Fate of Al Etihad Credit Bureau is in banks’ hands, says NBAD chief

Credit bureau has started issuing consumer credit reports to banks and financial institutions that have subscribed to access its system.

Real Madrid’s president Florentino Perez, centre, Alex Thursby, the chief executive of National Bank of Dhabi, left and Abdulla bin Khalaf Al Otaiba, NBAD’s senior general manager of domestic banking,Show more

MADRID // The chief of Abu Dhabi’s biggest bank has said it is up to the industry to make the new credit bureau work.

Alex Thursby, the chief executive of National Bank of Dhabi (NBAD), said the introduction of information sharing among banks would ultimately be good news for customers with sound credit histories.

“It is up to us to make it work,” he said in Madrid. “What will evolve will be much more focus on those customers who have a great track record, and they will be able to ultimately reap the reward.”

Al Etihad Credit Bureau has started issuing consumer credit reports to banks and financial institutions that have subscribed to access its credit reporting system. The fledgling credit bureau, which should ultimately help banks to better regulate their lending risks and reward those who do not default on debts with better interest rates, said that the credit reports would include the debt obligations of customers and their payment behaviour patterns for the past two years.

“This is a revelation,” he said. “It will allow more segmentation. Banks will have to adjust.”

Mr Thursby made his remarks as the bank signed a three-year partnership deal with the European champions Real Madrid, making NBAD the football club's official sponsor in the UAE.

NBAD becomes the latest UAE lender to announce a marketing tie-up with a top-flight European football club as banks seek to widen their customer appeal and stand out in a crowded domestic banking market.

“We see the partnership very much in the sense of helping us broaden our penetration into a number of customer bases and communities,” said Mr Thursby.

He declined to disclose the value of the deal, but said “it’s more aggressive than any other player in our part of the world”.

Emirates NBD in April launched a co-branded Manchester United debit card and a savings account that links interest paid to the number of goals the team scores.

Real Madrid’s La Liga rivals, Barcelona, have also struck their own card partnership deal with United Arab Bank.

Other high-profile sporting sponsorships from UAE companies include Etihad Airways sponsoring Manchester City and Emirates Airline sponsoring Arsenal.

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