Microfinance credit information bureau inaugurated

Inauguration ceremony of Microfinance Credit Information Bureau (MF-CIB) implemented by Microcredit Regulatory Authority (MRA) with technical support of Bangladesh Bank was held at the auditorium of the International Mother Language Institute.

The Governor of Bangladesh Bank Abdur Rouf Talukder was present as the chief guest and Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah, secretary of the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance was present as the special guest.

Under the presidentship of MRA's Executive Vice Chairman Md Fasiullah also present in this event were officials of various ministries, divisions and agencies including the Ministry of Finance, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Election Commission, PKSF, senior officials of public and private banks, chief executives and officers of microcredit institutions, networking agencies of the microcredit sector, journalists and officials of MRA.

The chief guest Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder inaugurated the Microfinance Credit Information Bureau (MF-CIB) being implemented by MRA and he mentioned in his speech the need of this bureau, poverty alleviation and broadening the scope of financial inclusion and such a step will be considered as a milestone in the growth of the macroeconomy of the country. He mentioned that financial discipline will be established through this and the concerned people will get the benefits.

Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah, secretary of the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance, in his speech as a special guest, said, "As a result of the implementation of MF-CIB, MRA as a regulatory authority took a step forward in building Smart Bangladesh through technological excellence.

"In this era of Fourth Industrial Revolution and IT excellence, it is important for microfinance institutions to automate and digitise their services and operations to suit the needs of the people. In this case, MF-CIB can be one of the best customer screening and selection channels. Technological excellence and service digitization should not be a luxury, it should be a tool that uplifts and includes every citizen on the path to financial inclusion."

Executive Director of Microcredit Regulatory Authority Muhammad Majedul Haque in his welcome speech mentioned that if transparency in financial inclusion is ensured through digitisation in the financial sector, government services can be delivered to the customers swiftly. Over the past decade, MRA has sought to establish a technology-based, acceptable Credit Information Bureau (CIB) for the microfinance sector based on the needs of the microfinance sector, suggestions from researchers, economists and, above all, a sense of responsibility as the guardian of the sector, which was accomplished through today's inauguration ceremony.

The leaders of microfinance institutions and microfinance sector in their speech mentioned the importance of MF-CIB and said that today the microfinance sector has advanced to a unique height through it. They expressed satisfaction with it and assured of ensuring its proper preservation and use.

The executive director (ICT) of Bangladesh Bank spoke in detail about the importance of MF-CIB, technical aspects, information security and cyber security, operation methods and strategies and wished for its success.

MF-CIB is being prepared by verifying the NID of the customer/borrower. The customer information will be verified with a link from the NID database through API (Application Programming Interface). For this MoU has been signed between MRA and NID authority. Implementation of MF-CIB will enable proper selection of customers, verification of creditworthiness and history of customers.

At the same time, it will be easier to facilitate customer financial inclusion, bring transparency to the microfinance sector and remove the constraints of customer access to credit. Facilitating the way of creation of entrepreneurs and establishing the connection of small enterprise loans with the formal financial sector will be easier.