Cheap loans remain pipe dream as banks squeeze customers

Accessing cheap credit remains a pipe dream for most Kenyans as commercial banks charge as high as 25 per cent interest on personal loans, new data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) show.

The CBK listed financial provider Trans-National Bank as the most expensive commercial bank offering personal consumer loans with a maturity of more than two years. The financial institution offers consumer loans with interest rates that are at 16.96 per cent above the Kenya Banks’ Reference Rate (KBRR), a loan-pricing formula that is based on averages of the CBK indicative rate and the 91-day Treasury bill yield over six months.