Yangon, Myanmar, November 14, 2014—IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, is providing support to the Central
Bank of Myanmar in the development of a credit reporting enabling
environment, which will improve access to credit for individuals, microentrepreneurs
as well as small and medium enterprises.
This will pave the way for the launch
of at least one credit bureau by June 2016, which will allow lenders to
access borrowers’ credit history, evaluate loan risks, and make lending
decisions more quickly.
About forty officials and representatives
from the Central Bank of Myanmar, related government agencies as well as
Myanmar Banks Association, Credit Bureau Working Group and local banks
are attending the consultation workshop on the draft credit reporting regulation
to be held on November 15 in Nay Pyi Taw. The workshop will collect comments
and suggestions from stakeholders to finalize the regulation, which will
guide the establishment and operations of credit-reporting services providers
in Myanmar.
“IFC is a leader in supporting credit
reporting reforms worldwide and we have seen firsthand the huge benefits
these reforms have brought in the emerging markets,” said Vikram Kumar,
IFC Resident Representative for Myanmar. “Credit bureaus will enable lenders
to access borrowers’ credit history as well as benefit consumers and small
and medium enterprises by making financing more readily available. It will
also strengthen financial stability in the country by reducing multiple
borrowings and avoiding over-indebtedness."
Development of regulations on credit
reporting is part of IFC’s support to the Central Bank of Myanmar over
the next four years, in partnership with the
United Kingdom’s Department for International Development,
to prepare for the effective operations of credit bureaus in the country.
IFC will also help strengthen the Central Bank of Myanmar’s supervisory
capability over the credit reporting services providers and educate the
public on credit reporting and financial consumer protection. A credit
bureau is expected to be operational by June 2016 and serve about three
million credit reporting inquiries by June 2020, which will bridge significant
financing demand in the country. This will also significantly raise the
percentage of Myanmar’s people who are able to access formal financial
services, which stands at 10 percent now and is among the lowest in the
world.
One of IFC’s priorities in Myanmar
is to work with the government and the financial sector to improve access
to finance for microentrepreneurs as well as small and medium enterprises
so that more segments of society can benefit from economic growth. Together
with the World Bank, IFC is supporting the government’s market-oriented
reforms by providing investment and advisory services to strengthen the
private sector, which will in turn create more investments and jobs. Efforts
are also underway to engage the private sector in infrastructure projects
with an initial focus on the power and telecommunications sectors.
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