FAB Properties first to use Credit Bureau data to assess tenants’ ability to pay rent on time

It is the first real estate company in Abu Dhabi to subscribe to Al Etihad Credit Bureau's credit score services

Jasim Al Ali, chief executive of FAB Properties left, and Marwan Lutfi, chief executive of AECB. FAB Properties said the bureau's credit services will help the company assess “the risk associated withShow more

FAB Properties is the first Abu Dhabi real estate agent to use Al Etihad Credit Bureau’s credit data to assess a prospective tenant’s ability to pay the rent on time.

The property company's adoption of AECB's credit reports, scores and indicators highlights how the bureau's reach is growing as more companies –outside of the UAE banks and financial companies already integrated and dependent on the organisation's credit data – use its services to assess the creditworthiness of customers.

FAB Properties said the tie-up will help manage risks in the tenancy application and renewal processes, because “credit scoring is common in mature markets and plays a key role in a company’s decision-making process”, according to Jasim Al Ali, the property company's chief executive.

AECB was established in November 2014 to bring transparency to the lending industry by assembling a credit record of the nation’s financially-active residents. It does this by harvesting credit data including loan, mortgage, credit card and phone bill payments.

Abu Dhabi headquartered FAB Properties, which manages both residential and commercial property across the UAE, said the credit data will help it assess “the risk associated with tenants fulfilling their payment obligations”.

Marwan Lutfi, chief executive of AECB, said the bureau was glad it could “showcase the value of credit reports, scores and indicators in industries beyond financial services”.

“Our data insights on individual and company payment behaviour is applicable to any industry that provides products or services against a promise to pay in the future,” he added.

After going live with credit reports, AECB launched credit scores for individuals – a three-digit number between 300 and 900 that represents a borrower's creditworthiness – in April 2017. Its app, unveiled in November last year, helps customers access their credit data digitally.

At the time of the app launch, Mr Lutfi told The National that 71 financial and non-financial companies were supplying data to AECB, including telecom and utility companies. Mr Lutfi added that the bureau's reach would grow further as more organisations report to the bureau with future credit reports to include court data, rents and even salaries to ensure a resident's payment obligations are fully transparent to lenders.