Creditinfo, FSD Kenya, and CIS Kenya Launch the Findings of a Study on Kenya’s Credit Market Landscape

Press release

 Nairobi, Kenya – Monday, 5th August, 2024 – A new study has revealed a complex picture of Kenya’s credit market, with digital loans dominating the landscape while the overall value of loans disbursed is on the decline. The study conducted by Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Kenya, Credit Information Sharing Association of Kenya (CIS Kenya), and Creditinfo Credit Reference Bureau Kenya Limited (Creditinfo CRB), provides a comprehensive analysis of credit data spanning five years.

The study is titled Kenya’s credit market landscape – Demand side analysis of credit records held by Creditinfo CRB, is based on an analysis of credit records held by Creditinfo CRB.

The use of Credit Reference Bureau data in this study provides an opportunity to analyse credit data that is aggregated from various sources and segmented according to borrower’s sex, type of loan (digital and non-digital), type of borrower (company and individual), and provider type (bank, MFB, and MFI). The data covers the 5-year period from January 2019 to December 2023.

Summary findings

1. Kenya’s credit market is dominated by digital loans (in volume terms) provided by banks mostly to male Banks continue to dominate the retail lending market, accounting for over 90% of the volume and value of digital and non-digital loans.
2. The number of unique borrowers has been on a steady increase on an annual basis, with

7.5 million unique borrowers in 2019 compared to 11.4 million unique borrowers in 2023. This constitutes both individual and non-individual borrowers (companies). On average, there are 6m unique male borrowers and 4.3m female borrowers each year.

6. In contrast to the increase of unique borrowers, the aggregate value of loans disbursed annually has been on a decline, with KShs 2,067bn issued in 2019 compared to KShs 1,937bn in Male borrowers accounted for 61.4% of the total number of loans and 71.1% of the total value of loans issued between 2019 to 2023.
7. On average, there are 10 million unique borrowers who have at least one digital loan annually compared to 1 million for non-digital loans. Approximately 270 million new digital loans valued at KShs 1,512 billion were issued over the five-year period compared to 8 million non-digital loans valued at KShs 8,282 billion over the same period. There is, however, an observed decline in the average value of nondigital loans, from an average of KShs 8,353 in 2019 to an average of KShs 4,555 in 2023, a 45% decline.
8. The number of new negative listings declined by more than half between 2019 and 2023. Whilst this can be attributed to changes in the regulatory framework on the treatment of negative listings, there is a marked decline between 2019 and 2020 which was beforethe regulatory changes. In 2023, 933,551 individual borrowers were negatively listed with Creditinfo CRB compared to 2,204,591 individuals in 2019.
9. Female borrowers have better repayment histories compared to men, accounting for an approximately of 36% of the new negative listings over five-year period, compared to 64% for
10. Most borrowers who have a negative record have an outstanding loan balance of between KShs 1,001 to KShs 5,000. The data further indicates that a higher proportion of borrowers initially listed as having repayment difficulties with their loans (negative record) managed to fully repay them off after seven months and within one
11. 69% of borrowers that previously had a negative record were subsequently issued with a new This is contrary to the public’s perception that the CIS mechanism is a blacklisting tool and that a negative listing automatically precludes a borrower from accessing future loans.

“The development of Kenya’s credit market is at the core of FSD Kenya’s work and strategy. While many of the building blocks that underpin an efficient and effective retail market are in place, available evidence points that the provision of appropriate and affordable credit remains a challenge. MSMEs and women continue to be underserved. FSD Kenya’s work in credit market is aimed at working with various partners to address the factors that constrain the flow of productive credit to where it is needed the most. Part of this includes creating the knowledge and evidence base through research and analysis to inform the direction of market development and policy interventions. This study is part of those efforts. The expectation is that the study will provide the basis for engagement with various stakeholders on the development of Kenya’s credit market, long-term policy implications, and the functioning of Kenya’s Credit Information Sharing mechanism.”, said Francis Gwer, FSD Kenya’s Senior policy specialist.

“The Credit Information Sharing (CIS) mechanism has significantly advanced since its inception in Kenya. The transition from negative-only reporting to the bureau to comprehensive full-file reporting to the bureau marked a pivotal moment, fostering innovation and financial inclusion. Data gathered throughout this evolution has proven invaluable for market growth and innovation. Further advancements, such as incorporating all credit sectors and enabling real- time reporting, have the potential to elevate the CIS mechanism to new heights.”, said Kamau Kunyiha, Regional Manager, Creditinfo CRB

About FSD Kenya

Financial Sector Deepening Kenya (FSD Kenya) is an independent trust dedicated to the achievement of a financial system that delivers value for a green and inclusive digital economy while improving financial health and capability for women and micro and small enterprises (MSEs). We work closely with the public sector, the financial services industry, and other partners to develop financial solutions that better address the real-world challenges that low-income households, micro and small enterprises, and underserved groups such as women and youth face. More details about FSD Kenya.

About CIS Kenya

The Credit Information Sharing Association of Kenya (CIS Kenya) was set up to institutionalize the National Credit Information Sharing (CIS) Forum. The Forum was created in early 2012 in order to bring together both bank and non-bank credit providers to map the way forward towards implementing full file comprehensive CIS in Kenya. Prior to the formation of CIS Kenya, the implementation of CIS in Kenya was spearheaded by the Kenya Credit Information Sharing Initiative (KCISI), a partnership between Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Kenya Bankers Association (KBA). More details about CIS Kenya.

About Creditinfo

Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions.

With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals. More details about Creditinfo CRB.

CheckYourTraders announces exclusive partnership with Creditinfo Malta

CheckYourTraders and Creditinfo Malta have joined forces to offer a comprehensive solution tailored specifically for tradespeople. Aims to provide a tailored solution to the common problem of debt recovery.

In a bid to address a pressing issue faced by many tradespeople, CheckYourTraders is thrilled to announce its exclusive partnership with Creditinfo Malta. This collaboration aims to provide a tailored solution to the common problem of debt recovery, particularly prevalent among small businesses in the trades sector, while also addressing issues related to cash flow management.

One of the major hurdles encountered by tradespeople, especially those running small businesses, is the challenge of recovering outstanding debts from clients or suppliers. Late payments and non-payment can significantly impact their cash flow, making it difficult to cover operating expenses or invest in business growth. Pursuing legal action for debt recovery can be time-consuming and costly, especially for businesses with limited resources and expertise in this area.

To alleviate these challenges, CheckYourTraders and Creditinfo Malta have joined forces to offer a comprehensive solution tailored specifically for tradespeople. As part of this collaboration, members will receive a complimentary job book from CheckYourTraders, serving as a crucial tool for documenting transactions and maintaining organised records. This will not only help tradespeople stay organised with their receipts but also provide them with a clear overview of their financial transactions, enhancing transparency and accountability in their business operations.

Moreover, tradespeople now have the opportunity to leverage CheckYourTraders’ expertise in debt collection through Creditinfo Malta’s services. With a dedicated team representing them in debt recovery matters, tradespeople can focus on their core business activities without the added burden of chasing overdue payments. This not only streamlines the debt recovery process but also increases the likelihood of successful outcomes, ensuring a more efficient and hassle-free experience for tradespeople.

By addressing the challenges of debt recovery and cash flow management, the collaboration between CheckYourTraders and Creditinfo Malta offers a valuable resource for tradespeople seeking to navigate financial hurdles more effectively. With a focus on organisational efficiency and expert representation in debt collection, this partnership empowers tradespeople to overcome obstacles and achieve greater financial stability in their business endeavours.

For more information, visit www.creditinfo.com or mt.creditinfo.com

Open Banking Solutions at Creditinfo

In 2020 Creditinfo Group decided to be part of the Open Banking initiative by starting to investigate the options of using customers’ bank account statements in their offering. The account information service is based on the PSD2 directive. For known reasons, it is not possible and acceptable to have access to customer bank account data without consent.

Creditinfo have tackled the opportunity in two different ways. In the Baltics and Iceland, the chosen route was to apply for an FSA licence to offer end-to-end customer account statements transfer from their home bank to a third party, from whom the customer applies for credit , e.g. car loan. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia namely due to the long and cost-intensive process of “passporting” CI’s Estonian license, the chosen route was collaboration with a local technical partner called Sokordia Tech.

A little bit more about above-mentioned two ways to offer Open Banking solutions in Creditinfo Group.

In 2021 Spring, Creditinfo Estonia received permission from the Financial Supervision Authority to start offering account information services in Estonia, which later in Autumn expanded to the markets of Latvia and Lithuania. Today, Creditinfo has been offering the account information service in the Baltic market for almost three years. Creditinfo have real-time access to the transaction data of customers of banks and financial institutions using a secure data transmission channel and customer consent.

In Spring 2024, Creditinfo Estonia finalised the Iceland licence application process from Estonian FSA and can officially offer account information service in Iceland.

Beside regulative and compliance part, Creditinfo also has full technical integration and capability in developing categorization when offering account informatoin service. With opportunity to access customers bank account data, the aim is to offer more transparent credit risk evaluation to customers and third parties, who find high value from the knowledge of their customers account information to make data-driven, intelligent credit and business decisions.

As mentioned above, Creditinfo also have Open Banking cooperation and partnership in the Czech Republic and Slovakia with fintech company Sokordia Tech, teaming up to capitalize on Creditinfo’s market position  whilst leveraging Sokordia Tech’s AISP and PISP licenses and Open Banking services platform to provide PSD2/Open Banking services to several financial services clients in the market.

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia market, Creditinfo currently has 5 customers utilizing the Open Banking platform, processing more than 1.2 million open banking transactions per month. Depending on the specific requirements, pain points, and use case of the Client, Creditinfo  has developed a “Categorization In-a-Box” , Multi-Service platform called Transaction Analysis Service replete with 40,000 pre-installed business rules that can sit atop and work with any Open Banking Open APIs in any country. The service is comprised of 6 unique methods/services (AIS+CIS+PIS) & PDF tools via one API as detailed below:

1. PSD2parser: extracting raw data from PSD2 bank statements
2. PSD2tags: tag each bank transaction with one to N identifying tags
3. PDFparser: Extracting raw data from PDF bank statements
4. PDFtags: Tag each bank transaction with one to N identification tags
5. 1UnitPay: Verification PSD2 payment (the advantage is that the payment is made in one step with statement extraction)
6. Bank Account Views: Repeated viewing of bank accounts without the need for customer re-authentication

Together with our partner Sokordia Tech, we currently have Open Banking APIs and are able to provide all these services under one single API for the following countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Poland.

Development work on the 3rd generation of the Transaction Analysis Service is currently in development, highlighted by:

• Deeper AI involvement in processes & rules & analysis
• Expansion of new online data inputs into transactional analytics
• Multi-language analytical tools
• GUI for clients to manage and report transactional analytics themselves

For more information, please visit: www.creditinfo.com

Authors:

Seth Marks – Regional Director Central, Eastern & Southern Europe, Creditinfo Group

Ivo Vallau – Open Banking Product Manager, Creditinfo Group

Creditinfo appoints TransUnion veteran as new Global Chief Commercial Officer

Seasoned commercial leader, John Cannon, looks to use wealth of financial and executive leadership experience in new role to unlock new value for customers and drive Creditinfo’s international growth

London – 18 April 2024: Creditinfo, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, has today announced the appointment of John Cannon as its Global Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). With over 25 years of experience in finance and credit bureaus, John will spearhead the strategy and execution behind Creditinfo’s solutions and products for all 30 of its credit bureaus, which are spread across 50 different countries.

John brings almost three decades of experience in leading top-performing teams, delivering pioneering solutions, and galvanising high-value market leading companies within the global financial community. A reputable industry expert, John led Transunion’s GFS business for international regions and has spent the last couple of years as an advisor to Private Equity firms in addition to helping scale early stage technology companies, most recently Xapien.

As CCO of Creditinfo, John will draw on his extensive sector knowledge and experience to leverage Creditinfo’s technology and data to push innovation forward and ensure it meets customer expectations and needs. He will play a key part in promoting financial inclusion globally and in doing so bolster Creditinfo’s international growth. In his new role, John will also be responsible for delivering the right products and services to Creditinfo’s customers to maximise value, as well as identifying new business opportunities. 

John Cannon, newly appointed Global Chief Commercial Officer at Creditinfo said: “I’m delighted to join Creditinfo, a company that is committed to enriching people’s lives through unlocking access to financial inclusion. This, and its international culture, is what drew me to the company. I look forward to working with the remarkable Creditinfo team to support the next phase of its growth journey.”

Satrajit Saha, Global CEO at Creditinfo said: “With firm roots in the global financial industry and a strong track record as a senior executive leader, John is an excellent addition to our senior leadership team. As we look to expand our global footprint and facilitate access to finance for millions of consumers and businesses worldwide, having John on board is a huge advantage, not only for our own innovation and growth but also for our customers as they turn to us to provide worldclass and transformative solutions and products.”

John will report directly to Satrajit Saha, Creditinfo’s Global CEO.

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About Creditinfo

Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions.

With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals.

For more information, please visit www.creditinfo.com 

Overview: Creditinfo Estonia’s Payment Default Registry in 2023

Creditinfo Estonia’s Payment Default Register was established in 2001 by Estonian banks, being the largest and oldest register in Estonia that gathers consistent and high-quality debt information. The register of payment defaults helps Estonian entrepreneurs make the right credit decisions and enables the application of the principle of responsible lending.

The largest contributors of payment defaults continue to be from the financial sector

In 2023, a total of over 700 companies entered payment defaults in the register. The TOP entrants by activity were:

• Credit institutions
• Financial service providers
•  Collection service providers
• Telecom companies

During the entire year, more than 100,000 new payment defaults were added to the register by companies, of which 91% were private payment defaults. Payment defaults of legal entities were published in a total of nearly 9,200 cases. 

There are tens of thousands of people with payment defaults in Estonia

As of the end of 2023, there were nearly 57,000 individuals with active payment defaults.

During the liquidation of the debt, the current default is marked as closed – in 2023, there were 111,000 private individuals with a closed payment default. A closed payment default indicates that the debt has been paid, but at the same time it warns the creditor that the person has had problems paying bills in the past and this allows for a more accurate assessment of his creditworthiness. NB! In the case of private individuals, closed payment defaults are published for up to 5 years after the payment default has ended.

As of the end of 2023, there were almost 20,000 legal entities or companies-institutions with active payment defaults.

There were nearly 33,000 legal entities with closed payment defaults. NB! In the case of companies, the information provided will be published for another 7 years after the end of the default.

 There are more than 150 thousand active payment defaults in the register

By the end of 2023, there were nearly 130,000 active payment defaults in the Payment Default Register by individuals with payment defaults. The average payment default amount, or debt, of a private person is €2,514. There were almost 363,000 private individuals with payment defaults that were closed.

At the end of 2023, there were approximately 40,000 active defaults of legal entities. There were almost 65,000 closed defaults of legal entities. 

The number of valid payment defaults has increased

In total, there were nearly 171,000 active payment defaults published in the Payment Default Register. If we add to this the information on payment defaults in the closed and disputed status, the total number of payment defaults in the Payment Default Register is 600,697, which has increased by approx. 9% compared to 2022.

At the same time, the effectiveness of the Payment Failure Register is maintained. Of all payment defaults that have reached publication, one in four, or 26%, is paid immediately within the first month, and half (47%) within the first three months after publication.

The disclosure has the greatest impact on the debts of the financial sector – 36% of all defaults disclosed by banks and leasing companies are paid already within the first month and almost 63% within the first three months.

Visit www.creditinfo.ee for more information.

ICRA and Creditinfo Tanzania launch first credit rating agency for Tanzania institutions

Dar Es Salaam, 24th January 2024 – Creditinfo Tanzania, provider of credit information and risk management solutions, and ICRA (International Credit Rating Agency) have partnered to launch the ICRA Rating Agency, the first credit rating agency locally based in Tanzania.

The joint venture will provide credit rating and evaluation services to Tanzanian financial institutions, creating for the financial industry. Combined, ICRA and Creditinfo’s Tanzania team bring decades of experience and practical knowledge in credit risk management and analysis to support and improve credit assessment in Tanzania.

Adv Hassan Mansur, Local Director of ICRA Rating Agency Limited said: “We are delighted to launch Tanzania’s first credit rating agency that is fully geared towards strengthening the economy through providing credit rating services that are tailored to the African market. Our partnership with Creditinfo will provide ample opportunities and offer a competitive edge for various institutions, most especially the Tanzanian institutions in the International Market.”

Edwin Urasa, CEO of CreditInfo Tanzania said: “At Creditinfo, we are committed to sustainably growing our business and identifying ideal opportunities to build strong and profitable credit rating agencies, while helping more local citizens and businesses access finance. Our partnership with ICRA marks an important milestone for us and gives us the opportunity to improve the standards of credit assessment. Tanzania is an optimal market for us to introduce this service because of its tremendous promise for inclusive financial services. This venture will set a new standard in credit rating and promote financial health and empowerment across Tanzania.”

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About Creditinfo  

Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions.

With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals.

For more information, please visit tz.creditinfo.com

www.creditinfo.com

About ICRA Rating Agency

ICRA Rating Agency Limited has been accredited for being the First Ever Credit Rating Agency approved by Bank of Tanzania (Central Bank of Tanzania) to which we are the only regional central bank approved credit rating agency offering credit rating services. Our organisation also gets the special status of ecai (external credit assessment institution).

ICRA has an expert team with a combined experience of more than 25 years in Audit, Inspection, Financial Analysis, Credit Research, Banking, Compliance, AML and Certification. Our ratings significantly influence corporate and financial institutions to achieve better market standing. ICRA ratings aim to help various corporations and institutions demonstrate their financial capability.

For more information, please visit www.icrallc.com

An excellent Account Information Service is based on the accuracy of the categorization of transactions

Access to customer bank transaction data provides a basis for more intelligent business decisions

Creditinfo appoints Satrajit Saha as new Global CEO

Former CEO of TransUnion Europe – Satrajit Saha – brings his expertise to Creditinfo, planning to drive growth across its credit bureaus globally.

London – 29^th November 2023: Creditinfo, a global service provider for credit information and risk management solutions, has today announced the appointment of Satrajit Saha as its Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With over 20 years of experience in banking and credit bureau, Satrajit will drive the growth of Creditinfo and the maturity of its credit bureaus globally. He joins the company from TransUnion Europe, where he held the position of CEO for the last five years.

In his role, Satrajit will lead Creditinfo in advancing its strategic initiatives, with a particular focus on promoting financial inclusion worldwide. Drawing on his rich background in the credit information industry, spread across Asia, Africa, and Europe, he will lead the next phase of Creditinfo’s growth on a global level as it strives to become a truly global bureau and the leader for facilitating access to finance in both developed and emerging markets.

As an experienced strategic leader, Satrajit has an impressive reputation in the financial services space. At TransUnion Europe, he led the board of all TransUnion’s European owned entities. Before joining TransUnion Europe, he was Chief Business Officer at TransUnion India, where he was responsible for crafting and executing TransUnion’s CIBIL’s market strategy. He was also Cards Head, Africa Region, at Barclays Bank.

Satrajit Saha, newly appointed Global CEO at Creditinfo said: “I am honored to take on the role of Global CEO at Creditinfo, a company that is at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion. Together with the talented team at Creditinfo, we will continue to leverage innovative data sets and solutions to bridge information gaps and create opportunities to facilitate access to finance for individuals and businesses globally.”

Monty Ismail, Director at Levine Leichtman Capital Partners and Creditinfo Group Board member said: “We are delighted to welcome Satrajit “Satty” Saha as our new Global Chief Executive Officer. He is an accomplished executive with successful leadership experience relevant to our business, including his time as CEO of TransUnion UK. Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for Creditinfo, and we are excited to see Satty, with extensive knowledge of our key markets, take over as CEO. We are looking forward to working with Satty in continuing to expand our global footprint and unlock access to finance for millions of consumers and businesses worldwide. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Paul Randall for his important contribution as CEO. He has been key to our success, and we are all grateful for his leadership and dedication.”

He will begin his new role as Creditinfo CEO on 1^st January 2024 and will report directly to the Creditinfo Group Board.

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About Creditinfo

Established in 1997 and headquartered in London, UK, Creditinfo is a provider of credit information and risk management solutions worldwide. As one of the fastest-growing companies in its field, Creditinfo facilitates access to finance, through intelligent information, software and decision analytics solutions.

With more than 30 credit bureaus running today, Creditinfo has the most considerable global presence in this field of credit risk management, with a significantly greater footprint than competitors. For decades it has provided business information, risk management and credit bureau solutions to some of the largest, lenders, governments and central banks globally to increase financial inclusion and generate economic growth by allowing credit access for SMEs and individuals.

For more information, please visit www.creditinfo.com 

How are sanctions created? Overview on the example of the European Union 

Even if it turns out later in the proceedings that you have behaved correctly, it is in no way reasonable to attract such negative media coverage; as well as experiencing the stress and resource consumption inevitably associated with such procedures. Therefore, it is always wise to prevent problems and look for solutions to mitigate such risks as early as possible, which AS Creditinfo Eesti can always help you with.

However, how are restrictive measures established, who is responsible for the fact that the EU can put someone on its lists at all, and is it inevitable to be on the sanctions lists or is it possible to get out of there somehow? Let’s take a closer look at this process here.

Initiation of sanctions in the European Union

The European Union is an association of independent countries operating on the basis of its founding treaty(s). One of the important principles is that the European Union has a common foreign and security policy, one of the important parts of which is, among other things, the imposition of sanctions in situations where it is desired :

• protect EU values, fundamental interests and security
• keep the peace
• consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the principles of international law
• prevent conflicts and strengthen international security

We have already covered the nature of sanctions and their relevance in relation to the situation in Ukraine in more detail on the Creditinfo channels beforehand, so we would currently only look at the process of how the idea of ​​sanctioning at the EU level results in a mandatory legal act for all persons operating on the territory of the Community.

The creation of legislation necessary for the implementation of sanctions can be viewed at the EU level in three different aspects :

• Legislation to take over UN sanctions is being created
• Legislation is being created to implement UN sanctions in an expanded form
• Legislation to establish autonomous EU sanctions regimes.

The European Foreign Service (institutionally part of the European Union Commission) is responsible for the implementation of EU sanctions policy , whose responsibility is to prepare drafts for establishing or changing sanctions regimes.

Of course, this is done in close cooperation with the member states, for example it is very important to get input regarding the identifying data of sanctioned persons, which information is often available to national specialists, and including it in the legislation establishing the sanction (or its annex) will help to significantly reduce the number of false positive responses arising from the implementation of the legislation in the future.

Since all member states must give their consent to the imposed sanctions, the draft sanctions move to the institution with the member states’ representation, i.e. the Council of the EU. The next instance is therefore the corresponding working group of the Council of the European Union (RELEX) , where the specialists of the member states cooperate to reach an agreement on the text of the legislation.

If agreement is not reached, the agreement will continue in the working group formed by the permanent representatives of the member states at the EU (COREPER) , from there the draft will go to the General Assembly of the Council of the EU (forum of heads of government), where it will be adopted and the text of the legislation will be agreed upon. For mandatory compliance, the legislation will be in the EU gazette after its publication.

Ending sanctions 

Existing EU autonomous sanctions legislation is reviewed regularly, but no less often than once every 12 months.

Since the EU follows the principles of the rule of law (Rule of Law), it is of course also possible for persons under sanctions to get rid of the status of a sanctioned person through legal processes.

There are two main options for this – to publish a motivated statement of wish to this effect directly to the Council of the EU, which will then process the corresponding application and make a decision regarding whether to leave the sanctions list or to remove it from it, or another, more widely used option, to turn to the General Court of the European Union ( General Court of the European Union).

For example, at this point it is perhaps even appropriate to bring up the most talked about decision of recent times about the victory achieved by Violetta Prigozhin, the mother of the late Yevgeni Prigozhin, regarding her delisting .

AS Creditinfo Eesti has continued to take on the concern of providing the necessary support to market participants in the implementation of international sanctions, and we are ready to help with various issues, both with advice and force. We believe that in this way, in cooperation with our customers, we can best contribute to the achievement of the common foreign and security policy goals of the EU.

Visit: creditinfo.ee