The federal government company Al Etihad Credit Bureau, the UAE provider of credit reports, has announced that it is operationally ready and prepared to launch its services in line with government directives and the law.

Al Etihad Credit Bureau’s official operational launch will take place once the Bureau’s by-laws have been published in the Official Gazette.

Al Etihad Credit Bureau has completed the final steps of its pre-operational phase, including an intensive security audit of the system, penetration testing and a complete system review. This will set a solid foundation for successful operation and ensure the efficient roll-out of the bureau’s services.

The bureau’s pre-launch phase also included signing agreements with all UAE financial institutions for the submission of credit data to the Bureau, as well as securely connecting all UAE retail banks to the Al Etihad Credit Bureau system.

Marwan Ahmad Lutfi, CEO of Al Etihad Credit Bureau, said: “Al Etihad Credit Bureau has completed all necessary preparations and is ready to go live with the new system and begin operations soon after the by-laws are made public in the Official Gazette.”

“Al Etihad Credit Bureau is striving to set a new global benchmark in the accuracy of credit data capture. This will support the Bureau in its role to provide reliable and thorough credit reports that add significant value to the way risk is assessed in the UAE financial industry.

“Twenty-five lending institutions, which control approximately 96 per cent of the retail credit market according to data submitted to Al Etihad Credit Bureau during Q1 2014, have crossed the Bureau’s credit data accuracy threshold of 93 per cent, and provided information that exceeds international data quality standards,” he added.

Al Etihad Credit Bureau will collect, analyse and circulate credit information for the issuance of high quality, reliable credit information reports, in order to enhance the UAE’s financial and regulatory infrastructure. – TradeArabia News Service