Ruto's agreement with top bank CEOs on loan defaulters

President William Ruto has lauded the move by telecommunications service company Safaricom, Banks NCBA and KCB who are behind the Fuliza credit service for lowering their interest rates on the overdraft service.

Speaking at the Norfolk Hotel, the head of state said the move by the credit providers was a great step in easing the life of many Kenyans who are users of the overdraft service.

President Ruto also appreciated the proposed system of listing creditors instead of blacklisting saying the system was going to unlock many Kenyans who were on the verge of being locked out of credit access.

“Instead of blacklisting, we can have a graduated mechanism. That happens even when we borrow money from IMF so it is a positive development for Kenyans.

President William Ruto speaking at the Norfolk Hotel President William Ruto speaking at the Norfolk Hotel Pulse Live Kenya

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I am very happy that 4 and 5 million Kenyans will by the beginning of November be out of blacklisting. These Kenyans have been excluded from any formal borrowing and have been left at the mercy of shylocks and predatory lenders,” President Ruto stated.

The President also said he was not fighting credit listing but was for a better system which did not mean that the borrowers had lost it all in their bid to access credit.

“I am here to commit that the government of Kenya is not against credit listing in fact we support CRBs as a mechanism of instilling discipline in the financial sector what we are asking is that we don’t want credit listing to be an all-or-nothing engagement we want credit listing to give everyone a chance to be their best in their own time,” he stated.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa Pulse Live Kenya

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During the briefing, Safaricom announced a 40% discount on daily service charges on fuliza which will begin on October 1.

This means the daily charges for those taking loans between Sh100 - Sh500 will attract a Sh3 charge down from Sh5.

The same will apply for drawdowns between Sh501 to Sh1,000 which will see Sh6 daily charges down from Sh10.

From left former Safaricom board Chairperson Michael Joseph, NCBA Bank CEO John Gachora, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa and KCB Bank CEO Paul Russo From left former Safaricom board Chairperson Michael Joseph, NCBA Bank CEO John Gachora, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa and KCB Bank CEO Paul Russo Pulse Live Kenya

The new tariff will benefit customers who have opted in for Fuliza and have a positive limit with no outstanding balance.