Vietnam’s first private credit information center debuts

July 19, 2010, 8:16 PM (GMT+7)


HANOI – PCB Investment Joint Stock Co. on Friday launched Vietnam’s first private credit information center designed to facilitate access to credit information for the private sector in the country.
With the facility in service, people and private businesses can gain access to credit information at more than 20 commercial banks.
PCB was formed in 2007 by 11 Vietnamese commercial banks including Asia Commercial Bank, ABBank, VietinBank, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), DongA, Techcombank, Vietcombank, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), Vietnam International Bank (VIB) and VPBank.
The company, which has total chartered capital of VND50 billion, is 70% owned by the 11 banks while their strategic Italian partner CRIF S.p.A holds a 20% stake under an agreement signed on the same day. To hold such as stake, CRIF has pledged to supply equipment and technology for PCB to provide international standard credit information for customers.
The deal between PCB and CRIF comes after nearly two years of negotiations and with the assistance of International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank.
PCB plans to sell the remaining 10% stake to another strategic partner.
The Government and the central bank earlier this year issued documents to build a legal framework for credit information service in Vietnam.
Vietnam has over 86 million people and 480,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) but only 5% of people and 30% of SMEs have credit transactions with banks due to lack of information.
“This is a low ratio while in Thailand and Malaysia it ranges from 70% to 80%,” said PCB chairwoman Le Thi Kim Nga.
Carlo Gherardi, chief executive officer of CRIF, said the credit information center was expected to give necessary information for individuals and SMEs and help banks better manage and prevent risks.
CRIF, established in 1988, has credit information centers in Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
With 51 commercial banks Vietnam will have a maximum of two such centers, excluding the Credit Information Center under the central bank, according to Government Decree 10.

The Saigon Times Daily