IFC (World Bank Group) Helps Increase Access to Credit in the Kyrgyz Republic

IFC (World Bank Group) Helps Increase Access to Credit in the Kyrgyz Republic

The IFC (World Bank Group) is helping the Kyrgyz Republic undertake a series of reforms to strengthen the country’s financial infrastructure and boost access to finance for borrowers, including small and medium enterprises.

Since 2009, IFC’s advisory services team, part of the World Bank Group’s Finance and Markets Global Practice, has been working with the credit bureau CIB Ishenim to help it operate its business more sustainably. With that support, the credit bureau was transformed from a noncommercial to a commercial entity in 2014 and, earlier this year, obtained its first license from the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, the country’s central bank.

Earlier this month, CIB Ishenim also signed an agreement with Creditinfo Solutions, a leading service provider for credit information and risk management solutions worldwide, allowing it to become a shareholder in CIB Ishenim.

“The investment agreement between CIB Ishenim and Creditinfo Solutions will help take our credit reporting system to the next level,” said Tolkunbek Abdygulov, Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. “It will help CIB Ishenim better cater to the information requirements of commercial lenders, improving their efficiency and contributing to a more modern and stable financial market in the country.”