttir

johannaOriginally working at the company as an intern, Jóhanna did such a great job, we offered her a full time role! She equally must have enjoyed her time with us as she accepted! She will now principally be working with the team on Credit Bureau Expansion.  Jóhanna holds a Master Degree in Law for the University of Akureyri.

Working with Credit Unions and Data

bob mBob Metodiev, Senior Product Development Manager, Data and Targeting Services, Canada Post gave a presentation today on how Canada Post work with Credit Unions and Data.  

Bob can be contacted via Linked In: ca.linkedin.com/pub/bob-metodiev/4/a04/998

You can watch Bob’s presentation video here: Vimeo

 

The Creditinfo Academy – connecting people and sharing best practice

CIA_logo_mediumThe Creditinfo Academy was established with two primary purposes, firstly as a knowledge centre for the 280 Creditinfo employees worldwide and secondly, for the client base and partners to share information about their organizations and to provide feedback on working with Credit Bureaus and Credit Risk Management Service Providers.

The Creditinfo Academy arranges bi-weekly webinars for its worldwide audience on credit industry related topics and more general business topics, bringing together their senior management team and employees with a number of influential specialists, business experts, practitioners and providers within the Credit Industry.  The webinars present an excellent opportunity for all involved to share ideas about the challenges and best practice worldwide.

Reynir Grétarsson, CEO of Creditinfo Group, is a firm believer that “Information is the lifeblood of the modern economy.” He advises, “Creditinfo is pleased to be able to provide a worthwhile and unique learning experience.  This is just one of various steps to enhance mutual understanding and best practice within the Credit Industry.  The Creditinfo Academy demonstrates how collaboration can work in practice to achieve improvements in the industry by identifying common data issues and sharing knowledge.  We address a broad range of topical subjects and will continue to take the initiative in the development of new services and processes in the Credit Bureau industry.”

Amongst a few of the more recent external credit industry speakers are representatives from global influential organizations such as Institute of Financial Literacy (Iceland), The Association of Credit for Central and Eastern Europe s.r.o. (Czech Republic), Royal Bank of Scotland (UK) and Microbilt (USA), who have delivered incisive views on a wide range of subjects and shared information about their actual experiences in the credit industry.

The Creditinfo Academy also kicked off 2014 with an inspirational presentation on “Change Management” from Mr. Paul Gauci, a training and development professional from Malta who lectures regularly at the University of Malta and who this year, also celebrates 34 years as Head of Training & Development at the Bank of Valletta.

Almar Hilmarsson, CEO of Creditinfo International, the holding company for Creditinfo, as well as the centre for know-how and service to subsidiaries and customers, advised, “Through the Creditinfo Academy, our Partnership Programmes and Global Forums, we are able to develop & continually improve Creditinfo’s strategy. Our culture of talented individuals working together on a global basis is the engine that helps drive our client’s success, as such we are committed to developing them further.   Equally, the feedback from our customers is paramount, in enabling us to build upon our knowledge base to deliver better results.  We work with numerous organizations worldwide and are able to pass on new ideas and lessons learned from those experiences.”  Continue reading »

Bank of Guyana support Creditinfo Guyana newly launched SeeRisk International Business Report

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Mr. Lawrence Williams, Governor of the Bank of Guyana

On Thursday, March 28, 2014, Creditinfo Guyana formally introduced to Guyana, and the business sector in particular, two new value added products to its existing line of credit reports, where advantage of global opportunities can be taken with greater confidence.

Speaking at the launch, Governor of the Bank of Guyana, Mr. Lawrence Williams (pictured) reiterated the Bank’s support for Creditinfo Guyana and encouraged business entities to utilize the SeeRisk Report which would “provide adequately for informed decision-making, enhance compliance with the AML/CFT* Act, and consequently lend to improved performance and increased assets of the various users”.

He opined that “the undertaking to launch the value added product – SeeRisk Report – to its mainstream business is highly commendable, and moreover shows that Creditinfo is  committed to assisting in strengthening the financial sector, making Guyana attractive to foreign investments and providing meaningful information and data for individuals and companies to safely conduct business transactions with their counterparts in other countries.

The SeeRisk International Business Report offers a powerful decision making mechanism for the facilitation of international business transactions through the provision of financial and credit related information.

It is a comprehensive report that allows for vital and necessary insights to be gained before an entity commences trade with a foreign company or individual.  It helps to effectively countermand the deceptive effects provided merely by an attractive website and offers safeguards against the ease with which a company that exists only in cyberspace can steal away the investment capital of hardworking businessmen.

Access to accurate global business information on demand allows for more informed decisions on offering credit or engaging in any business transaction whether locally or internationally originated.

Continue reading »

Creditinfo Academy in Guyana – working together to improve risk management in the new era of credit bureau

The training was attended by 23 senior representatives from the banking, credit union, retail lending and telco sector.  The goal was to enable participants to gain a better understanding and ability to improve risk management in the new era of credit bureau. Throughout the numerous workshop sessions conducted, the training was interactive, including hands on computer experience extracting credit reports from the Creditinfo Guyana system.

In the first session, attendees learnt that the impact of a credit bureau is  frequently underestimated and the time to act is now, if the lenders do not want to lose out competitively. Naturally, given the government has made a huge investment in changing the law, it is imperative for banks and other lenders to act now to do their part to provide data and change their processes to integrate credit bureau into their processes.

Attendees were shown case studies of the impact in other countries across the world where access to finance had grown considerably and especially for SMEs who are often seen as a motor for growth.  Furthermore, banks have more efficient procedures and control on bad debts which leads to a more stable banking environment.

In the second session, attendees were given a real insight of how they can use credit reports to change the decisions of every loan application.  Individuals and business applicants will be judged objectively on the real evidence of their historical payments removing much of the subjective element.  Working in teams, the attendees were able to discuss the practical issues while on-line to Creditinfo Guyana’s system and credit reports.  Together they shared experiences with their peers from different institutions.  Continue reading »

Customer Service at Creditinfo Lithuania

foto_gerdaaurimas-1Today, the Creditinfo employees received a presentation from 2 of their colleagues at Creditinfo Lithuania, Gerda Venckevičiūtė, Sales and Customer Department Director and  Aurimas Kacinskas, Head of Customer Care Department.  Our two colleagues spoke about how Creditinfo Lithuania approach customer service and work effectively with their customers.

You can watch the presentation video here: Vimeo

 

 

 

 

Contact Gerda at gerda.venckeviciute@creditinfo.lt

 

And Aurimas can be reached at Aurimas.Kacinskas@creditinfo.lt or via Linked In at: www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=8684170