CTOS credit score card roll-out in Q1 2015

CTOS

KUALA LUMPUR: Credit reporting agency CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd will roll out credit scorecards by the first quarter of 2015 in a bid to benchmark credit profiles of individuals. Details of the credit scorecards are yet to be finalised.

The scorecard will provide a three-digit number that measures the probability of repayment of a borrower through information gathered by CTOS.

"But we hope to launch it earlier, because I believe that there is a need in terms of consumers understanding of their creditworthiness," CTOS CEO Eric Chin told reporters at a media briefing here.

He explained that the scorecard, called CTOS-FICO score, will be a more sophisticated way of evaluating the creditworthiness of individuals and SMEs in a bid to promote a positive credit culture in Malaysia.

CTOS in collaboration with FICO, which is a pioneer in credit bureau scoring technology, will be the provider of bureau scores to credit grantors in Malaysia.

Through that, Chin said, one with a strong score could potentially leverage for better interest rates from banks, transforming the credit market to be more consumer-driven.

CTOS, which is registered with the ministry of finance, collects and processes information from public resources and its subscribers in relation to the creditworthiness of individuals and businesses.

It also provides business intelligence and credit risk management solutions to businesses with banks, financial institutions, law firms, utility providers and telecommunication companies as clients.

Chin said the credit reporting agency industry in Malaysia is in its infancy, with substantial opportunity to grow its products and service offering.

"Malaysia stays at the data and information provision level, but should move up to analytics and decision support level," he noted.

Eric said CTOS is looking to grow its SME customer base by five-fold from the current 3,100 to 15,000 and increase its product range such as credit score, fraud score and credit capacity index to banks.

Chin is optimistic about loan growth in the banking industry, whereby access to credit is a fundamental element that fuels economic growth.

"This year there is a bit of moderation, but with the ETP (economic transformation programme) projects coming in, we're definitely optimistic on the loan growth," he added.

Creador is the largest shareholder of CTOS with a 70% stake and a total investment of over RM200 million.

Creador founder and CEO Creador Brahmal Vasudevan stressed that Creador is a long-term investor in CTOS and will stay on for at least five to 10 years.

He expects CTOS, which posts about RM60 million revenue annually, to register 20% growth in profits and revenue, helped by its strategic plans.

Creador is a private equity firm and its investment portfolio includes Bonia Corp Bhd, GHL System Bhd and Oldtown Bhd, to name a few.

When asked of new investment targets, Brahmal said Creador's focus will still be on the consumer sector, citing that the group "is working on a few things".

"Hopefully by early next year, we can share something … We would like to look at areas like retail, consumer products and so on," he added.

Brahmal said there is an intention to list CTOS in the future, but it won't happen within the next one to two years.