A leading provider of global business information, Dun and Bradstreet is promising a drastic reduction in banks’ default rates should it get their full cooperation. The firm which has secured a provisional license from the Central Bank to operate a credit reference bureau, is preparing to begin full operations in September. Banks have often cited the high loan default rates as a major factor influencing the high interest rates regime. But Dun and Bradstreet Chief Executive, Miguel Llenas tells Joy Business they can help the situation. He said if the bureau collects all the information it needs from the banks by the end of this year, the loan default of 14 per cent will reduce to eight per cent in three years. “That is going to happen because the people who have not paid today, [their] reports are going to be on the market and for them it is going to be a little bit more difficult to get credit so they will go back to the bank and pay – this is my experience in over 25 countries – people start paying loans that they didn’t pay before,” he explained. Mr. Llenus says banks will now be able to make informed decisions with quality and accurate information. Dun and Bradstreet which is currently listed on the New York Stock Exchange presently operates in over 200 countries and manages the world’s most valuable commercial database with information on over 100 million business entities. Source: Joy Business/Ghana