D&B Australia Welcomes Report Into Comprehensive Credit Reporting

Dun & Bradstreet Australia has today welcomed the release of an Issues Paper by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) into consumer credit reporting reform as an important step in encouraging competition in the Australian market.

The release of the Issues Paper by the ALRC follows a two year campaign by D&B for an inquiry into credit reporting in Australia and ultimately reform of Australia?s existing negative only reporting regime.

D&B Australia launched a consumer credit bureau in a joint venture in 2004 with Macquarie Bank and has seen significant growth over the last 12 months. Most recently D&B Australia announced that two of the four major Australian banks had signed agreements with the D&B Australia consumer bureau.

The Issues Paper examines a number of issues, including:

• The impact of comprehensive reporting on defaults
• The impact of comprehensive reporting on responsible lending
• The impact of comprehensive reporting on economic growth
• The ability for reform to enhance competition in Australia?s credit reporting market.

D&B Australia CEO Christine Christian believes the release of the Issues Paper is an important step in the development of Australia?s consumer bureau environment.

?The benefits of comprehensive reporting are significant both for consumers and the efficient operation of Australian credit markets. The release of this Issues Paper by the ALRC is another important step in the campaign to develop a system in Australia that produces real benefits for consumers and competition for credit providers.?