CBK Sets Ksh1000 As Minimum Threshold for CRB Listing, Withdraws Approvals For Unregulated Mobile Lenders

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has set Ksh1,000 as minimum threshold for negative credit information submitted to Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs).

CBK has further directed that borrowers that were previously blacklisted only for amounts less than Ksh1,000 be delisted.

First-time CRB clearance certificates will be provided by CRBs at no charge. This is particularly beneficial to Kenyan youth and graduates who are seeking employment.

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SACCO societies regulated by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) have now been included as authorized subscribers of credit data to CRBs. These SACCOs will now submit borrowers’ information to CRBs and also receive credit reports directly from them.

With immediate effect, CBK has withdrawn the approvals granted to unregulated digital (mobile-based) and credit-only lenders as third party credit information providers to CRBs. The withdrawal is in response to numerous public complaints over misuse of the CIS by the unregulated digital and credit-only lenders, and particularly their poor responsiveness to customer complaints. Thus, unregulated digital and credit-only lenders will no longer submit credit information on their borrowers to CRBs.

On the recommendation of CBK, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning has published the suspension for a period of six months, the listing of negative credit information for borrowers whose loans were performing previously but have become non-performing from April I, 2020.

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Consequently, loans that fall in arrears from April 1 to September 30, 2020, will not lead to the “blacklisting” of the borrower on the CRBs.

“This is one of the emergency measures that were announced on March 25, 2020, in light of the exceptional circumstances from the Coronavirus pandemic and aiming to shield borrowers from the adverse impact,” said CBK in a statement.

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