Huge backlog of CIB credit reports

Jasim Uddin Sarker

The Central Information Bureau of the Bangladesh Bank is finding it difficult to deliver reports because of manpower shortage and delay in launching the full-fledged online system, while the number of requests for reports from different banks and financial institutes is increasing.

Sources in the central bank said that at present the CIB has a backlog of over 20,000 inquiries for credit information as it could release only around 3,500 reports a month in response to requests for 5,000-6,000 reports.

As per the existing provisions, if any client of a bank or financial institute wants to take loans worth $725 or Tk 50,000 or more, that bank needs to collect the CIB's report from the central bank to check whether the client is a loan defaulter or has any outstanding loan with any other bank or financial institute, said an official.

'Manpower shortage in the CIB and the delay in launching the full-fledged online system for preparing the reports have resulted in the huge backlog,' he said.

Central bank officials said that the CIB has only 48 permanent staff so 30 interns had been appointed recently to strengthen the department. 'But 10 of the interns left their job recently.'

Although the central bank started providing CIB reports online on a test basis in the fourth quarter of 2010, the full-fledged system is yet to be started.

Under the existing service standard of the central bank, the credit reports are supposed to be supplied to the banks and financial institutions within fifteen working days after receiving the requests.

The banks and financial institutions will be able to collect the CIB reports from the central bank by just one click once the full-fledged online system is launched.

'The BB planned to launch the online system in January and March but failed. Now it is planning to launch the system this month, but it is uncertain whether it will be able to do so,' said a source.

Executive director of the Bangladesh Bank, AHM Kai Khasru, told New Age last week that they were trying to reduce the backlog of CIB reports despite the manpower shortage.

'The online credit information system will be initiated soon. The exact time of the launching cannot be ascertained at present but we are trying our best to launch the system by this month,' he said.

The CIB was set up on 18 August, 1992 by the central bank to prevent credit risk and reduce the number of defaulted loans.

Source: New Age