Metropol Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) Chief Executive Officer Gideon Kipyakwai, has called upon Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (Saccos) to provide positive data about their members to bureaus to strengthen borrowers’ credit profiles.
Kipyakwai said such data would benefit borrowers and their respective institutions.
It would also help build up the credit scores and ratings of Sacco members.
“When we receive this information, we will load it into the different CRB profiles.
We believe our effort will also have the broader impact of lowering the risk profile of the country and driving down the current interest rate regime, “ said Kipyakwai.
He addressed Saccos during the conclusion of a two-day capacity-building workshop organized by Metropol CRB.
Also Read: Metropol CRB CEO Kipyakwai Calls for Economic Policy Reforms to Match Current Realities
Saccos hold substantial positive information about their members.
The data if shared with Metropol CRB contributes to building a robust credit history for borrowers.
Risk-based credit pricing is part of wider reforms propagated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to rein in the operations of lenders following the lifting of interest rate caps in 2019.
Lenders are required to use the credit score to determine the interest rate to extend a credit to a borrower based on how risky they seem.
This followed the implementation of Risk Based Pricing in Kenya in 2023.
The reforms entrenched in the Kenya Banking Sector Charter seek to instill fairness, transparency, financial literacy and financial access.
The capacity-building training workshop aimed to scale up access to Credit Reports and equip financial institutions with the necessary tools, particularly through Metropol Analytics, to make well-informed lending decisions.
This call to action stresses the need for collaborative efforts between financial institutions and Metropol CRB in improving access to credit and promoting financial inclusion among borrowers.
Metropol CRB’s services, currently available in Kenya and Uganda, can be accessed using the USSD code *443# for individual borrowers.