Licensing of Credit Reference Bureau

BSD FORM LQCB.
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BANK OF GHANA
BANKING SUPERVISION DEPARTMENT

GUIDELINES FOR CREDIT REFERENCE BUREAU LICENCE

By authority vested in the Bank of Ghana (BOG) under section 1 of the
Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726), the following guidelines are hereby
issued for the licensing of credit reference bureaux in Ghana:

1. Restricting Eligibility to Corporate Bodies

No person other than a body corporate incorporated in Ghana shall
be eligible to apply for a licence to engage solely in credit reference
bureau activities in Ghana.

No person(s) shall engage in credit reference bureau activities in
Ghana except by or under the authority of licence issued in
accordance with the Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726).

No licence would be granted for the operation of a credit reference
bureau, if a financial institution or a debt collection agency has ten
(10) per cent or more of the voting rights in the proposed credit
reference bureau.

2. Application for Licence

An application for a licence to operate a credit reference bureau in
Ghana shall be made in writing to the BOG and accompanied by
the following:

i. Certified true copies of the Regulations, and certificate of
incorporation or other Instrument relating to the proposed
business.

ii. Documents that support the value of applicants capital base as
well as sources of funds

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iii. A feasibility study by the applicants company that shows the
business plan, organisational structure, and internal monitoring
procedures of the company and information on the following:

a. Mission statement and goals
b. Market analysis
c. Ownership structure
d. Governance structure
e. Management structure
f. A description of projected investments
g. Projected financial statements for a minimum of three
years
h. Analysis of profitability
i. Business Continuity Plan

iv. Details of applicants shareholder(s), directors and other
officers

v. A description of the applicants premises and suitability for
credit reference bureau activities

vi. Particulars of the directors and key management personnel
concerned with the management of the banking business,
including their educational and professional background

vii. Information necessary for assessing the trustworthiness of
applicant

viii. An overview of operations including a description of systems,
design of data collection and dissemination and management
processes including:
The development schedule of the software required
for operation
Characteristics of products and services to be
provided to users
Policy on service provision
Proposed security and control measures to prevent
improper access to information
Proposed security and control measures to prevent
improper access to management of information
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Operational manuals designed to ensure accuracy of
information contained in the database and its update,
and
The proposed fee and cost structure of products

ix. In addition to the above, applicants may also collect personal
questionnaire forms for Directors of the proposed credit bureau
for completion and submission to the Bank of Ghana, and any

x. Such other particulars as the Central Bank may require

3. Permissible Activities of Credit Reference Bureaux

A credit reference bureau shall be permitted to carry on any of the
following activities:

(a) Gather and maintain data for the formation of credit histories
(b) Process credit related data
(c) Deliver credit reports based partly or fully on information not in
the public domain.

4. Capitalisation

A credit reference bureau is required to have a minimum paid-up
capital of GH 500,000.00

5. Issuance of Credit Reference Bureau Licence

The Bank of Ghana shall grant a licence to carry on the business of
credit reference bureau after the Bank of Ghana is satisfied that the
proposed entity:

(a) has the human, financial and operational resources to enable it
function efficiently and perform its functions effectively in
accordance with the Credit Reporting Act, 2007 (Act 726)
(b) proposed credit reference bureau office premises is suitable for
the intended lines of business
(c) has put in place adequate security systems to protect data
(d) presents plans to adopt mechanisms to gather, input,
integrate, update, validate and provide adequate security
for data
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(e) presents a credible plan to develop and adopt procedures to
ensure that:

questions, concerns and complaints of credit information
subjects, or
data providers are treated equitably and consistently in a
timely and efficient manner.

6. Refusal of licence

The Bank of Ghana may refuse an application for a licence to carry on
credit reference bureau business where
(a) an applicant fails to pay the stipulated fees
(b) there is an error in the application, or
(c) an applicant fails to satisfy any pre-condition for the granting of
the licence

The Bank of Ghana shall within three months after receiving the
application, notify the applicant to rectify the situation within thirty (30)
days after the receipt of notification. Where the applicant fails to rectify
the situation, BOG shall not process the application.

BOG shall state the reasons for the refusal in the notice of refusal to
the applicant.

7. Time limit for decision on application

The Bank of Ghana shall communicate its decision on an application
for a credit reference bureau licence within three months from the date
of receipt of application.

8. Fees

The following fees shall be applicable to all applications for a credit
reference bureau licence:

TYPE OF FEE
Non-refundable processing fee GH2,000.00

Licensing fee GH3,000.00

Renewable annual licence fee GH1,000.00

Licensing of Credit Reference Bureau

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