Conceptualisation of a national integrated credit bureau (NICB) in a developing country context

The financial crisis of 2008 was triggered by a liquidity shortfall in the banking systems of major global economic players, which resulted in the collapse of large financial institutions and businesses, loss of jobs and lack of confidence in global economy. A number of developing countries e.g., Nigeria had long been experiencing liquidity shortfall in the banking system due to a highly disintegrated credit management system that has resulted in a high ratio of non-performing credits. The review of literature indicates that a large number of African countries do not have an integrated national credit bureau system. This has resulted in individuals incurring credits beyond their income capacities through the use of single collateral for multiple loans. The research reported in this paper focuses on the development of a conceptual framework for an integrated national credit bureau databank. The proposed framework recognises the uniqueness of the African traditional credit system, which is still predominant in most African societies.