UAE credit bureau appoints chief

Al Etihad Credit Bureau yesterday appointed a former DIFC official as its chief executive as the unit seeks to speed up preparations for its full launch in 2015.

Al Etihad Credit Bureau yesterday appointed a former DIFC official as its chief executive as the agency seeks to speed up preparations for its full launch in 2015.

Marwan Lutfi will oversee the federal body’s transition from its inception stage to fully fledged operations.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs and the chairman of Al Etihad Credit Bureau, said the appointment “will support operations in terms of developing regulations, processes and human resources in addition to enhancing its ability to develop and create new ideas pertaining to credit reports.”

Mr Lutfi’s efforts “will have a positive impact on the company’s success and will support the organisation in achieving its set goals”.

Intended to reduce lending risks in the banking system and wider economy, the bureau will develop a database of credit scores of borrowers. It began trials in July and credit scoring is expected to be made available next year once enough information has been gathered. Full operations will begin in 2015.

Mr Lutfi was previously deputy chief executive and managing director of business development at the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority. He was also part of the development team that helped to launch DIFC, as well as serving as a principal at Abraaj Capital.

The Ministry of Finance established the Al Etihad Credit Bureau last year as a stand-alone entity with a paid-up capital of Dh200 million. The bureau is owned by the federal Government, although the Central Bank oversees and supervises its operations.