Equifax gets RBI license to start India operations

Equifax Inc, a player in information services, today announced that it has received a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to commence operating a credit information company in India. Equifax, an Atlanta, Georgia-based company, is part of a joint venture with six leading Indian financial institutions, namely; Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Prime Ltd, Religare Finvest Ltd, Sundaram Finance Ltd and Union Bank of India.

Samir Bhatia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Equifax, said: “With the RBI license, Equifax is now geared to make its entry in the Indian market. We have plans to offer a variety of credit information products and services with cutting edge technology. Equifax has a pedigree of over 100 years and we are certain that our global expertise and knowledge will add immense value to financial institutions here. We are looking forward to exciting times in India.

Equifax has operations in over 14 countries. In India, the joint venture intends to offer information products and services including credit information reports, scores and analytics and collection management services. The company is also investing to bring in high-end technology to help financial institutions open more fee-generating accounts while minimising risk exposure.
 
“India is an important market for Equifax.  We see immense potential for credit information services and we look forward to bringing our proven solutions to banks and other financial institutions there,” said Richard Smith, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Equifax.
 
Under the leadership of Samir Bhatia, who has held senior positions across various global and Indian financial banks like HDFC Bank, Citi Bank and Barclays, the Equifax India team expects to begin operations shortly. 
 
Established in the year 1899, Equifax has a presence across four continents:  North America, Latin America, Europe and now in Asia.