Agribank to list defaulters on credit bureaus

WINDHOEK, 22 JUL  – Agribank clients who have defaulted on loan repayment commitments will be listed on credit bureaus, while those persistently failing to honour their commitments with the bank will have legal action taken against them.
Agribank announced on Friday that it has intensified its efforts to move from soft to hard collections. Chief Executive Officer, Sakaria Nghikembua said in a media statement, a number of files were already handed over to lawyers for legal action.
He said the process has also been tightened to ensure that the bank takes legal action against defaulting clients more swiftly than in the past.
The bank requested defaulting clients to make repayment arrangements to settle their arrears over the past 18 months and some heeded the call and honoured their commitments, however, others made arrangements and failed to honour them.
Some clients did not approach the bank to make payment arrangements, with the perception that the bank was state-owned and thus it would not repossess their farms.
“The bank wants to place on record that it is not its objective to auction any farms except as a last resort. However, the bank believes that it has allowed for sufficient time to sensitise its clients about the imperative for them to honour their repayment obligations,” said Nghikembua.
He added that the bank further believes that it has “sufficiently indulged its clients not only to make appropriate repayment arrangements, but also to honour such arrangements”.
The bank also called on its clients to ensure that they pay their instalments when due to prevent arrears; and in the event where a client is already in arrears, to make and honour repayment arrangements to prevent legal action, default judgement and auctioning of their farms.
The sustainability of the bank depends on regular and adequate repayments by clients on loans advanced to them and it would not be able to fulfil its mandate to provide loan financing to existing and new customers to transform agriculture, Nghikembua said.

NAMPA