patrick njoroge : agile regulation for digital transformation remarks by dr patrick njoroge, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the “ agile regulation for digital transformation ( a. reg4dt ) ” webinar, 22 september 2021. * * * excellencies, ladies and gentlemen : good morning, good afternoon! i am pleased to join you at the agile regulation for digital transformation ( a. reg4dt ) webinar. let me at the outset, express my gratitude to the world bank and its partners in this initiative for the invite. while on the one hand, the coronavirus ( covid - 19 ) pandemic has upended lives and livelihoods, on the other hand, it has fostered digital transformation at an unprecedented scale. as digitalization has transformed delivery of services for businesses, governments and changed our way of life, regulators have been assessing the resultant opportunities and risks. the a. reg4dt initiative is opportune to develop the capacity of regulators in africa as digitalization transforms every facet of our lives. indeed the world has changed dramatically from 2007, when mobile phone money transfer services were introduced in kenya to meet basic financial needs of transferring money from urban workers to their rural families. subsequently, mobile phones laid the digital rails, that have seen the transformation of financial inclusion not just in kenya but across africa. shortly thereafter, was the global financial crisis from 2007, in the advanced economies, predicated on excessive risk taking and the trend at that time of deregulation. africa was largely spared the direct effects of this crisis given its relatively limited linkages to global financial markets at that time. the focus immediately after the crisis was the strengthening of the global banking sector through enhancing capital and liquidity buffers, risk management and an overhaul of corporate governance practices. one of the spillover effects of the global financial crisis was the emergence of decentralized finance ( de - fi ). the promoters of de - fi sought to leverage on the loss of trust in governments and financial institutions particularly in advanced economies. this saw the emergence of cryptocurrencies, headlined by bitcoin, positioned as alternative payment instruments. this later morphed to stablecoins and more recently, there has been the growing discussion on central bank digital currencies ( cbdcs ). recently, cryptocurrencies have morphed into more of wealth management instruments and less of payment instruments. amidst these developments in the global financial arena

##s would not have been realized. thank you once more. responsibilities 5. the forum will continue to be advisory through consultative engagements to advise the bank on aspects of financial markets development including the following : i. implementation of the government borrowing programme. ii. review performance of government securities in the secondary market and advice on issuance of government securities. iii. issues relating to trading of government securities in the secondary market. iv. development of efficient financial markets through dissemination of market information, marketing and investor education. v. deepening of money and capital markets and efficient functioning of the financial markets. vi. peer influence among stakeholders on policy reforms in their sectors. vii. promote development and harmonization of financial markets and practices in the region. viii. introduction of new financial markets products / developments for the consideration of the bank. ix. initiate, recommend and co - ordinate introduction of new financial markets products / developments for consideration by the bank. bis central bankers ’ speeches review of forum membership 6. as you have all observed over the last decade or so, the financial landscape in kenya has undergone many transformations. the sector has seen the entrance of new players and stakeholders. for example, most brokerage firms converted into investment banks with varying business focus. 7. these dynamic developments have shown the need to include other emerging segments of the financial market in the forum. furthermore, change dynamics in the financial market sector have precipitated high representation turnovers in the mlf. it therefore became necessary to re - constitute the market leaders forum to reflect the evolving financial landscape in kenya and to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of the mlf in stimulating the government securities market in an expanding and dynamic financial market. 8. i congratulate all of you who have been nominated by your respective institutions or umbrella organizations to the mlf membership. 9. it is my hope and expectation that reconstitution of the forum will re - energize the relevant financial sector development debate to effectively address emerging challenges in the financial markets and bring in new perspectives in the approach to financial sector growth in line with the government policy to make nairobi the financial hub for east and central africa. meetings 10. the forum will meet monthly. i warmly welcome the new members of the forum and look forward to working with them in the coming days. the financial markets department will continue hosting monthly technical meetings to review progress and provide advice on an ongoing basis. thank you all very much for your time and for listening. bis central bankers