Emcredit decree published in official gazette

Decree No. 8 of 2010 concerning Emcredit, which was issued on May 3 this year, is now published in the Dubai government's official gazette No. 348, an official statement said.

The Decree which was issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, aims to establish a robust and secure credit reporting infrastructure that will help lend stability to the financial services industry and provide lenders with the necessary information to support sound lending decisions.

It assigns Emcredit as the official entity responsible for providing credit reporting services by collecting, storing, analysing and disseminating credit information in Dubai.

The decree also regulates the operations of Emcredit and information sharing in the emirate pursuant to the criteria and instructions stipulated by the Dubai Department of Economic Development and to the instructions and guidelines issued by the UAE Central Bank.

The decree mandates all data providers, including banks, financial institutions, government departments, operating in Dubai, to provide Emcredit with the required credit information.

The decree stipulates the criteria and standards for compliance, as well as set penalties for non-compliance or withholding information from Emcredit.

As per the articles of the decree, Emcredit is responsible for determining the list of data elements, methods and frequency of data sharing, as well as setting the membership rules, code of conduct, fees and the list of authorised users.