21 Oct 2011 17:38

Experian-Interfax credit bureau in Russia to be renamed United Credit Bureau

The Experian-Interfax credit bureau was renamed United Credit Bureau with effect from October 20, 2011.
Renaming marks another stage in the bureau‘s reorganization, which is expected to be generally finalized in early 2012, when Infocredit becomes part of the United Credit Bureau and ceases to exist as an independent legal entity.
The Experian-Interfax credit bureau was formed in 2004 and is now one of Russia‘s largest and fastest-growing credit bureaus. In experts‘ estimate, its market share grew from 9% to 21.3% in 2010. It has maintained a fast pace of growth in 2011 with the number of entries increasing by almost 40%, exceeding 50 million in the first nine months of the year.
The joint venture combines the capabilities of Sberbank, Russia‘s largest bank, Experian, the world‘s largest credit bureau operator, and Russia‘s leading news agency Interfax and its SPARK system.
"Credit bureaus have become a major part of the lending infrastructure in Russia and renaming the joint venture United Credit Bureau reflects the strong partnership between Sberbank, Experian and Interfax," Daniel Zelenski, Director General at United Credit Bureau, commented.
"Experian and its partners are committed to providing world-class credit data and analytics to support the growing needs of the Russian financial services industry. Through this strategic partnership we have opened up data access for creditors and renaming of the bureau reflects the spirit of partnership and co-operation between our companies," Rick Gallagher, Chief Investment Officer at Experian, said.
"The Experian-Interfax - Infocredit merger has combined two systems which rank among the largest on the Russian market, and also brought the bureau‘s business to an unprecedented level, giving it a powerful push. We plan to use our competitive advantages to increase our market share further," Denis Bugrov, Vice President at Sberbank, said.