On November 30-December 1, 2011 – IFC (International Finance Corporation) and the “Information-Rating Agency SAIPRO” with support of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan are conducting two-day seminar-conference “Re-Engineering of Finance through Automation Tools, Scoring Solutions and Credit Bureaus" in Tashkent.

The event aims to prepare financial organizations to effectively use credit bureaus services and assisting them in further improvement of financial process in the country.

The Law “On credit information exchange” was adopted in Uzbekistan this October and created robust legislative base for further development of the credit bureaus. Credit bureaus will play a major role in further sustainability of financial system in Uzbekistan.

The leading international credit bureaus are interested in involvement to Uzbekistan’s market. Organizers of seminar-conference invited international credit bureaus CRIF (Italy) и CreditInfo Solutions (Iceland) to deliver reports about actual issues of credit information exchange.

In the framework of the seminar-conference representatives of the CRIF and CreditInfo Solutions demonstrated a credit bureau scoring, its development and effective assessment of potential borrowing capacity. Also, the speakers covered questions regarding the automation of financial and decision-making process.

“In accordance with the international practice, implementation of scoring and automation tools allows to improve access to finance and increase a volume of finance under simultaneously decreasing of operational expenses and non-performing loans, improving efficiency of banking lending practice and quality of lending portfolio", - said Fabrizio Fraboni, IFC Global Credit Bureau Program’s Expert.

Over 80 representatives from the commercial banks, microfinance organizations, leasing and insurance companies, as well as the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, ministries and state agencies, international organizations and other interested parties took part in the event.

“Today's seminar-conference is being held following adoption of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On credit information exchange". The event is aimed at improving credit information exchange to increase transparency of lending process and improve financial discipline of borrowers," - said Ravshan Djuraev, General Director of “Information-Rating Agency SAIPRO”. “We are confident that this seminar-conference will enable specialists of the financial sector to learn international best practices on credit information exchange and credit bureaus’ operations. It will serve as a valuable experience in creating of credit bureaus in Uzbekistan."

It is expected that new knowledge will help financial intermediaries to better use credit bureau’s capacity as it is indicated in the recently adopted Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On credit information exchange” and expand their financial services for SMEs and individual clients.

This initiative is part of the IFC Azerbaijan-Central Asia Financial Markets Infrastructure Advisory Services Project implemented in partnership with the Government of Switzerland. The Project aims to strengthen financial markets in the region by developing effective credit information sharing and introducing formal risk management education and certification for financial institution employees.

About IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. IFC helps developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, IFC helped its clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities—all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

About SECO

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is the Swiss Confederation's competence center for all the core issues related to economic policy. Its aim is to create basic regulatory and economic policy conditions to enable business to flourish and benefit all. SECO also represents Switzerland in large multilateral trade organizations and international negotiations, and is involved in efforts to reduce poverty and help developing countries with transition economies build sustainable democratic societies and viable market economies. Each year, Switzerland spends about 1.9 billion Swiss francs on development cooperation and transition assistance to countries. For more information about SECO, please visit www.seco.admin.ch

About “IRA SAIPRO”

“Information rating agency SAIPRO” operates in the field of information, financial research and ratings. The Agency owns printed, electronic, television media, which are mainly oriented on financial and economic information. The agency also provides rating services for all types of financial institutions conducting regular surveys of the financial markets of the country and organizes international activities in this area.