Sylvia Juuko
11 August 2008
Kampala — THE pilot phase of the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) has kicked off in five financial institutions.
"The testing is being conducted in branches of participating institutions around Kampala namely; Barclays, Centenary Bank, Standard Chartered, Uganda Microfinance and Pride Microfinance," Agnes Kamya Kijjambu, the acting director for non-bank financial institutions, said.
She told a press briefing that all borrowers would be required to get a financial card, which would have their photos, unique numbers and fingerprints for easy identification.
The pilot project, which began on July 21, will last for a month. The Credit Reference Bureau will eventually roll out during the last quarter of the year.
Kijjambu said the CRB was licensed by the central bank to collect information about a client's loan repayment history and their debt profile from financial institutions.
The immediate benefits of the CRB include shorter approval times for loans as well as improved credit assessment by lenders.
The cost of borrowing is also expected to go down, while borrowers with a good reputation will get better deals.
"Your reputation will be collateral, which you will use to obtain good rates for your loan," she added.
According to Kijjambu, the central bank concluded the first phase of the public awareness campaign in over 21 districts.
"The project has been well received. However, there were concerns regarding security and integrity of the system and whether defaulters would not be blacklisted. We supervise the CRB so we shall ensure the project is implemented in a sufficient manner," she promised.
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