Want a loan? Here are things Kenyan banks look for before giving you one

When lending, banks seek to ensure that the advances they extend are repaid; and more so they prefer the repayment be done according to the formal agreement (loan contract). When initiating a loan, both parties – the customer and the bank – go through a decision making process.

On the bank’s side, the credit analyst will assess the probability of full repayment as stipulated in the contract. This process is called risk analysis and it includes assessing actual facts about the customer, bank position and policy, as well as ‘gut feeling’ or intuition aspects, which the analyst will consider based on experience.