An announcement by the President Uhuru Kenyatta and echoed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) directing that Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) delist Kenyans with credit of less than Ksh5 million may sound exciting - but is of no consequence to lenders.
The credit referencing system has been understood by many to be the reason behind their loans being denied, However, with or without CRB, a number of borrowers with outstanding credit facilities will continue facing the hardship that is access to credit.
A senior bank manager who sought anonymity told Kenyans.co.ke that the statement by the president and the directive by the CBK is inconsequential, considering the fact that banks share information about their customer’s facilities both performing and non-performing.
A situation that, he says, has seen some of the borrowers being denied new facilities owing to their already existing loans and not just because they have not been able to repay their facilities in time.
Noting that it’s going to be very hard because it will mean that if your facility is performing, banks will share information, when it stops they will inform other credit organisations who will also deny you credit.
“I don’t know how that is going to be operationalized because if you come to me and I get a CRB report and I see you had a facility that whose information has not been updated of late, I don’t need to be a genius to know that, that facility is non-performing."
“Unless banks stop sharing all the information, this is a bunch of nonsense because what will they (CBK) order banks to do, order us not to share?” the source wondered.
Moving forward, the bank manager noted that “banks will continue to lend to people with good CRB reports and anyone who doesn’t will continue to not access credit.”
Despite the reprieve, the CBK had also called on Kenyans with already existing facilities to clear them.
“CBK urges borrowers to fulfil their contractual obligations on a timely basis and engage their lenders in case of any concerns,” the statement read.
Noting that it would continue working with all stakeholders to ensure that the Credit Information Sharing (CIS) mechanism works for and with Kenyans, and in line with global best practices.
