The IFF-OBA team visited NMB, TIB, CRDB and NBC in March 2018 to discuss their role in financing Water Authorities, seek to understand their key requirements in lending and whether there is a possibility of negotiating loan terms offered in their term sheets. All four banks expressed their strong interest in cooperating with water authorities to finance projects. They commonly considered the IFF Programme and the potential OBA subsidy as beneficial to the successful implementation of projects.

Even though the OBA subsidy cannot be considered as security for the loan due to its conditional nature, the Banks may still include a conditional phrase into their loan agreement that would stipulate the use of the OBA subsidy, in case it was paid, as guarantee for the remaining debt. The opportunity to have four commercial banks ready to finance water authorities will spur competition between themselves, eventually leading to lower and more favorable financing terms.