BoSS governor says commercial court will boost bank lending, improve loan recovery
The Bank of South Sudan (BoSS) Governor, Dr Addis Ababa Othow, says the newly launched specialised Commercial Court will strengthen confidence in the banking system, improve loan recovery and encourage commercial banks to extend affordable credit to businesses, farmers and individuals.
Othow said the court would facilitate the timely resolution of financial, commercial and banking disputes, strengthen contract enforcement and protect the legitimate rights of both commercial banks and borrowers.
Speaking during the launch of the court on Saturday in Juba, he said stronger legal protection of loan agreements, guarantees and collateral arrangements would give banks greater confidence to extend credit to borrowers.
“The dedicated or specialized commercial court will pave an important way for addressing those challenges by facilitating timely resolution of financial, commercial, and banking related dispute to strengthen the contract enforcement and improving confidence in the banking system,” Othow said.
He identified limited access to affordable credit as one of the major challenges facing financial sector development in South Sudan.
“One of the major challenges facing financial sector development in South Sudan is limited access to affordable credit or loan. When the banks are confident that the loan agreement, the guarantors, the collateral arrangement are legally protected, they are more likely will be willing to extend credit or loan to civil servants, to businesses, to farmers, to traders, to entrepreneurs,” he added.
Othow said the proposal to establish the specialised court was first advanced by the Central Bank in 2025 to address structural challenges in the banking sector, particularly difficulties in recovering loans and enforcing financial agreements.
He called on the Judiciary to ensure that the court was adequately staffed and equipped, with specialised training in banking law, financial contracts, insolvency and corporate governance.
The Governor also urged commercial banks to strengthen credit assessments and risk management practices while calling on borrowers to honour their contractual obligations.
He said the court’s success should be measured not only by the number of cases handled, but also by improvements in loan recovery, commercial dispute resolution and access to finance.
