NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 29 – Standard Chartered Bank has announced a reduction of its personal loans rate by 3.5 percent, becoming the fourth bank to take this route in the recent past.
The bank has also re-introduced the fixed mortgage for a limited period with rates starting at 10.9 percent and to remain low for the life of the mortgage. The new rates take effect from May 1.
Kariuki Ngari, the Executive Director for consumer banking said that the move was meant to open up products to more customers by making them more affordable and highly competitive. He said that the bank was optimistic that the move will open access to credit to people who wished to borrow but were otherwise restricted by the cost.
“Our customers can use this lower rate to consolidate their various loans at the lowest repayment rates in the market. We remain open for business and as we implement these changes we will continue to look into our customer’s needs and market trends to make sure we provide highly competitive products for our customers,” said Mr Kariuki.
As the industry continues reeling from massive loan defaults largely attributed to the lending spree that many banks undertook over the last two years and the cost of credit, Standard Chartered Bank’s portfolio remains the lowest in the non-performing sector.
According to the bank, in 2009, total non-performing loans stood at 2.5 percent compared to 3.9 percent for the same period in 2008
“We continue to focus on the basics of banking, liquidity and capital management and tight credit risk management. We call upon all our customers to take advantage of these new rates to access credit,” said Kariuki Ngari.
