Article 1 of the Saudi Credit Information Law

This is the definitions article. It fixes the meaning of the words that recur in the Credit Information Law, so that whenever one of these terms appears in the Law it is understood in the sense given here unless the context requires otherwise.

• The Institution: the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.
• Credit information: data relating to a consumer's credit dealings, such as loans, installment purchases, leasing, deferred sales and credit cards, and whether or not he meets his repayment obligations.
• Member: a government or private body bound by a contract to exchange credit information with at least one credit information company.
• Consumer: every person who has credit dealings, whether a natural person (an individual) or a legal person such as companies and establishments.
• Companies: credit information companies licensed to collect and keep this information and to provide it to members on request.
• Credit record: the report issued by these companies containing the credit information about the consumer.
• Public records: records of credit information held by government bodies, such as the records of funds and banks that provide government loans, judicial bodies, government committees, and bankruptcy and insolvency files and the like.

Understanding these definitions helps the reader know who is subject to the Law and what is meant by each obligation or right in it. Article 2 explains that the aim of the Law is to set the foundations and controls for collecting this information about consumers, exchanging it and protecting it.