Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge, said a majority of the defaulters listed on CRB are likely involved in betting activities/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28- Central Bank of Kenya is set to revise Credit Reference Bureau regulations to address concerns raised by citizens especially when they default.
Central Bank of Kenya governor Patrick Njoroge said the lender has revised the rules over the matters raised overtime on the body leaving some lenders frustrated.
“We realized that sometimes the system takes longer to refresh, and they are very quick to respond when you default but they are not so quick to respond when you make your payment,” said the governor.
The governor added that when one is blacklisted for too long it might have huge effects in the future where one might be required to pay more than earlier borrowed.
‘I could be blacklisted because I have not been cleared in the database but in the real sense, I have already cleared my loan this will, in turn, affect me in future,” he added.
Last week, the Betting Control and Licensing Board stakeholders revealed that close to half a million Kenyans were blacklisted by the Credit Reference Bureau.
This means an individual is denied the opportunity to access any loan facility in Kenya until the previous one is cleared at a certain fee paid to CRB.
The report also revealed that the majority of the defaulters are young people under the age of 35 and are jobless.
The governor said a majority of the defaulters listed on CRB are likely involved in betting activities while commenting on online money lenders.
“It may that some of the people also involved with online lenders are more like our brothers and sisters, who knows some of that money is going into betting. Very soon there is going to be a crisis in homes and our society,” he said.
The bank regulator also mentioned its working on instilling stiff measures to regulate online money lenders.
This follows numerous complaints from borrowers where some have been lured by unverified money lenders who end up paying huge returns while some have their privacy infringed through their contact list.
“None of this online money lenders have been licensed and they are all operating as shylocks and it’s really dangerous and its an issue that we have been talking about for some time,” said Njoroge.
Tala Kenya and Branch are the most popular online lenders, especially among low-income earners.
