Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the UAE president, approved creation of a credit bureau that will require banks to provide credit information about their clients, The National reported Tuesday (December 7th).

The new federal law is intended to promote financial transparency, said Zaid Kamhawi, chief business officer at Emcredit, a Dubai-based credit bureau.

"This will strengthen the credit information legal infrastructure of the UAE by requiring banks and other financial institutions to provide their credit information," Kamhawi said.

The bureau is expected to begin operations in six months, said Obaid al-Tayar, Minister of State for Financial Affairs.