Access to credit by businesses will be key to supporting economic recovery as countries seek to recover from the impact of COVID. As the pandemic moves to the status of an ‘endemic’ in many countries, we have seen Government initiatives providing direct financial support (such as loans) and non-financial support (such for example as payment moratoriums and delaying insolvency actions) being withdrawn. This is likely to result in the financial picture of many businesses looking a lot worse than they are already.

More and more businesses that would have been regarded as credit worthy in the past will struggle to get credit if risk management decisions are based on traditional information sources (such as information from company registers, courts and trade credit). The pandemic has also seen an increase in fraud and cybercrime with the fraudsters and criminals taking advantage of readily available government incentives and the accelerated growth in online trading.

To manage these increased risks, traditional data sources will need to be supplemented with alternative/new data that provides additional insights to ensure that all aspects of risk management of lending to a business including credit granting, fraud prevention and collections continue to be optimal.

This BIIA hosted webinar brings together experts from the information and lending industry to discuss how ‘Alternative Business Information’ is being developed by the industry and used by the lenders to help manage these and other risks.  

Join us on December 8th, 2021 at 08.00 Eastern US (13.00 UK time) to learn about:

  • What do we mean by ‘Alternative Business Information’?
  • What are the possible sources of ‘Alternative Business Information’?
  • Is ‘Alternative Business Information’ a replacement to traditional data or an addition?
  • How and when ‘Alternative Business Information’ could be used?
  • How is this information being used by lenders at the moment?
  • How do you ensure fair and transparent risk management decisions when using ‘Alternative Business Information’?
  • What will be the impact of ‘Alternative Business Information’ on the Business Information ecosystem going forward

Moderator and Host

Neil Munroe, Deputy Managing Director, BIIA and Deputy Chair, International Committee on Credit Reporting (ICCR)

Neil has 35 years of experience in the financial services and credit reporting industries. He is currently Deputy Managing Director of the Business Information Industry Association (BIIA), which is registered in Hong Kong and whose membership consists of over 70 information companies.

Neil is also a founding member of the International Committee on Credit Reporting (ICCR) that is hosted by the World Bank and was personally involved in the creation of the World Bank Principles of Credit Reporting, the recognized standards for the industry. He was elected Deputy Chair in November 2019.

Speakers

David Walters, Chief Data Officer, Creditsafe Group

David Walters is the Chief Data Officer for Creditsafe. David is responsible for driving the data and insights agenda for Creditsafe while ensuring that the company’s data is accessible, reliable, secure and legally compliant protecting the privacy of the data. He is the company’s data strategist and adviser, steward for improving data quality, evangelist for data sharing, data driven innovations and data ethics and standards, and lead technologist for data and analytic automation.

David joined Creditsafe in 2007. From Jan 2018 until his appointment as the Chief Data Officer, David served as the Group Data Director. He remains responsible for overseeing Creditsafe’s advancement of data governance, data stewardship and digital capabilities focused on data and reporting.

Keily Hedger, Head of Recoveries, Funding Circle UK

Keily Hedger leads the Recoveries and Insolvency & Third Party teams at Funding Circle overseeing the management of a c.£400m defaulted loan book to secure and maximise returns on behalf of Funding Circle’s retail and institutional investors. Keily is responsible for:

– formulating and implementing Recoveries strategies to optimise the borrower journey post-default  and drive investor returns.

– overseeing a large team of Recoveries and insolvency professionals in day-to-day servicing of the default book

– managing expectations and interests of multiple external stakeholders in achieving optimum recovery outcomes.

– leading the operation of Funding Circle’s insolvency strategy, including the management of a panel of mid-market leading insolvency and advisory firms appointed to represent the interests of Funding Circle’s investors in formal insolvency matters.

– overseeing the Funding Circle loan portfolio for signs of distress to ensure identification of insolvency or cash flow issues at the earliest opportunity

Keily joined Funding Circle in 2015 to pursue a commercial role following a 10 year period working in Restructuring and Insolvency at Deloitte, gaining experience in both trading and contentious insolvency appointments.

To register to attend the webinar please click here