SMEs present unique problems for ratings agencies, as they do for banks. It is not simply a question of scoring the situation of the entrepreneur’s credit history. Assessing the credit risk of SMEs has been a difficult task for banks due to information asymmetry between lenders and business owners, and challenges in the risk models themselves. By using innovative risk models and advanced technologies, SME credit rating may alleviate some of these difficulties, by providing SMEs a specific credit rating that provide lenders and investors company ratings which mitigate the risk of lending to smaller firms. Traditionally only larger and public corporate businesses have been able to utilize credit ratings to show their creditworthiness to bankers.

Forum's members Experian, an international credit reporting agency and Inbonis, the first European Securities and Markets Authority-accredited CRA (Credit Rating Agency) for SMEs in Europe, will showcase how SME credit ratings can enable small firms to demonstrate their creditworthiness to secure the funding they need. They will discuss how SMEs credit rating is different than corporate and consumer ratings, and what type of data is typically involved. They will also discuss how evolving policies, particularly those like GDPR which affect access to customer data, may affect SME credit ratings, and how lenders may use these ratings to mitigate risk in anticipation of upcoming new Basel rules.

Speakers

James Gothard is the General Manager of Credit Services & Strategy, South East Asia at Experian, a FTSE 50 organisation & global leader in the provision of information, analytical tools & marketing services to organisations & consumers. Currently based in Singapore, James possesses a wealth of experience within the information services sector, with a career spanning more than two decades in the field. He joined Experian in 2002 where he has held a number of project and product management roles, progressing into strategic planning and development, change management/transformation and general management positions. His tenure at Experian includes roles based in the UK, Norway and in Singapore. James has developed, and subsequently led the implementation of strategic business plans and transformation programmes for Experian across key markets such as the UK and EMEA. Prior to joining Experian, James held analytical and consulting positions at R L Polk (now IHS), a global automotive information services provider. Working with automotive manufacturers across Europe and the United States such as Mercedes-Benz and DaimlerChrysler UK, his roles were focused on helping clients plan, optimise, and measure retail network performance.

Salil Chugh is the Head of Analytics & Data Partnerships, Asia Pacific at Experian, a FTSE 50 organisation & global leader in the provision of information, analytical tools & marketing services to organisations & consumers. Currently based in Singapore, Salil has more than 16 years of diverse experience of Analytics, Risk management, Mobile Products, Digital Banking and Payments.  Salil has hands on experience on implementing analytics, risk and marketing strategies across origination, customer management and collections. He joined Experian in 2017. Prior to the current role, he worked with Experian as a Senior Consultant with the Global Consulting Practice working with Clients in Asia Pacific on portfolio and credit strategies. Prior to Experian, Salil worked with a large private bank  in India across multiple roles in Mobile Banking, Digital Payments, Unsecured Products, Cross Sell Policy and Analytics. 

Alberto Sánchez Navalpotro is cofounder and CEO of Inbonis Rating, the first Credit Rating Agency (CRA) with SME specific rating methodology registered and supervised with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Prior to Inbonis, Alberto was private equity investor in SME across EU, at Gravitation, the holding company of Charles Beigbeder, and at fund Jolt Capital. Alberto started his career as strategy consultant at Kaiser Associates in London. Alberto holds an MBA from ESCP Europe and an economics degree from Universidad de Alcalá.

Maria Cid is a Lead Rating Analyst at Inbonis Rating, the first Credit Rating Agency (CRA) with SME specific rating methodology registered and supervised with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Economics Graduate with an MBA in International Management and a Certified European Financial Analyst candidate, she has previously worked both in private and public bodies as a financial and international trade consultant to foreign markets. Prior to Inbonis, she formed part of the Investment and Portfolio Management Division at COFIDES, the Spanish Development Finance Institution, helping provide financing for viable private investment projects that contribute to the development and internationalization of developing economies.

Tania Ziegler is the Head of Global Benchmarking at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Cambridge Judge Business School and manages the Centre’s alternative finance benchmarking program. This programme tracks the growth and development of capital raising alternative finance activities spanning Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. She has authored 18 industry reports since joining the CCAF. Tania is an expert on SME finance and also leads the Centre’s work on ‘SME Access to Finance in LATAM’. Tania completed an MSc at the London School of Economics, and a BA at Loyola College Maryland. Tania is a 2010 Fulbright Scholar.

Shalini Sankaranarayanan is a Senior Financial Sector Specialist with the Credit Infrastructures team under the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice at the World Bank Group. She has over 15 years of experience working on access to finance and financial inclusion issues and specifically in the development and reform of credit reporting systems globally. She has worked extensively on credit reporting reform in West Africa (UEMOA) and in several Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas, Belize, OECS, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, Haiti. Her ongoing work includes reform efforts in Somalia, the Seychelles, and Nepal to name a few. Shalini worked as an Economic Consultant on mass torts litigations with National Economic Research Associates, and as an Investment Banker with JP Morgan in New York prior to joining the World Bank. She holds a Master’s in International Economic Development from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC, and a Bachelor’s in International Relations and French from Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts.

Read a summary here. 

For more information, please contact: Jessica Alfaro