njuguna ndung ’ u : transformation of banks in kenya address by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, during the inaugural session of the 11th bank human resources conference 2011 of the indian institute of banking and finance, nairobi, 28 april 2011. * * * distinguished guests ; the chief executive officer, indian institute of banking and finance ; members of the institute ; all protocols observed ; ladies and gentlemen : i am delighted and honoured to have been invited to preside over the opening ceremony of this conference organized by the indian institute of banking and finance. at the onset, kindly allow me to extend a warm welcome to all participants attending this important conference. the theme : “ managing transformation for achieving growth ” is indeed compelling. growth is driven by fundamental factors, but key among them is the transformation of markets and institutions to guard the market and define appropriate incentives. one such market is the financial market guided and regulated by several institutions. today, i will share my thoughts on how the central bank has transformed the banking sub - sector as a means of transforming and deepening the financial sector in line with kenya ’ s development goals. let me parade at least seven of them : 1 ) rollout of branch networks to provide financial services to remote and lower income areas : the expansion of branch networks in the financial services industry has registered significant growth over the last 4 years and is well distributed across all regions in both rural and urban centres. currently, we have 1064 branches from 740 in 2007. 2 ) allowing mobile phone financial services to provide a new technological platform : this entails approval for banks to leverage on mobile phone technology to present convenience and lower costs to their customers without compromising quality of service. through mobile phone banking, customers are now able to perform their transactions “ anytime, anywhere ’ ’. mobile phone money transfer has evolved from the initial concept of transferring money from one individual to another to include other functions such as payment of utility bills, disbursement and repayment of loans, payment of salaries and deposit mobilization. 3 ) introduction of agent banking mechanism : this is the “ banking beyond branches ’ ’ model where commercial banks are allowed to engage third parties to provide certain banking services to increase outreach of the banks to the vast under - banked and unbanked kenyan populace. in a nutshell, agency banking enables banks to leverage on additional cost effective distribution channels to offer financial services. so far 5552 agents have been approved and are providing

financial services. 4 ) credit reference bureaus ( crbs ) : through licensing of credit reference bureaus, the cbk has enabled credit providers to collect, collate, analyse and disseminate credit information. credit information sharing provides an opportunity for individuals and businesses to rely on bis central bankers ’ speeches their credit history ( information capital ) to support the process of collateralization and even change the collateral technology in the country. individuals will also be able to use their positive credit history to negotiate for better terms and conditions from their banks. on the other hand, banks will benefit from the mechanism since it will address the problem of information asymmetry and by extension the problem of non - performing loans which has in the past threatened the stability of the banking sector. the traditional challenges of the moral hazard and adverse selection can hinder financial sector growth. as a result, credit appraisal by bank staff will greatly benefit from credit information sharing. what staff need to do is appreciate how the mechanism operates, its benefits and embrace it as a tool to enhance relationship with their clients. 5 ) lowering the cost of doing business through currency centres : cbk believes that through cost reduction, banks will be able to extend credit to the productive sectors of the economy at reasonably cheaper costs. consequently, cbk has in partnership with the kenya bankers association, established currency centers in towns outside the central bank branch networks. 6 ) licensing deposit taking microfinance institutions ( dtms ) : the central bank is also actively pursuing a policy of licensing dtms as a means of reaching out to all segments of the market. dtms are free to choose to be nationwide or community based. 7 ) capacity building through hr training and development : cbk assists industry players empower their employees to embrace strategies aimed at making the banking sector safe, efficient, effective and all inclusive. the strategic initiatives include : a ) playing a leading role in the human resources sub - committee of the monetary affairs committee of east african central banks – through this forum partner central banks are addressing emerging hr issues by revising the frameworks governing hr policies and strategies such as recruitment, retention policy and succession plans among others, in line with international best practice. b ) facilitating capacity building through the kenya school of monetary studies ( ksms ) – the ksms was established to provide capacity building programmes for the financial sector in kenya and the region and i am happy to note that the school has offered relevant programmes in banking and it at certificate and diploma levels for over