21 Sep 2004 10:18

EXPERIAN AND INTERFAX TO LAUNCH RUSSIAN CREDIT BUREAU

Experian, a leading global information solutions company, and Interfax Information Services Group, one of Russia’s top providers of information and services to the financial market, have today announced plans to work together on a 50:50 joint venture to establish a credit bureau for consumers and businesses in Russia.

The new business will be known as Experian Interfax and will be based in Moscow.
«The consumer economy is growing strongly in Russia, with demand for credit from consumers and businesses rising rapidly in parallel,» said Roger Aubrook, Director of Experian International. «At the same time, the legal infrastructure in Russia is developing quickly, making the sharing of credit data possible for the first time. Credit bureaux are key enablers for the growth and quality of consumer credit portfolios, whilst protecting the privacy and credit exposure of individual consumers.»
«Being the pioneers of credit bureaux in the US and UK, we have been working closely with lenders, governments and regulators for many years. Over this period, the predictiveness of decision making solutions has been enhanced by the introduction of shared credit information via credit bureaux, resulting in better risk management for lenders in those markets and, therefore, improved profitability».
«We have already seen significant growth this year in our client base for banking decision support software in Russia and that tells us it is now the right time to take the next step and establish the credit bureau».
«By putting Experian’s international know-how and experience together with Interfax’s local resources, client contacts and market knowledge, we feel we have a winning combination for the Russian market.»
«The participation of a leading global information solutions company in the development of Russia‘s credit bureau clearly indicates the maturity of the market,» said Mikhail Komissar, Chairman of the Board of the Interfax Group. «The credit bureau will encourage strong, stable growth in the retail credit market».
«Experian‘s involvement in the project ensures that the credit bureau will operate to the highest international standards, using the most modern and reliable technology».
«We believe that the creation of a credit bureau is the next logical step for Interfax Group—which includes Moody’s Interfax Rating Agency, the leading Russian rating agency; SPARK, the most comprehensive analytical database on Russian corporate information; and the Financial News Agency (Interfax-FNA), our business intelligence unit,» said Mr Komissar.
NOTES TO EDITORS
***Experian

Experian is a global leader in providing information solutions to organisations and consumers. It helps organisations find, develop and manage profitable customer relationships by providing information, decision-making solutions and processing services. It empowers consumers to understand, manage and protect their personal information and assets.
Experian works with more than 40,000 clients across diverse industries, including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, retail and catalogue, automotive, manufacturing, leisure, utilities, property, e-commerce and government. Experian is a subsidiary of GUS plc and has headquarters in Nottingham, UK, and Costa Mesa, California. Its 13,000 people support clients in more than 60 countries. Annual sales exceed £1.3 billion.
Experian already owns and operates credit bureaux in 11 international markets, including the UK and the US.
For more information, visit the company‘s web site on www.experian.com.

The word ‘Experian‘ is a registered trademark in the EU and other countries and is owned by Experian Ltd and/or its associated companies.


***Interfax Information Services Group

Interfax Information Service Group has been the leading provider of information products and services essential for political and business decision-making in Russia and the CIS since the start of the 1990s. The Group is the most often cited Russian news agency in international media reports on the region, and one of the world‘s most frequently quoted sources of real-time information. In recent years, Interfax has also developed into a leading provider of news from China and the emerging markets of Europe.
Interfax Group includes about 30 companies throughout Russia, the CIS, China and in Central and Eastern Europe.
Interfax Group offers over 100 specialised information publications in Russian, Kazakh, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Azeri, English and German, and provide unique information services, including analytical databases and information trading systems. One of the Group‘s highest-demand products is SPARK, Russia‘s largest analytical database of corporate information.
For more information, visit the company‘s web site on www.interfax.com.