Credit bureaus want to rope in landlords

Credit Reference Bureaus want landlords included in the exchange of credit information to boost the vetting of borrowers.

This comes a day after Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich revealed plans to rope utility companies in the credit information sharing network.

“The participation of landlords would make the platform even more efficient,” Mr Sam Omukoko, the Managing Director of Metropol Credit Reference Bureau, said.

The plan is to deny or issue costlier loans to borrowers based on their rent paying history.

Mr Omukoko welcomed the Treasury’s inclusion of utility companies such as Kenya Power, water companies, mobile operators and Pay TV service providers in credit sharing, saying this will boost the platform by providing a better picture of the prospective borrowers.

“The  history of paying utility bills would be useful in providing the creditworthiness of prospective borrowers and giving a correct credit score,” Mr Omukoko added. “For us to start going in this direction, however, we need to have a bill like that of electricity in the name of individuals and not landlords.”

Mr Rotich said on Wednesday the Credit Information Sharing (CIS) framework had continued to develop and increase its coverage as a result of reforms.

“Indeed, the expansion of the CIS framework was one of the key factors behind the improvement in Kenya’s ranking in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business indicators this year. Apart from the obvious benefits to the borrowers who maintain good credit history and to lenders who are able to get information on potential borrowers, the CIS regime is important to the economy as a whole.”