Port au Prince, Haiti, October 21, 2014
- Haiti’s Central Bank today launched its first credit reporting system, which will allow financial institutions to share credit information and better manage lending risks, thereby expanding access to credit for individual borrowers and small businesses.
“This initiative is consistent with the public policy framework set up by the government to make the business environment more favorable for investment, credit and production”, said Charles Castell, Governor of the Central Bank. “Eventually, this system should contribute to improving the well- being of the people through its impact on the growth of economic, exports, production, employment and tax base “
Haiti’s credit reporting system is a key component of the country’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, which was unveiled this month.
Haiti has approximately 10,000 small and medium-sized businesses and 375,000 microenterprises which are critical to its continued economic recovery. They generate most of the country’s jobs and provide essential goods and services. Yet many do not have the credit needed to grow their businesses. Credit reporting systems are critical to the development of a sound economy. They allow financial institutions and other creditors to share credit information, better assess lending risks, and ultimately make loans more widely available for individuals and small and medium-sized businesses.
The Central Bank developed the credit reporting system in collaboration with IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. IFC provided technical assistance funded in part by $1.2 million from the Global SME Finance Initiative, a program which supports financial inclusion in emerging markets. The World Bank helped Haiti’s government develop the appropriate legal and regulatory framework to establish the system. In addition, the Inter-American Development Bank provided $1 million in funding for the project.
“Less than a third of Haitians have a bank account at a formal financial institution such as a bank or credit cooperative,” said Ary Naim, IFC Country Head for Haiti. “Through close collaboration with Haiti’s Central Bank, IFC, the World Bank and other development partners are helping to lay the foundations for a more inclusive financial system in Haiti to benefit individuals, entrepreneurs and the economy at large.”
