What lenders look for before approving you
Approval is not a mystery. Lenders score the same few things every time — here is the list, from the inside.
The five things every lender checks
Whether it is a bank, a sacco or a microfinance institution, credit assessment in Kenya keeps coming back to the same fundamentals:
- Ability to repay — income or business cash flow that comfortably covers the instalment
- Character — your repayment history, seen mostly through CRB reports and account conduct
- Capital — your own stake in the deal; lenders rarely fund 100% of anything
- Security — what the lender can fall back on, valued at forced sale value
- Purpose — a clear, sensible use of funds that matches the loan type
Cash flow beats payslips
For business owners, the strongest evidence is consistent money movement: bank statements, M-PESA statements, invoices and stock records. Lenders read six to twelve months of statements looking for regular inflows, sensible balances and no bounced obligations. Start running your business income through traceable channels long before you apply.
What quietly kills applications
Most declines are avoidable. The usual culprits: unexplained CRB listings, statements that do not support the declared income, gambling transactions dominating M-PESA records, security with defective documents, and asking for an amount wildly out of step with your cash flow.
Prepare like a professional
Before applying, pull your own CRB report and resolve surprises, assemble ID, KRA PIN, statements and security documents in one pack, and decide the exact amount and term you can defend. A complete, coherent application gets approved faster and often priced better.
Talk before you apply
Asset Link works with lenders daily. Share your situation and we will tell you which lender fits, what they will ask, and whether to fix something first — before a decline goes on your record.