Bangladesh Bank has issued Letters of Intent to five firms to establish the country’s first private credit bureaus, a step officials say will modernize lending and expand access to credit. The firms have one year to build infrastructure before applying for final licenses.
The selected companies are Creditinfobd, backed by the United Kingdom; TransUnion, backed by the United States; First National Credit, backed by U.S. and Saudi investors; City Credit, sponsored by City Bank; and bKash Credit, sponsored by bKash. TransUnion and bKash will operate jointly.
Under government guidelines issued in June 2024, applicants must have at least $920,000 in paid-up capital. Credit bureaus will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate credit histories for individuals and businesses.
Experts said the initiative will reduce defaults, lower lending risks, and encourage digital lending, but stressed that strict safeguards are needed to prevent misuse of personal data.