MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Tanzania, Default Rates Up to 10% Push Commercial Lending Rates as High as 24%; Credit Bureau to Open in 2012

With default rates reportedly ranging from seven to 10 percent in Tanzania, commercial banks in the country are charging lending rates between 14 and 24 percent. Local newspaper The Citizen cites a report compiled by US-based consultancy Ernst & Young titled “The 2011 Tanzania Banking Sector Performance Review” as indicating that write-offs rose from TZS 18.5 billion (USD 10.8 million) in 2007 to TZS 105 billion (USD 61.1 million) in 2010. The report is not available online. Meanwhile the Bank of Tanzania [BoT], the country's central bank, is in the process of.... Continue reading here. Contact MicroCapital to receive a complete sample issue of the MicroCapital Monitor, the monthly microfinance newspaper.