Credit bureaus and possibilities of their application in the Azerbaijani economy

The main goal of the study is to research the role of the credit reporting system in minimizing credit risks in the sector by acting as an information agent in the economy and to analyze critical factors for introduction of private credit bureaus in the Azerbaijani economy. To that end, the article researches the involvement of the credit reporting system in preventing information asymmetry, as well as in broadening access of economic agents to available financial resources irrespective the property type, and informs on its core, function and principles. Moreover, the article investigates capabilities of credit bureaus to accumulate information from alternate and wider information sources and which analytic services may be provided on the data collected to generate borrower's detailed risk profile in contrast to public credit registries, and exemplifies related cases from international practice. Consequently, the study displays the role private credit bureaus may play in boosting our country's credit rating and attracting foreign investments, and analyzes critical legislative and economic climate indicators.