Kenya
Central Bank of Kenya creates lending facility in wake of banking troubles
Emergency liquidity offered to any bank under pressure “from no fault of its own”, as fears mount over the resilience of Kenya's banking sector
Lenders should reward low-risk customers – Kenyan governor
Banks should praise those performing well regarding credit management, and offer low-risk customers better terms as a result, governor says
Kenya sees a reduction in use of bank services
Mobile payments preferred, with 47.8% of the population using mobile services on a daily basis; banks now mainly used for salary payments
Emerging markets leading the way in cutting-edge payments innovations, UK report finds
Mobile payments embraced in emerging markets where banking infrastructure lags; Kenya’s M-Pesa system handles flows equivalent to a quarter of nation's GNP
No room for mediocrity, Kenya governor warns banks
Patrick Njoroge tells bankers there is ‘only the thinnest of margins’ for error; each customer should be treated as if they were ‘the only customer in the world’
Ugandan social security fund’s outside investments performing well, CIO says
Gerald Kasaato says investments in Kenya are performing well; greater use of external managers could be ‘very beneficial’ if restriction to East Africa investment is expanded
Central Bank of Kenya to reassess supervision following bank collapses
Central bank begins review of banking supervision following collapse of two domestic banks; new bank licensing on hold until further notice
Kenyan and Ugandan central banks act over troubled bank
Central Bank of Kenya places Imperial Bank under new management after being notified of ‘unsafe and unsound’ conditions; Bank of Uganda moves on local subsidiary
EAC officials highlight exchange rate pass-through concerns
Both central banks wary of potential for domestic inflation to increase in face of depreciating currencies; concerns over impact of external environment raised in EAC member statement
East African governors say structural measures needed to stabilise currencies
Senior central bank officials from Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda identify measures necessary to ensure long-term stability of their currencies
East African countries top Brookings table on inclusion
Study by think tank in Washington, DC, evaluates inclusion efforts in 21 diverse countries; Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda achieve high scores across categories
IMF calls on East African Community to explore risk-sharing
Paper explores the nature and prevalence of asymmetric shocks in the EAC, concluding it is ‘critical’ it has shared mechanisms for absorbing them when its members form a monetary union
Kenyan central bank hikes by 150bp in Njoroge’s first move
Central Bank of Kenya increases key rate for second consecutive month in first meeting with former IMF adviser Patrick Njoroge as governor
IMF's Patrick Njoroge nominated as Kenyan governor
President picks IMF adviser Njoroge from a shortlist of five candidates, which included current and former deputy governors; name passed to parliament for vetting
Kenyans invited to apply for central bank governor job
Next Central Bank of Kenya governor to be chosen by president after advert for job published yesterday, inviting Kenyans to apply for role
Cash settlement shifts to central bank platform in Kenya
Cash settlement of equity and corporate bond transactions on Nairobi Securities Exchange now taking place on Central Bank of Kenya’s real-time platform
IMF encourages Kenya central bank to set-up forecast unit
Staff report with Kenya praises the evolution of the central bank’s forecasting model and recommends creation of dedicated unit; wary of rising food prices and credit growth
Mobile money accounts trump number of adults in Kenya, IMF data show
African bank depositors increased five-fold between 2004 and 2013, IMF's fifth annual Financial Access Survey shows; includes data on mobile money for first time
Kenyan governor points to financial inclusion success
Njuguna Ndung’u sees ‘bright’ future for Kenya’s financial system; points to growing financial inclusion and successful issuance of eurobond in international market
Rwandan governor: East African Monetary Union progressing ‘as planned’
John Rwangombwa says there are ‘big gaps’ between the five member states of the East Africa Community, but he is ‘comfortable’ with the progress towards closing them
IMF and EAC partner up to improve regional statistics
The East African Community will receive technical assistance from IMF in effort to improve its collection of government finance statistics; Rwandan governor says partnership is ‘important’
South Sudan to East African Community: ‘do not reject us’
East African Community sends 'high level technical mission' to South Sudan in first step of a accession process which it expects will be 'tedious'
Kenyan central bank launches new interest rate
Kenyan banks are required to use a new base rate when pricing loans; central bank thinks it will boost the supply of credit to the private sector but observers are sceptical
Central Bank of Kenya backs up talk with currency intervention
Senior trader at I&M Bank explains how forex interventions have kept the exchange rate on an even keel; central bank issues statement to reinforce control of situation