Absa Bank Kenya has delisted about 300,000 Kenyans listed as loan defaulters by the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) in line with Central Bank of Kenya’s backed credit repair program.
The bank said it had written off Ksh.1.8 billion digital loans in the past as the program seeks the bank to forgive an estimated Ksh.900 million in digital loans disbursed through its platform Timiza.
“The delisting will actually help our collection effort because for the loans we’ve written off already, we expect a payment of 50% which is marked as recoveries,” said Absa Bank Kenya Interim Chief Finance Officer Moses Muthui.
The CBK guided initiative will allow black-listed borrowers to access new loans and other opportunities such as jobs requiring CRB clearance.
Also Read: A Third of the 19 million Borrowers on CRB’s List Are Defaulters
“The delisting allows individuals to get funding from other places while it also helps those applying for jobs. Borrowers have six months to repay the 50 per cent portion after which we will give them the opportunity to access funding,” added Mr. Muthui.
Across 2021, Absa advanced 844,000 worth of digital loans via Timiza with the platform seeing a revamp to enable better interactions from customers.