President William Ruto has claimed that no Kenyan remains listed with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), saying his administration has fulfilled its promise to clear millions from the credit blacklist.

Speaking during a media engagement at the Kitui State Lodge on Thursday, November 13, 2025, Ruto said his government had removed all previously blacklisted borrowers and transferred them to the Hustler Fund, which he described as a lifeline for ordinary Kenyans.

“Kulikuwa na watu zaidi ya milioni saba kwa CRB. Iyo ni kweli ama si kweli? Leo, there is nobody in CRB. We have removed them. We have transferred them to the Hustler Fund. The Hustler Fund today is lending money to two million Kenyans every month,” Ruto said.

The president added that the removal was part of his campaign pledges to empower small-scale traders and low-income earners excluded from formal borrowing.

“It is a commitment I made, and I am willing to answer,” he said. “When I make a commitment, I keep it.”

Ruto earlier announced the delisting of millions of borrowers in July 2023, saying that over seven million Kenyans had been cleared from the CRB blacklist. The move was meant to give those previously marked as defaulters a second chance to access affordable loans through the Hustler Fund.

At the time, Ruto urged credit bureaus to change their model, noting that the existing system unfairly punished borrowers.

“This is very important; four million Kenyans have been excluded from formal borrowing because of blacklisting. They have been left at the mercy of shylocks. We must change that model so that we do not make an all-or-nothing process,” he said during a joint press briefing with financial sector leaders in 2023.

Govt clarifies on CRB listings

However, officials have since offered a more nuanced explanation. In July 2025, Susan Mang’eni, the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development, clarified that Kenyans can still appear on CRB records even after repaying their debts.

Mang’eni said a CRB listing is not inherently negative, explaining that it captures both positive and negative credit histories.

She added that under current regulations, negative listings remain on record for up to seven years even after a debt has been cleared.

The PS revealed that nearly eight million Kenyans had been negatively listed, attributing this to economic challenges such as the pandemic, drought, and global financial pressures.

Ruto defends record on reforms

During the Kitui address, President Ruto also highlighted other pledges he said his administration had fulfilled, including housing, health reforms, and improved national savings.

“I told the people of Kenya I was going to implement a housing program. Today, a housing program is going on across the country,” he said.

He noted that the government had overhauled the universal health coverage system, replacing the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) with the Social Health Authority (SHA) under new laws.

On national savings, Ruto said the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) had recorded unprecedented growth since his reforms took effect.

“I made a commitment that we are going to change our savings culture. Today, NSSF has collected twice the money they had collected in 60 years,” he said.

The President maintained that these milestones reflected his administration’s focus on economic transformation and financial inclusion for ordinary citizens.