NAIROBI, Dec. 4-- Commercial banks lending rates in Kenya have hit a three-year low as the government strives to make the cost of credit affordable.

New data from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) showed Thursday that banks in the East African nation are now charging borrowers an average of 16 percent on loans. This is a drop of more than 1 percent from the January position, where the rates stood at 17.03 percent.

At 16 percent, it is the first time in over three years that Kenyans are paying such a rate for credit. The last time the interest rates were at below 16 percent was in October 2011, where the charges stood at 15.2 percent.

Interest charges then rose steadily peaking at 20.3 percent in June 2012 as inflationary pressure hit a high of 18 percent. In 2013, the charges averaged between 17 percent and 18 percent.

For the better part of this year, the rates have stood at an average of 16.5 percent before falling to 16 percent in October.

Analysts attribute the fall of the interest rates to drop in inflationary pressure, rise in competition and introduction of a new loan pricing formula by the CBK.

Kenya's November inflation stood at 6.09 percent, down from 6. 43 percent on account of decline in food, housing, water, gas and electricity prices. Low inflation has made CBK maintain its benchmark rate at an average of 8.5 percent.

The drop in East African nation's interest rates further signal that commercial banks are keen on cutting down the cost of credit following the implementation of a new loan-pricing formula known as the Kenya Banks Reference Rate (KBRR).

KBBR is based on averages of the CBK's indicative rate and the 91-day Treasury bill yield over six months. Banks are then expected to add a premium on the average based on their costs that include insurance and credit risk. CBK's yields on the 91-day bill stand at 8.6 percent.

CBK came up with the loan-pricing formula to protect consumers by standardizing the lending rates, which were varying from one bank to another.

The regulator noted that the financial institutions were raising money through customer deposits and lending the same at an exorbitant fee.

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has been at the forefront of pushing for drop in interest charges, noting that a single digit rate would enable private sector access cash and consequently boost the economy.

However, as the borrowing charge records a downward trend, the interest rate banks pay on savings is somewhat static, at an average of 1.5 percent.

Kenya has the highest interest spread in the region, a level that the government has termed unsustainable.

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