Sierra Leone Collateral Registry

The Sierra Leone Collateral Registry is an initiative of the Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group to improve access to finance particularly for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The Collateral Registry, established under Part II of the Borrowers and Lenders Act, is a web based system that allows lenders to search for any prior security interests, as well as establish their security interests over movable assets provided as collateral. The Collateral Registry facilitates the use of movable / personal assets as collateral that may remain in possession or control of the borrowers and thereby improves access to secured finance because:

• Movable assets/personal property often account for most of the capital stock of MSMEs;
• Movable assets are the main type of collateral that MSMEs, especially those in developing countries, can encumber to obtain financing; and
• Given the opportunities in agri-business among others, the Collateral Registry regime allows farmers and entrepreneurs to unlock significant sources of capital with assets that would otherwise not be looked at by lenders as potential collateral.

The BSL remains committed to the sustainable economic growth of Sierra Leone and shall continue to support the development of necessary financial sector infrastructure.

A Collateral Registry is established for the purposes of receiving, storing and making available to the public information submitted by users in registration forms relating to security interests. The Collateral Registry System is a centralized web-based software designed and developed based on international standards that contains information relating to security interests in movable property included in forms submitted by registered users.

The software automatically assigns a sequential registration number, date and time of registration to each form accepted for registration and saves data to a database which is made available to searchers who use the appropriate search parameters. The priority among competing security interests is established according to the time of registration.

The web-based nature of the system offers remote access from the comfort of your location even beyond normal business hours without visiting the registry office. It reduces and frees registry officials from paper burdens, manual reviews, searches and storage costs.

A Collateral Registry is established for the purposes of receiving, storing and making available to the public information submitted by users. The software saves data submitted by registered users to a database and makes it available to the searchers who use the appropriate search parameter.

TYPE OF USERS OF THE CRS WEBSITE

The CRS online service is to provide access to three main user groups: Frequent users, infrequent users and public user. The kind of access to the Collateral Registry System that you require depends on the kind of transaction to be undertaken. It also depends on whether you are a Body Corporate or an Agent (acting on another’s behalf) going to use the system to register a security interest regularly or infrequently or a Public user who only want to search the registry system one time.

How to Access the Registry

Any person can access the Collateral Registry System by entering the URL address www.bsl.gov.sl in a web browser but only registered users are able to submit registration forms. Accessing the Collateral Registry System depends on the Client Type. Unlike a Registered Client, a Public Client needs no registration in the system in order to perform search. A Registered Client has to be a financial institution licensed and regulated by the BSL or an Agent (institution or individual).

Users of the Registry can either request a postpaid client account or prepay for transactions at the BSL Pay-point. To pay for a transaction in the Collateral Registry System, first determine the total amount of fees for all the services you want to do from the Fees option under the HELP menu. Then pay that amount at the Pay-point outlet.

OPTIONS FOR ACCESS TO THE CRS

• Option 1: Postpaid Client Account Access



Postpaid Client Account users are financial institutions regulated by the BSL who hold a clearing account with the central bank. Such financial institutions should open a client account with the Collateral Registry by clicking the Register Tab on the home page to register and request to be setup on a Postpaid Account. This allows the institution through its authorized users to login to the application, register forms and request for search certificates without making any advanced payments. The transaction fees are automatically deducted from the financial institutions credit account with the BSL and a statement is generated for the client at the end of each month, detailing all completed chargeable transactions.



• Option 2: Pay Point Client Account Access



If you represent a body corporate or acts as an agent on behalf of another financial institution and holds no account with the central bank but intends to use the registration and search services of the CRS, you must open a client account with the Collateral Registry by clicking the Register Tab on the home page to register and pay the fees in advance at the BSL Pay-Point.



• Option 3: How to Search as Public User



If all you want to do is to search for existing registrations make sure to pay the fees in advance at the BSL Pay-Point. Click the Search Menu on the Home Page to choose the Search type to perform. In that case, there is no need to login.