The Bank of Tanzania (BOT), the country’s banking authority, reportedly has approved licenses for CreditInfo Tanzania and Dunn & Bradstreet Tanzania, two privately-owned credit reference bureaus, to act as credit bureaus in Tanzania. While each has a local office in the city of Dar es Salaam, Dunn & Bradstreet Tanzania is part of US-based Dunn & Bradstreet, which has assets of USD 1.99 billion, and CreditInfo Tanzania is a unit of Germany’s CreditInfo, which has operations in 17 countries. Managing Director Kihara Maina of Barclays Tanzania, the local arm of London-based financial services provider Barclays, reportedly argued that the introduction of credit reference bureaus will significantly lower interest rates and default rates in the country, but should be supplemented by other initiatives, like a national identity card, that will allow banks to identify potential borrowers with more certainty.
According to data attributed to BOT, the average lending rate charged by commercial banks in Tanzania rose from 14.84 percent in January 2012 to 15.57 percent in January 2013.
By Brian LeBlanc
About CreditInfo
CreditInfo is a German risk management and credit information service provider that focuses primarily on establishing credit bureaus in emerging credit markets and hosting, managing and providing credit and related data to customers throughout Europe. CreditInfo currently operates in 17 countries.
About Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B)
Established in 1933, Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B) is a US-based credit information, marketing and supply chain management company. As of December 30, 2012, D&B reported USD 1.99 billion in total assets.
About Bank of Tanzania (BOT)
Created by government decree in 1992, the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) is charged with using monetary policy to create price stability through instruments such as refinancing policy, minimum reserve policy, open market policy and foreign exchange interventions.
About Barclays Bank
Barclays is a London-based financial services provider that offers wealth management, investment banking, personal banking and corporate banking services in 50 countries. As of 2012, Barclays reported total assets of GBP 1.63 trillion (USD 2.46 trillion).
Sources and Additional Information:
AllAfrica article, “Tanzania: Leading Banker Applauds BoT Licensing of Credit Bureaux,” http://allafrica.com/stories/201303060175.html
MicroCapital story, February 28, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Tanzania to Introduce Microfinance Act, Establish Credit Bureau, Offer Financial Education,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-tanzania-to-introduce-microfinance-act-establish-credit-bureau-offer-financial-education/
MicroCapital story, October 11, 2011, “Tanzania Default Rates up to 10%, Push Commercial Lending Rates as High as 24%, Credit Bureau to Open in 2012,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-in-tanzania-default-rates-up-to-10-push-commercial-lending-rates-as-high-as-24-credit-bureau-to-open-in-2012/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: CreditInfo https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=CreditInfo
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Dunn & Bradstreet (D&B) https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Dunn+%26+Bradstreet+%28D%26B%29
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Bank of Tanzania (BOT) https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bank+of+Tanzania
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Barclays https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Barclays
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IsDB, La Poste Tunisienne to Replicate Digital Financial Services via Postal Service in Djibouti
- SPECIAL REPORT: Save the Date for SAM 2023 – African Microfinance Week – in Togo, October 16-20!
- SPECIAL REPORT: Leveraging Carbon Credits to Insure MSMEs in Climate-vulnerable Nations #SAM2023
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: I&M Bank Enables Spenn Mobile App Users to Send Money to Financial Institutions Across Rwanda
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: DAI’s MicroVest Loans $4m to Bayport Colombia, Payroll Lender to Public Sector Workers
