Photo handout to DNE
The Egyptian Credit Bureau, I-Score, has a database of approximately 10.1 million clients, out of which 9.954 million are individuals and 139,600 are medium and small companies, according to the company’s Managing Director Mohamed Refaat.
During an interview with Daily News Egypt, Refaat explained that approximately 92 entities, including 41 banks, the Social Fund for Development (SFD), 10 leasing companies, and nine real estate financing companies, are working in the field of credit granting.
How was I-Score established?
I-Score was established on 5 September 2015, under the name of the Egyptian Credit Bureau. Twenty-five banks participated in the company’s capital, in addition to the SFD. The paid capital for the company amounted to EGP 30m, distributed on stocks of EGP 7.5m, where the value of each stock is EGP 4.
Why was the company established?
The company offers consulting services and credit rating. This includes collecting all information about clients, from lenders, forming official and accredited records to include this information, its analysis, tabulation and classification. The company also forms indicators of creditworthiness for lenders, individuals or entities, in order to set a correct credit history.
The company also provides financial advice, scientific solutions, and specialised consultations for individuals and entities who would like to improve their creditworthiness. The company also provides information services, related service products, and other updated services for all concerned entities in Egypt, in accordance with the bank accounts security policy.
What are the most prominent services offered by I-Score in the market?
I-Score offers many products, the most important of which are Consumer Credit Report, Credit Report SME, Credit Scoring, Portfolio Review, MIS Reports, and Comparison Peer-MIS Reports.
We also offer Account Monitoring, NID Matching, Application Scoring, Verification Signature, Suspected Cases Inquires, Score Link between NID & I, Bankruptcy, P2P service, and Self Inquiry via PKI.
We also established the infrastructure of other products, including Self Inquiry via Bank Portals and Credit Score via ATMs.
The company also offers some value-added products to its companies and bank members like Reports, Account Monitoring, Signature Verification, Portfolio Review, Scoring Application, Bankruptcy, and NID Inquiry. Some products are still under study, like the Negative List development, BASEL II Compliance, Collection services, and the Registry Collatera.
What entities benefit from I-Score services?
Ninety-two entities benefit from the services, including 41 banks, the Social Fund for Development, 10 financial leasing companies, nine real estate financing companies, and a number of other companies working in credit grants. I-Score seeks to attract more institutions to its services.
How big is the company’s database?
By the start of 2015, the company’s database was at 10.1 million clients, 9.954 million of which are individuals and 139,600 are small and medium-sized companies.
The company also offers credit reports on individuals who have credit without a maximum limit and on small and medium-sized companies with credit of a maximum of EGP 1m.
What data is included in the credit report issued by the company?
It includes information related to creditworthiness, which helps credit granters evaluate credit exposure better and more objectively. It also helps limit bad debt and increase credit volume.
The data obtained from these entities passes through several phases, in order to be sure that the main data regarding the client’s credit transactions is complete. The national ID has to be included. This is in accordance with the best international applications. I-Score organises and registers this information, to be used in the future. Information is saved in credit records for five years.
The credit record includes the client’s full name, individuals’ national ID, the number of the commercial registry for the medium and small companies, the date when the loan was obtained, the total loan amount, the loan instalments’ repayment, the repayment pattern (committed or not committed to the repayment of the loan).
What is the importance of the credit record?
When the client requests a loan from a bank or any other entity which offer loans, the lender needs to find a method by which it could get its money back. It also tries to estimate the risks that could be faced after providing the “Credit Risk” loan. If the client’s credit record shows that he is committed to repay his loans on time, he would be a desirable customer to deal with. The client can obtain a version of his credit record in order to know whether it contains negative information, which might be an obstacle for him to obtain a loan.
Is the client’s information available to all?
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is responsible for setting regulations to organise the activities of the credit bureau companies and for supervising them to protect the client’s rights. Dealing with the customers’ information is totally confidential. Customers’ information is only revealed to the lending entities, from which the customer have requested a loan. This is in accordance with the CBE’s rules and regulations.
Does I-Score participate in the decision to approve or refuse offering the credit?
I-Score does not participate neither in the approval nor the refusal of the credit request. We only present a real image for the customer’s credit history to lenders. Lenders then revise the provided information and take their independent decision in accordance with their own policy.
What about the latest news about the Nile Company for credit rating? Why was it established?
The Nile Company is a shareholder company which works in accordance with Law 159/1981, with a capital that amounts to EGP 20m. I-Score owns 74.26% of its shares and the rest is equally distributed among 22 banks, with 1.14% for each bank. It is expected that the company’s activities will be launched in the final quarter of this year.
I-Score established the Nile Company for credit rating to help medium and small companies obtain their needed funding in an easier way, at reasonable profits. In addition, it has credibility amongst partners, customers and suppliers.
