How Funds Will Be Shared Out In The 2016-17 Budget
[field_converge_image]The theme of the Budget Policy Statement for 2016/17 has been revised to “Sustaining Prosperity in a Volatile Global Economy” from the previous draft theme of “Sustaining Economic...
View ArticleThe Public Debt: Why we should all care
[field_converge_image]While the Budget Policy Statement is popularly acknowledged as an important document and widely discussed, the Debt Management Strategy is less glamorous. And yet a budget is only...
View ArticleNairobi: A good investment destination
[field_converge_image]Cities in Africa have been recognised as the 21st century engines of economic growth by the Africa CEO Forum recently held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Key among the drivers shaping...
View ArticleWill a revision of KBRR lower interest rates?
[field_converge_image]The proposed revision of the Kenya Banks Reference Rate formula offers renewed hope that interest rates may decline. The KBRR was introduced by policymakers as a uniform base rate...
View ArticleFewer large lenders are not a panacea to bank failures
[field_converge_image]There is a raging debate on whether the country has too many banks, and how far this has contributed to the recent failure of lower-tier banks. The failures have resulted in...
View ArticleMore regulation needed in the banking sector
[field_converge_image] The prospects of bank consolidation, following the distress of three lower-tier banks in the last nine months is real. The present-day crisis in the banking industry has created...
View ArticleKenya leads in “Africa rising” narrative
[field_converge_image]The recent survey by Ernst & Young indicates Sub-Saharan Africa will remain the second fastest growing region in the world, after emerging Asia, for the foreseeable future....
View ArticleA single financial agency tricky too
[field_converge_image]The proposed Financial Services Authority will offer broad unified regulation merging the current regulators comprising the Capital Markets Authority, the Insurance Regulatory...
View ArticlePublic debt is sustainable in the long term
[field_converge_image]One of the priority areas of focus in the Fiscal Budget for 2016-17 is the increasing level of public debt and specifically whether the debt is sustainable. Public debt arises...
View ArticleBrexit will aff ect Kenya as the UK is key foreign investor
[field_converge_image]The credit rating of United Kingdom is facing a downgrade following the referendum vote to exit the European Union. While Fitch has lowered the rating from AA+ to AA, Moody’s has...
View ArticleWill UNCTAD deliver the benefits of globalisation?
[field_converge_image] The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development taking place in Nairobi over the course of this week is yet another time for governments and policy-makers to reflect...
View ArticleThe Nairobi Mafi kiano is good for Africa
[field_converge_image] The Nairobi Mafikiano and Nairobi Azimio give the UN Conference on Trade and Development a new and strengthened mandate to deal with matters of trade and development and related...
View ArticleIs the law needed to lower interest rates?
[field_converge_image]Opinion is dividend as to whether the President should accent to the Banking (Amendment) Bill, 2015 that was passed by Parliament last week. The bill proposes a maximum on the...
View ArticleIs usury ceiling solution to high interest rates?
[field_converge_image]Economic theory suggests that interest rates are best determined by the marketplace, otherwise the forces of demand and supply, rather than by legislation. The supply comes from...
View ArticleWider reforms in finances are a necessity
[field_converge_image]As the debate on whether or not to adopt interest rate ceiling gains momentum, perhaps it is time to also evaluate whether it will increase effectiveness of the key functions of...
View ArticleHarness the capital markets
[field_converge_image] Despite the growth in the general economy, many companies and particularly SMEs have difficulties raising funds for expansion. For one, banks and financial institutions are...
View ArticleRates capping needs flexible strategies
[field_converge_image]The full impact of the recent capping of interest rates will take time to unravel. With loan interest capped at four per cent of the base rate, and deposits at 70 per cent of the...
View ArticleImplications of changing the base rate
[field_converge_image]The Central Bank Rate is the official base rate for purposes of implementation of the Banking Amendment Act 2015 as announced in a CBK circular on Tuesday this week. This puts to...
View ArticleIs sharing of resources equitable?
[field_converge_image] International Budget Partnership together with the Society for International Development and the Katiba Institute have designated this week as Equity Week. The programme is...
View ArticleSharing of the conditional grant
[field_converge_image]Sharing of public resources ought to take into account both equity and equality in order to fulfill the mandate of equitable development that is promised in the new constitution....
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