Creditinfo aims for early launch - jamaicaobserver jahknowpapa.blogspot.com

BY Paul Allen Business reporter allenp@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Creditinfo Jamaica Limited (CJL) is likely to have a mid-year opening, well ahead of March 2013 deadline set by the Finance ministry, said Megan Deane, its CEO.

Reynir Grétarsson

(Chairman)

"We will meet (the mid-year target) if we give it our best", Deane said. The company has already started meeting with financial players to get them on board, just three weeks after getting the go-ahead.

Given the "preparatory work that was done prior to applying for a licence" as a credit bureau, the company is positioned to start offering its services shortly, Deane told the Jamaica Observer.

CJL tells companies whether their customers are likely to repay money they owe, through credit reports, credit scores, insurance searches and financial risk management services.

Reynir Gretarsson, CJL's chairman and director of the Creditinfo Group, arrived in the island on Monday to assist with talks.

Gretarsson's presence will "reinforce that our principals are firmly behind this product", said Deane, adding tha t the Group is willing to commit "whatever resources are needed" to get the company operational.

The company currently has no subscribers, but Deane remains positive that CJL will meet its internal deadline as "everybody is very receptive and we are going out there to get them on board to deliver a quality product with comprehensive data."

Megan Deane

Chief Executive Officer

CJL will stage a CEOs breakfast meeting on Monday to persuade stakeholders and potential partners, said Damion Franklin, its general manager.

"We are on a drive to find subscribers. The industry is ready and we've had similar meetings prior to being registered," he said. "We're licensed now and what we're doing is reengaging those same people as the only (approved) ones who should be accessing their information."

There are no subscribers as yet but Franklin said the bulk of CJL's meetings have been scheduled over the next three weeks, having already met with one organisation. "We are meeting with them to find out what is a suitable arrangement for partnership and collaboration", he said.

Becoming operational will take some time, as there will be some "back and forth with getting information technology systems in place" between CJL and their partners, Franklin said. However, this should not delay the company's intended start date.

Creditinfo Jamaica is a joint venture between Creditinfo Group Hf of Iceland and local partners Coalesce Credit Solutions Limited, that was started by Deane and                       Franklin.

Damion Franklin

Chief Technology Officer

"As long as we can get at least four sets of good data (from partners) we will meet it (the mid-year start)", Deane said. "The more information we have the better the quality will be."

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Finance announced that it had issued the credit bureau licence to CJL under the Credit Reporting Act, which establishes the framework for credit reporting in Jamaica and provides principles for confidentiality, accuracy, relevance and proper utilisation of credit information.

CJL's licence allows it to collect information on a borrower's credit history from lenders and other credit information sources, including banks and hire purchase companies, for a fee, to prospective lenders. The information can only be accessed by the credit bureau for potential lenders with the permission of the related consumer.

CJL is the first entrant in the local credit bureau market that financial institutions, such as the Students' Loan Bureau, have been calling for. The company said it would offer a range of credit reporting solutions and value added data.

Craig Stephen

Chief Operating Officer

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Creditinfo-aims-for-early-launch_11147081#ixzz1qQLEyReG