World Bank honours CFTC for role in credit referencing

International Competition Network (ICN) and the World Bank have for the second year running recognised the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC) for the role it played in influencing reforms in credit referencing market in Malawi.

Making the announcement on the results of the 2015 Competition Advocacy Contest, the World Bank said CFTC was one of the 18 competition authorities to be recognised out of the 43 that participated in the contest.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, CFTC executive director Charlotte Malonda said she was excited that ICN and the World Bank continue to acknowledge the outstanding work that the commission was doing in creating a competitive and fair market for all in the country.

She said: “The prestigious ICN/World Bank Group competition advocacy award is a highly sought after recognition by competition authorities all over the world. We are greatly humbled to receive such a major award for the second year running. We are indebted to the government for its continued support to our work.”

She said credit referencing, which is a new and fast growing industry in Malawi, provides credit profiles for borrowers.

The commission played a key role in 2015 by pushing Parliament to amend the Credit Reference Act to allow banks to provide client information to credit reference bureaus without taking a risk of lawsuits.

“This has opened up the market to competition,” Malonda said. n