market must take precedence. and it takes precedence by taking particular cognizance that you are typically smaller than the tbs which are part of a banking group. ladies and gentlemen, what all this says is that the future rests with your choices. while we have, as a country and as a banking industry, done well, we are at that proverbial fork in the road where strategic decisions will have to be made. resources have always been relatively scarce but our new banking framework requires of us to be more conscious of the unseen risk, the allocation of scarce risk capital, and remaining competitive as a corporate entity but with a heightened sense of governance. these are the strategic issues. bis central bankers ’ speeches eleanor roosevelt once said that “ great minds discuss ideas ; average minds discuss events ; small minds discuss people ”. the likely “ events ” have crystalized before our eyes. it is now time to venture into the market of strategic ideas, not only to discuss but more so for the greater minds to lead the way towards a better banking future. thank you and good morning. bis central bankers ’ speeches

njuguna ndung ’ u : financial inclusion through the agent banking model and credit reference bureaus remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the official opening of fina bank ’ s, ngong road branch, nairobi, 17 june 2010. * * * the chairman and board members ; group chief operating officer ; management and staff ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : it gives me great pleasure to be with you today at the official opening of fina bank ’ s, ngong road branch. as the regulator for the banking sector, the central bank is pleased to be associated with the achievements of the banks we regulate, particularly where these developments lead to increased access to banking services for the kenyan public. this is what fina bank is doing this evening. it is evident that fina bank is focused on its programme of expansion and growth strategy, having started its operations as finance institution of africa in 1986 before converting to the present day fina bank in 1996. with the opening of this branch, the bank will have a network of 14 branches in the country. i also note that the bank has established its presence regionally by opening subsidiaries in uganda and rwanda. this is encouraging indeed. mr. chairman, let me take this opportunity to compliment the board, management and staff of fina bank for this great achievement. i note that as at april 2010, the bank commanded an impressive asset portfolio of ksh. 13. 5 billion and customer deposits of ksh. 11. 5 billion, while riding on a capital base of ksh. 1. 3 billion. the central bank is particularly encouraged by the bank ’ s leading role as a lender in the small and medium enterprise ( sme ) sector, a growth sector in kenya ’ s economy which has been described as the “ jewel ” of kenya ’ s economic growth. this is indeed important following from the budget proposals that created a revolving fund for sme – it may well be the best policy in our times to support the growth pole provided by smes. ladies and gentlemen, kenya ’ s growth picked up in the last quarter of 2009, extending into 2010 and on the back of good rainfall and a resurgence of tourism, we are optimistic that this positive trend will continue, and therefore forecast that the economy will post a 4 to 5 percent growth in 2010 on average. equally the banks have had a spectacular performance. for the period ended march 31, 2010, the