CRB lists 14mn active borrowers as it compiles credit data » Capital News
NAKURU, Kenya, Sep 2 – Metropol Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) Limited has compiled credit data of more than 21 million Kenyan and 800 businesses out of which 14 million are active borrowers.
Metropol Chief Data Officer, Edna Mulwa said the number of people and businesses listed at the CRB skyrocketed during COVID-19 pandemic in mid 2020 from 12 million to the current 21 million.
She said the data which has been collected from 2,500 institutions informed lenders to tailor credit products based on risk profiles.
Mulwa intimated that the organisation automated its system to expedite the turn around time of clearing people from CRB list once they have cleared their debts with Saccos or banks to near real time.
“The official recommended time of striking off the names of borrowers who have cleared their payments is 48 hours but Metropol does it almost instantly,” she said.
Speaking in Nakuru after after a two day workshop with finance organisations in the South Rift Region, she said research and analysis of borrowers helped institutions understand credit risk and default trends.
During the function Metropol CRB also released insight and data specific to South Rift Region on loan performance, individual credit behavior, CRB regulations, data privacy and default trends.
The meeting brought together senior Nakuru County Government Officers from the Cooperatives Departments, 20 sacco heads, 10 branch bank managers and officials from the Kenya National Chambers of Commerce and Industry among others.
Metropol CRB Chief Executive Officer, Gideon Kipyakwai said the organisation was showcasing how the information in their data base can be used for improving lending services.
“A financial institution can always refer to Metropol CRB’s data base to know the rating of borrowers, the information can be used to guarantee borrowers,” he said.
Kipyakwa added that the threshold for listing borrowers at CRB was revised in 2020 and set at Sh1000 and above.
Responding to a question as to why some people had been listed which debts of as low as seven shillings, the CEO said Metropol CRB was had grown into a comprehensive credit profiling entity with the objective of empowering more borrowers to access financing at favourable terms.
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