Sberbank, ExperianandInterfaxhavecompletedcreationofUnitedCreditBureau.
Sberbank, Experian and Interfax have announced closing of the deal for establishment of United Credit Bureau (UCB) on the basis of Experian-Interfax and Infocredit credit bureaus.
In the new bureau, Sberbank got 50% shares, and Experian and Interfax – 25% each. UCB is created on the basis of Experian-Interfax CB, with which Infocredit bureau, owned by Sberbank, was consolidated.
“Two years of the bureau development have confirmed the correctness of our strategy for formation of a dynamic market entity, capable of becoming the leader of the Russian market. The united bureau for two years has built up the credit history database by more than 6 times, whereas the number of banks’ requests to the bureau database has increased by ten times”, - said Vice-President, Head of the Risk’s Department of Sberbank Vadim Kulik.
Currently, the UCB database comprises data on 33 m borrowers who have 65 m loans.
Within the previous year, the database grew by 22 m credit histories. Due to increased activity of banks who are UCB clients, the number of bureau requests in 2011 exceeded 27 m, which is 3 times more than in 2010.
“The United Credit Bureau has shown its ability to develop ahead of the market both through increasing the volume and quality of data and launching new innovative services meeting growing requirements of the banks. All this allowed our clients to enhance the quality and increase the speed of making lending decisions”, – commented Rick Gallagher, Chief Investment Officer and Director of Global Strategy and Development, Experian.
In 2011, United Credit Bureau introduced second-generation bureau scoring, and through Experian started providing banks with credit portfolio monitoring services, and launched the Experian’s National Hunter project for application fraud prevention.
“We place our stake on further brisk development of the credit information market in Russia. The lending market is growing, as well as the number of entities who need credit information –collectors or cellular service providers among them. Borrowers are expected to be using the bureau more actively, too. All this allows us to forecast rapid growth of bureau indicators in the nearest years”, – said Chairman of the Board of Directors of Interfax Group Mikhail Komissar.
The bureau business plan for 2012 – 14 envisages a substantial increase in the share of the bureau revenue generated by new services. UCB also plan significant growth of investments in development of the bureau technological capability.
*** Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft. Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2011 was US$4.2 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 41 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and São Paulo, Brazil.
For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com
*** United Credit Bureau(Experian-Interfax Credit Bureau) was established in 2004 and is one of the three largest Russia’s credit bureaus. The bureau brings together the capabilities of Sberbank, major Russian credit institution, Experian, global credit bureau leader, and Interfax, chief Russian information agency and creator of SPARK, Russia’s leading information system for assessing corporate credit risks. The bureau ranks among its customers more than 200 banks and mobile phone operators. The bureau is number one in the field of developing credit risk assessment services, inclusive of scorings, and in fraud prevention.
For more information on the United Credit Bureau please visit www.bki-okb.ru
*** Sberbank of Russia is the largest bank in Russia, accounting for about 27% of the aggregate Russian banking assets and employing about 240,000 people. Sberbank’s founder and major shareholder is the Bank of Russia holding over 60% of voting shares. The bank’s other shareholders comprise more than 245,000 legal entities and individuals. The bank has the largest countrywide branch network with 17 regional head offices and more than 19,000 outlets as well as subsidiary banks in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus, a branch in India, and representative offices in Germany and China. The bank holds the general banking licence No.1481 issued by the Bank of Russia.
The official website is www.sberbank.ru
*** Interfax is the largest diversified information group in the CIS and is acknowledged as the leader of the Russian information market in the B2B segment. It set out in 1989 when a group of journalists established an information agency, which became the firstnon-government channel of political and economic information about the Soviet Union. Today Interfax provides political and economic news, fundamental and stock data, professional solutions for risk management, marketing, Investor Relations and PR. The structure of the Group comprises a network of national, regional and sector information agencies working in Russia, throughout the former Soviet Union and China. Interfax clients include Russian and foreign government structures, companies and banks, financial market participants and investors and major Russian and international media outlets.
The official website is www.interfax.ru