njuguna ndung ’ u : anti - money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism in kenya remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the anti - money laundering ( aml ) national stakeholders forum, kenya school of monetary studies, nairobi, 4 october 2012. * * * hon. oburu odinga, assistant minister for finance ; chief executives of commercial banks ; mr. john wanyela, chairman, anti - money laundering advisory board ; eminent ambassadors ; our development partners ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : i feel honoured and privileged to be with you at the start of this important interactive forum that brings together financial sector stakeholders to deliberate on the important subject of anti - money laundering and combating of financing of terrorism ( aml / cft ) with an aim of creating awareness on aml issues. today i have a humble undertaking, namely of inviting our chief guest ; the hon. assistant minister for finance to deliver the keynote address and officially open the forum. but before i invite him to the podium, i wish to make a few remarks to bring delegates to speed on the status of kenya on aml / cft issues. ladies and gentlemen ; let me begin by extending a very warm welcome to all our participants to the kenya school of monetary studies. the school is working together with the financial reporting centre ( frc ) with the support of the danish government to create an extensive aml / cft programme for the next two years to raise awareness as well as train reporting entities, law enforcement authorities and personnel in the frc on anti - money laundering initiatives. as such, today ’ s forum marks the start of the danish funded project which will run over the next 24 months. the project includes activities whose objectives are to raise awareness amongst key stakeholders engaged in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. as you are all well aware, kenya has made significant strides in protecting the integrity of its financial sector from illicit financial crimes. the government has not only shown a high level of political commitment in overseeing the stability of the country ’ s financial sector but has also been actively engaged in overseeing the implementation of requisite laws and measures to ensure that our financial systems are adequately protected against the financial crimes of money laundering and the financing of terrorism ( aml / cft ). at the beirut review meeting last month, we argued that kenya is caught up in a triple problem of implementing a new constitution and formulating accompanying

interest rates — why this time will be different dr. patrick njoroge the battle for affordable credit went into high gear with the introduction of interest rate caps on september 14, 2016. this followed long - standing concerns about the high interest rates charged by commercial banks, their poor customer service and perceived insensitivity. three years later, the caps have been repealed and the verdict is clear — there are winners and losers. those that had borrowed at high rates ( above cbr + 4 percent ) had a bonanza. however, for the majority of potential borrowers and the most vulnerable, bank credit was unavailable. micro small and medium - size enterprises ( msmes ) were shut out and had to contend with shylocks at highly unfavorable terms. certainly this did not engender shared prosperity among kenyans. but the lingering question is whether banks will now roll back to their old ways, or will they strive to build a banking sector that works for and with all kenyans. will they react with courage and hope for the future, or roll back to mistrust and caution? the central bank of kenya ( cbk ) has set the pace by defining a clear vision of a banking sector that is responsible, disciplined and aligned to customers ’ needs. four pillars underpin this vision : risk - based credit pricing, transparency, customer centricity, and entrenching an ethical culture in banks. pricing — loans should be priced responsibly based on the customer ’ s risk profile and all positive and negative information from credit reference bureaus ( crbs ). the credit information sharing ( cis ) mechanism has recently been improved and work is ongoing to enhance it further, e. g., increasing the sources of information, enhancing the frequency and integrity of the data reported to crbs, and training of bank staff. transparency — banks need to fully and widely disclose the pricing ( all charges and fees ) of their products. to this end, the cost of credit website and a mobile app that enable customers to “ window shop ” for personal loans and mortgages were launched in 2017. further improvements are needed to incorporate more products and improve the overall customer experience. customer centricity — banks need to be aligned to the needs of their customers, including tailoring products that best serve customers ’ needs and resolving swiftly customers ’ complaints. for instance, banks recently showcased products that were tailored to the unique conditions of msmes. ethical culture — customers have perceived the high