Phnom Penh (VNA) - CreditBureau Cambodia (CBC) and Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) have launched the firstcross-border initiative between the two sides, according to Khmer Times.

The official launch was held at a recentsigning ceremony at the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay in Singapore.

This initiative makes itpossible for members of CBS and CBC, such as financial institutions, uponobtaining an individual’s consent, to request the individuals’ credit reportswhere the individual has made an application for a credit facility with thatfinancial institution, or has applied for a job with the financial institutionwhich under the Fit and Proper criteria has to perform the necessary employmentscreenings.

With the credit dataobtained, financial institutions will be able to make more thorough assessmentsof an individual’s creditworthiness before extending credit facilities to themand access credit reports for background screening when onboarding hirespreviously based in Singapore or Cambodia.

Chea Serey, DeputyGovernor of the National Bank of Cambodia and Chairwoman of CBC, said it iscommendable that the National Bank of Cambodia and the Monetary Authority ofSingapore thought out of the box with an open mindset to empower the consumersto take control over their credit file across the borders.

The two credit bureaus have put inincredible efforts to be able to launch this collaboration that can bring significantbenefits to a large number of businesses and individuals from both Cambodia andSingapore unlocking opportunities for them, she said, expressing her hope that thecollaboration can be expanded to credit bureaus in other ASEAN countries to betterrealise a seamless ASEAN.

William Lim, ExecutiveDirector of CBS, noted his belief that this new initiative will help build amore robust credit management system for both bureaus.

He also hope it will pave the wayfor other bilateral collaborations to empower their members’ risk assessmentcapabilities when the right regulatory conditions are present./.