OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2009. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) with consulting assistance of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has completed drafting the Bill on Credit Bureaus.

Rashad Orujev, the director of the CBA Credit Institutions Supervision Department, says that the Bill is ready and will be submitted soon for inter-department co-ordination.

“We intend to conduct repeated consideration of the Bill and submit it for inter-department co-ordination. Then it will be introduced into Milli Majlis. I think that the Bill on Credit Bureaus will be passed in Azerbaijan next year,” he said.

Earlier the IFC expressed readiness to help Azerbaijan with establishment of credit bureaus.

Currently Central Credit Register is operating under the CBA. The Register is divided into two groups: positive debtors and negative debtors. At present the majority of data relates to individuals. As per quantity of negative debtors, individuals prevail as well.

Now the domestic banks have an opportunity to receive and transfer information on debtors online. If earlier the banks had access to information on their former debtors, then now they are able to receive information on persons applied to the bank for the first time thanks to the Law on E-Signature. Now a row of banks are migrated into the system that requires definite works done in banks’ information system.

In the prospect it is expected to develop credit register up to the level of credit bureau with its activity expansion and possible privatization.

CCR still operates under the CBA, but the latter is ready to give authority of its management to commercial banks. That depends on banks’ readiness. At present there are directions to develop CCR: introduction of created post banks and non-bank credit institutions into its system, creation of the interface with communal institutions etc. that demands additional investments.

Azerbaijan can also adopt dedicated Law on Credit Histories that will allow increasing of credit bureau effectiveness, transparency and control on crediting activity.

CCR commissioned on January 3, 2005 was created in accordance with the Law on Banks and all Azeri commercial banks have to submit information to the register which its services may be used only by Azeri banks and their branches in Azerbaijan. CCR covers whole private information of banks, borrowers, owners of large stake packages, loans and pledges. CCR presents closed informational system with entrance by password. Submission of information for register will be in real mode and by request. Access to information is chargeable: AZN 1.1 per request, AZN 2.2 for legal entities.

Norway Registers Develoрment was consultant on CCR creation and R.I.S.K. Company was the executor. Financing of CCR creation was realized at the expense of WBG for Financial Sector Technical Assistance. Contract’s sum was USD 190,000.

Information on individual’s credit operations from AZN 1,000 and legal entities (from AZN 5,000) is included into CCR. CCR takes into account information on individuals’ card credit operations at the size of from AZN 10,000.