mr. chairman : i would like to conclude by underlining the role of professionals in managing global financial crisis. professionals including bankers are on the spot like never before. there is of course considerable debate on the capacity of bankers, analysts, fund managers, credit rating agencies, regulators and accountants in the crisis. professionals have a sacrosanct responsibility to provide advice and guidance in their areas of speciality. institutions such as kib therefore play a key role in building the capacity of bankers to respond to emerging issues. the global financial system is evolving rapidly and professionals have to “ up their game ” if their institutions are to survive in these turbulent times. bodies such as kib must therefore provide relevant and appropriate capacity building programmes for their members. i must therefore commend the kib eldoret chapter for organising today ’ s forum that will enable your members to gather insights on topical issues. kib indeed provides a useful knowledge base on the banking sector. i would therefore challenge you to add your voice in times such as this by providing advice as to how kenya can continue on a growth trajectory, the global financial crisis not withstanding. at the central bank, we are open to knowledge sharing and welcome ideas from organizations such as kib. i therefore urge you to continue addressing topical issues and share your recommendations with policymakers. i do not wish to extend my remarks much further as i am acutely aware that social “ ice breaking ” and renewal of existing acquaintances is a critical component of gatherings such as this. i therefore wish the kib eldoret chapter well in all its endeavours. let me close my remarks by wishing you all a very pleasant and memorable evening. thank you.

needs of their customers. this applies to all segments of their customers of whom the disabled are an important component. banks must therefore clearly understand the needs of the disabled as they design products and services for them. more importantly is how the disabled access these products and services. advances in technology and innovations present us with opportunities to ensure convenient ‘ anytime anywhere ’ services on digital platforms. however, physical channels still remain important and every effort must be made to make brick - and - mortar facilities accessible by the disabled. the second pillar is ethical banking, which is about doing the right thing. this is encapsulated in the shift towards sustainability aptly captured in the 3ps acronym, people, purpose and planet. the kenyan banking sector to its merit established the sustainable finance initiative in 2015. some of our banks have signed up to global sustainability initiatives most notably, the un principles for responsible banking unveiled on the margins of the un general assembly in september 2019. as the kenyan banking sector walks the 3ps path, it must carry along the disabled, an integral part of our society. on our part as the central bank, we are also working through our mandate to the kenyan populace to ensure that the disabled are not left behind. most notably, the new generation notes issued in june 2019 incorporated features to enable ease of use by the visually impaired. these include use of large prints, tactile bands to identify the denomination and size differentiation of the various denominations of the notes. these features were incorporated based on feedback from the visually impaired. while these are significant milestones, we are still on a journey listening to all kenyans to ensure they are able to use the notes and coins we issue. as i draw to a close, today ’ s event should be the beginning of a journey for kenya ’ s banking sector in walking more closely with the disabled. i am sure that this will not just be another webinar, but we shall all be challenged to take action and make a difference to society. we cannot prosper as a society if any of us is left behind. i therefore challenge the kenyan banking sector to walk the talk and truly serve our disabled compatriots. let us be challenged to design suitable products and services for them and ensure our premises and physical channels are easily accessible to them. at this time next year, we should celebrate today as the beginning of a year of tremendous progress in incorporating the disabled in the kenyan banking sector. i wish you fruitful deliberations and look forward to