Congo strengthens the protection of consumers of financial services. Thus, credit and microfinance institutions are subject to the obligation to file financial reports on interest rates and conditions of access to loans imposed on customers.

The new measure is intended to better inform consumers and allow them to compare the interest rates offered. The measure issued by the Central Bank is based on the declaration of the Total Effective Rates (TEG), an indicator of the real cost of the loan over the entire contractual repayment period. The TEG ensures the protection of borrowers via the guarantee of greater transparency, the effective reduction in the cost of credit, the control of the volume of credit oriented in this or that sector of the economy. A major step forward in terms of financial inclusion and consumer protection in Congo, welcomed the secretary general of the CNEF, Michel Dzombala. “We are still sensitive to the difficulties raised by the banks. But there is the need to comply with the directives concerning the completion of the form and the calculation of the TEG, because this exercise proceeds precisely from the development of financial inclusion and allows the consumer to have the possibility of comparing the cost of credit offered by the market,” he insisted. If credit and microfinance institutions agree to submit to the requirement of transparency and information from September 22, they are seeking government support to regulate competition on the market.