Regulatory Alerts2023-04-25
Added · Updated
Establishment and Operation of Credit Reference Bureau Directives No. CRB/02/2019
The National Bank of Ethiopia establishes a Credit Reference System operated by its Credit Reference Bureau and mandates all licensed financial institutions to register and report borrower credit information. Financial institutions must obtain borrower consent, update data monthly for banks or quarterly for microfinance and capital goods finance companies, and restrict queries to genuine credit applications or account management. The directives prohibit lending to defaulters and impose escalating fines ranging from 3,000 to 100,000 birr for reporting violations, culminating in suspension from the system. These rules replace the 2012 Credit Information Sharing Directives and take effect on April 25, 2019.