CBL Launches Enhanced Collateral Registry to Expand Access to Credit | Business

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has officially launched an Enhanced Collateral Registry System designed to expand access to credit, strengthen secured lending and improve confidence in Liberia’s financial sector.

 

The Registry is an initiative of the CBL under the Liberia Investment Finance and Trade Project (LIFT-P), with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). It was created to improve access to finance, particularly for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). 

 

It operationalizes Chapter Five (5) of the Liberia Commercial Code of 2010, the Secured Transactions Law and allows lenders to register security interests in assets pledged as collateral and search for existing interests.      

 

Launching the system Thursday at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia, CBL Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi said the new platform represents a major step toward modernizing Liberia’s financial infrastructure and creating greater opportunities for businesses and individuals to access financing.

 

Saamoi said the reform is intended to address a longstanding challenge facing Liberian entrepreneurs who possess productive assets but struggle to convert those assets into financing because of limitations within the traditional lending system.

 

“A few years ago, a Liberian entrepreneur with a promising business idea walked into a financial institution seeking a loan to expand operations, employ more people, and ultimately contribute to our economy,” Saamoi said.

 

“The entrepreneur had land. The entrepreneur had equipment. The entrepreneur had contracts. The entrepreneur had ambition. But what was lacking was a system capable of effectively transforming those assets into finance.”

 

According to the CBL Governor, such experiences have been repeated across Liberia, particularly among micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which play a critical role in job creation and economic activity.

 

He said the Enhanced Collateral Registry is therefore more than a technological platform, describing it as “a powerful instrument for economic empowerment” capable of unlocking capital, expanding opportunities and strengthening the foundations of inclusive economic growth.

 

The system allows both movable and immovable property to be registered through a unified, publicly searchable digital platform available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

Financial institutions will be able to electronically register, amend, assign, discharge and search security interests with greater efficiency and certainty.

 

The system also provides for interoperability with key national databases and institutions, including the National Identification Registry, Liberia Land Authority, Liberia Business Registry and vehicle registration systems.

 

Saamoi said the integration will improve verification of ownership, identity and existing encumbrances while reducing information asymmetry and transaction risks for lenders and borrowers.

 

“A strong credit market depends on confidence,” he said. “Confidence that ownership can be verified. Confidence that security interests can be properly recorded. Confidence that lenders and borrowers can transact within a transparent and predictable framework.”

 

The CBL Governor said one of the most significant potential benefits of the enhanced system is its ability to advance financial inclusion by allowing a wider range of assets to support credit transactions.

 

He identified women-owned businesses, young entrepreneurs, farmers, rural producers and small businesses among those that could benefit from improved access to financing.

 

“A more inclusive financial system is not merely a banking objective. It is a national development imperative,” Saamoi said.

 

He pointed to the Liberia Investment, Finance and Trade (LIFT) Project as evidence of the financing opportunities that can emerge when barriers to credit are reduced.

 

As of the second quarter of 2026, the LIFT Project had fully deployed a US$6 million line of credit through seven participating financial institutions, enabling 358 MSMEs across Liberia to access affordable credit.

 

Some beneficiaries received loans of up to US$100,000, while women-owned businesses accounted for 64 percent of all loan disbursements.

 

Saamoi also noted that 130 of the 358 beneficiary enterprises were located outside Montserrado County, with businesses in Bomi, Bong, Grand Bassa, Grand Kru, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Margibi and Nimba counties benefiting from the facility.

 

“These outcomes reveal an important truth: The truth that says Liberian entrepreneurs do not lack ambition. The truth that says Liberian entrepreneurs do not lack innovation. And the truth that says Liberian entrepreneurs do not lack determination. Too often, they simply lack access,” he said.

 

The enhanced platform builds on Liberia’s original Collateral Registry, which was operationalized in 2014 following the enactment of the Commercial Code and the establishment of the Commercial Court.

 

Saamoi said the latest reform represents the next stage in the development of Liberia’s secured transactions framework, with improved functionality, transparency, accessibility and broader collateral coverage.

 

Earlier, Deputy CBL Governor for Economic Policy, Designate, Mrs. Euphemia Swen-Monmia, recalled that she had been part of the team that worked with development partners and national stakeholders to establish the original registry more than 12 years ago.

 

She said the original system enabled assets such as crops, livestock, inventories, vehicles, machinery, equipment and accounts receivable to be recognized as collateral.

 

“Today, seeing the registry evolve into this enhanced platform is a source of great pride, not just for the Central Bank, but for Liberia as well,” Swen-Monmia said.

 

She said the enhanced system introduces stronger operational controls, improved accessibility and expanded collateral coverage to include immovable assets.

 

Mr. Julius Yenwon Saye Keh-nel, Project Coordinator of the LIFT Project, said the CBL requested the Ministry of Commerce and Industry through the project in early 2025 to include the enhancement of the Collateral Registry among its activities.

 

He said the request followed an assessment that identified gaps in the old system, including the need to accommodate immovable assets, improve user experience, strengthen integration with government databases and enhance reporting, analytics, security and remote hosting capabilities.

 

According to Keh-nel, the LIFT Project obtained approval from the World Bank to single-source B-System, the original developer and implementer of Liberia’s existing collateral registry, to undertake the upgrade.

 

A contract was signed in November 2025 between B-System and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to modernize the system.

 

He said the upgraded system is designed to support the registration, amendment, renewal, discharge and search of both movable and immovable assets, improve data integrity and security, facilitate integration with government databases and strengthen reporting and analytics.

 

Keh-nel said the system had undergone technical clearance and was considered ready for operation.

 

“We want to say thank you for your attention, and today we have a new collateral registry system,” he said.

 

Representing the Judiciary, Commercial Court Judge Eva Mappy Morgan welcomed the launch, saying the success of the system would depend partly on effective enforcement of secured transactions and greater collaboration among the Judiciary, Executive, Legislature and private sector.

 

Judge Morgan said Liberia’s judicial system continues to face challenges in enforcing judgments, noting that available statistics indicate that enforcement can take about 900 days from start to finish.

 

She said unclear or poorly documented collateral can make loan recovery particularly difficult for financial institutions.

 

“Sometimes the collaterals are not very much defined. It cannot be located,” Morgan said, explaining that even when a judge issues a final judgment, enforcement becomes difficult if the collateral cannot be properly identified or located.

 

She warned that the absence of a reliable collateral system can also lead to situations where the same property is pledged to multiple financial institutions.

 

“With the enhanced collateral registry system, at least we will know, or banks will know,” she said.

 

According to Morgan, a more effective registry will strengthen confidence in the lending system and help financial institutions recover non-performing loans more efficiently.

 

She also disclosed that the Judiciary is working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) toward digitizing the courts, a move she said would improve judicial efficiency, facilitate faster access to files and potentially strengthen investor confidence.

 

Morgan further highlighted Liberia’s Insolvency Act of 2018, which provides mechanisms for rescuing distressed businesses rather than automatically pushing them into liquidation.

 

She urged businesses, lawyers and other stakeholders to make greater use of the Commercial Court and the country’s existing insolvency framework.

 

Governor Saamoi said the Enhanced Collateral Registry forms part of the CBL’s broader effort to modernize and digitalize Liberia’s financial system.

 

He cited the modernization of the national payment ecosystem, the National Electronic Payment Switch, digital financial services, credit infrastructure and regulatory reforms as components of the broader transformation agenda.

 

“Digitalization is not technology for its own sake. It is about reducing costs, increasing access, improving efficiency, and expanding opportunity,” he said.

 

The CBL is also modernizing Liberia’s Credit Reference System under the LIFT Project. Saamoi said the upgraded system is expected to provide real-time credit information, improve data quality, strengthen risk assessment and support better-informed lending decisions.

 

He said the combination of the Enhanced Collateral Registry and modernized Credit Reference System would significantly improve the environment for both credit providers and responsible borrowers.

 

Saamoi acknowledged the support of the IFC, World Bank, LIFT Project, Judiciary, Commercial Court, Legislature, relevant government ministries and agencies, Liberia Land Authority, Liberia Revenue Authority, Liberia Business Registry, Liberia Bankers Association, Liberia Microfinance Association, business associations, lawyers and technical experts.

 

He urged financial institutions to adopt and responsibly use the new system, while encouraging businesses to formalize their operations and take advantage of the opportunities created by the reform.

 

“The real value of this platform will not be measured by the technology itself,” Saamoi said. “Its true value will be measured by the businesses it helps grow, the investments it supports, the jobs it creates and the lives it transforms.”

 

Declaring the system officially operational, the CBL Governor said Liberia had chosen modernization and reform over complacency.

 

“Today, we launched an enhanced system. Tomorrow, we unlock finance. Finance unlocks enterprise. Enterprise unlocks jobs. And jobs unlock hope,” Saamoi said.

 

He subsequently declared the Enhanced Collateral Registry System of the Republic of Liberia officially launched and open for business.