Johannesburg: Kenya is still open to foreign investment in its banking industry despite a moratorium imposed on issuing new licences, central bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said.
The East African nation needs stronger supervision in banking, which resulted in the temporary ban on licences, Njoroge said at a conference in Cape Town on Friday. Kenya wants investment that can “add value and not just do a copycat,” he said.
Njoroge put two banks under administration since he came to office in June, concerned by their lending practices and because of alleged fraud in the case of Imperial Bank Ltd. The halt on new licences was imposed on Nov. 17.
The moratorium “is to give us space to strengthen our supervision,” Njoroge said.
The governor added that authorities are committed to maintaining a flexible exchange rate. Kenya has sufficient buffers to “ride out” the impact from the US Federal Reserve’s tightening in monetary policy.
