Debtors Africa – an independent searchable database of recalcitrant and delinquent debtors in Africa was launched into the market on Monday, in addition, a Debtors Report – a comprehensive analysis of the Debt/Non-Performing Loans Situation in the Nigerian Banking Industry.
The report which was done in partnership with Proshare, according to a statement, “represents a culmination of a detailed review of the credit experiences of local Nigerian banks in the last two decades and reveals the challenges of a local lending cycle that has seen lenders become victims of the tyranny of bad and delinquent debtors.”
The decision to create a central portal as part of efforts to achieve the creditors’ desire, which is repayment and resolution and provides a central hub to access such information, while going beyond naming and “shaming.”
It is expected to come in handy for prospective creditors and other institutions that require character validation, while name removal from the database is subject to the review and removal by the contributor, after debt resolution is attained.
The report has as key highlights, the Industry & its Debt Position; Definition of a delinquent debtor and how this has changed over the years including how banks end up with bad debtors; The Sectors & Regions affected & Impact on GDP; as well as Provisions of the law as regards credit collection and recovery in Nigeria.
Others are: the AMCON approach, lessons learnt, and the way for banks to adopt a revised credit recovery framework; Case Study of approaches adopted in recovering debt; and Fresh methods a New Approach offers to banks troubled by delinquent debts.
It makes a case for a new approach to the lending cycle to ensure that integrity, professionalism and evidence-based best lending practices are strictly followed to guarantee the sustainability of the financial system and the prosperity of the larger economy.
The Debtors Africa Website, it noted, enables speedy assessment of the character of prospective customers, just as investors can use the database as a starting node for assessing the quality of the management of a business they intend to either partner or invest in.
“The searchable database is designed to allow contributors such as Banks, Loan FinTech and Credit companies, Cooperatives, Tax authorities, Private businesses, government agencies, utility providers, etc. list their delinquent debtors and their indebtedness on the platform as a contributor to the platform.
Such listings, therefore, places a moral and business burden on delinquent borrowers as prospective lenders use the library to fact-check the borrowing history of a loan applicant. The history can also be used to set up a character rating index that would guide credit appraisal memorandums (CAMs) and inform acceptance or decline of credit requests.
By subscribing to the platform which is free, users are, according to the statement, able to search for Delinquent Debtors in Africa using the Company Name or the name of the Directors of a company. They are also able to track the repayment progress of delinquent debts and other related information to the Debt; receive and Monitor Credible and Reliable information on Debt Related Activities in Africa; as well as mine Delinquent Debtors Data by Sector, Amount Owed, among others.
