By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

CIBC FirstCaribbean is now a member of the CRIF credit bureau in The Bahamas, a move it says will mean more accurate credit assessment.

CRIF Information Services Bahamas (the Credit Bureau) was licensed in 2019 and started operations a year later. It is supervised by the Bahamas Central Bank and is an affiliate of CRIF, a global company specialising in credit bureau and business information, outsourcing and processing services, and credit solutions, operating in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.

Jacqui Bend, managing director of CIBC FirstCaribbean said: “CIBC FirstCaribbean is delighted to be a part of the credit bureau as this will undoubtedly be a key enabler to support our lending infrastructure. It will facilitate a more overall accurate credit assessment of customers ultimately leading to a more balanced access to credit.”

Membership in the credit bureau will also reduce the need for guarantees or pledges, while lowering the chances of over-indebtedness. It will also allow the bank to shape credit offerings uniquely to the borrower’s situation, she said.

While stressing credit information is protected by law and will be held in the strictest confidence, Ms Bend noted a credit report was extremely important in ensuring “a complete, accurate and certified view of your debt situation and can even lead to access to even more credit than would have been available in the absence of a report”.

Ms Bend said the credit history of a borrower was integral to enabling the bank and other lenders to truly know the customer and so offer them the financial solution that best suits their overall situation and ensures that customers do not over-extend themselves by obtaining credit that they cannot afford.