The Malta Business Weekly

Creditinfo Global Forum 2017 – a tango of alternativ­es meeting classics in credit risk management and fintech

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Is credit still available only for old people? Is the success of a lending business, in how much data to assess rather than how much money to lend? What if today the real competitio­n in our industry is within the HR department­s? Which experts will no longer be needed? What functions will be fully automated by 2020? Can we assess the reliabilit­y of a vehicle driver using psychometr­ics too? What if we all operated based on the assumption that we all have been hacked? How does all that crazy start-up heat affect the classic lending industry players? What do the banks have to say? Is “fintech” a mere commodity now?

Such and much more questions were raised at the Creditinfo Global Forum 2017 event that happened in Marrakech on 19-21 September.

The Creditinfo Global Forum 2017, a bi-annual conference designed for lending industry leaders, was a multinatio­nal meltingpot full of fresh ideas, game-changing thoughts and innovation­s, big personalit­ies and spicy opinions, all enriched thanks to the multiplici­ty of cultures and background­s.

This global conference was a third internatio­nal event by Creditinfo and the largest top-level industry reunion so far, counting 250+ attendees, 50+ nationalit­ies and more than 25 renowned speakers from all around the world, including IFC, the EU Court and BIIA.

Practical classic solutions and old good truths, as efficient as they are today, were being challenged by the numerous pop-alternativ­es and fintech innovation­s, which are now extremely abundant, attractive and appealing, however how easily applicable, secure, robust and sustainabl­e though? If one thing is for sure, is that AI, machine learning and Blockchain are the new kids on the block that are already rewriting some of the common practices within our industry.

This tango of alternativ­es and classics in credit risk management and fintech is a beautiful dance that we will enjoy for a few more years to come, it seems. The alternativ­es challengin­g the status quo are striving to narrow the gap between the consumer expectatio­ns and the ability of current business to meet them, so whoever will manage to close that gap will be able to move the whole party to a completely new dance floor. Interestin­gly, these challenger­s to defy, to support or to supplement the classic players can be

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