Cambodia Investment Review
Credit Bureau Cambodia (CBC) has celebrated a decade since it established a credit reporting system in Cambodia highlighting the bureau’s responsible financial inclusion and sustainable economic growth as well as its developing data analytics-driven decision-making ecosystem.
To celebrate the event CBC hosted a Gala Dinner at Sofitel Phnom Penh in the presence of H.E. Ouk Maly the Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia and H.E. Dr Chea Serey the Chairwoman of CBC and Assistant Governor and Director General of Central Banking, National Bank of Cambodia.
Distinguished officials from NBC, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, key ministries along with leaders from CBC’s 181 member financial institutions joined the event to congratulate CBC on its 10-year-long journey of impact on the Cambodian financial sector.
Dr Chea Serey said: “Bringing all citizens and businesses under the credit reporting system to promote responsible financial inclusion and sustainable economic growth is a key commitment under CBC’s roadmap.
“As we step into the next decade, CBC envisions enabling a cross-border credit reporting framework to enable access to finance without geographical boundaries. We believe that in the years ahead, CBC can tap a range of alternative data sources through collaborations with utilities, telecom and payment companies,” she added.
Responsible financial inclusion and sustainable economic growth
Over the last decade, CBC has been able to make a significant impact on stabilizing the financial sector. Credit reporting has played an essential role in bridging information gaps between lender and borrower to quickly assess credit risks and make loan decisions, enabling access to finance.
As an important part of the financial infrastructure in the Kingdom, CBC has constantly and progressively innovated to leverage emerging technologies to meet the increased needs of member financial institutions.
CBC was established in March 2012, and licensed by the National Bank of Cambodia with the goal of improving credit risk assessment, and enabling a fair, transparent and well-managed credit market for the financial institutions in the country. CBC has grown over over the last decade by expanding its membership from 51 members in 2012 to 181 in 2022.
On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, CBC also organized a Business Forum with the theme “Credit Risks, Emerging Uncertainties and Digital Disruptions”. Senior leaders from the financial industry shared their insights on the evolution and adaptation of credit market amidst crisis and economic uncertainty using technological advancements.
Data analytics-driven decision-making ecosystem
Today, CBC stands as an enabler of data analytics-driven decision-making ecosystem promoting credit risk management through a range of business intelligence, data analytics and predictive analytics solutions for loan application assessment, portfolio monitoring and strategic analysis.
After launching a new generation of Data Analytics Report (DAR) and K-Score in 2020, CBC launched the country’s first Credit Risk Heat Map that is available to all its members.
To read more about “alternative data” as a solution to widening financial inclusion click here.
During the Gala Dinner celebrations of the 10th anniversary, the National Bank of Cambodia handed over appreciation certificate to CBC for its contributions towards credit risk management, credit market transparency and financial inclusion.
During the ceremony, CBC also handed awards to 10 member financial institutions who performed with excellence in data quality, data contribution, industry collaboration and data innovations.
CBC has a strong commitment towards society and people
Mr Oeur Sothearoath, CEO of CBC said: “During this journey of ten years, we have offered a modern and secure reporting and analytics infrastructure to our member financial institutions to enable an efficient and transparent credit market. Our vision for the next decade will be to truly enable a frictionless decision-making environment for our members with data and technology at their fingertips.”
To read CIR Leader Talks with Oeur Sothearoath click here.
CBC has a strong commitment towards society and people. On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, CBC launched CBC Scholarship Scheme as a unique example of industry-academia collaboration with the Royal University of Phnom Penh and the Royal University of Law and Economics to prepare future job-ready graduates in Data Science, Economics and Management.
To read more about the CBC Scholarship Scheme click here.
CBC’s Employee Innovation Programme, which is an open platform for its employees to contribute ideas for the company’s growth and development, is currently running in its second year.