in that area, we intend to take advantage of the legislative changes that have passed, including in the spring session. a very important law, passed recently at the initiative of senators, specifies financial instrument sales rules, including the right to ban sales and demand the repurchase of non - transparent products that are unprofitable for buyers. thank you very much for this law. from 1 october, testing will be open to unqualified investors who want to buy complex instruments. as you remember, ms speaker, you and i discussed this matter with banks. with your support, that law passed very quickly. we understand that the problem is more than just sales of non - transparent financial products to consumers, but also about additionally imposed services and insurance sold together with standard financial products. that problem remains relevant. to stop the practice, a law was adopted to introduce a so - called end - to - end cooling period. consumers have two weeks to cancel any tied services and receive a refund after they realise that they were misled or deceived. in the middle of next year, we are introducing a cap on the total mortgage cost — for people to see the fair value of a loan including all tied options. we believe it is essential that the total loan cost, viewed broadly, stops banks from circumventing our restrictions through creative options that add to the total loan cost. that would involve legislative changes, and we need your support there. the subject of debt burden and consumer loans will remain our focus, but i would now like to proceed to comment on the rollout of financial technologies. you will agree that our financial sector is quite advanced technologically, offering many services, digital services and online payments that are still unavailable in other countries. we are committed to ongoing support of innovations in the financial sector, and continue our dialogue on potential areas of development. we report good progress with payments for goods and services in the faster payments system. some time ago, the system only applied to money transfers. now, people can pay for goods and services via banks ’ mobile applications, with a qr code. companies stand to benefit from the lower costs compared to acquiring. you know how acute that problem has been, especially for small and medium - sized businesses. payments are routine transactions today, and multiple channels should be available to process them. this is essential to cost reduction. the more competitive the market, the better its product offering. therefore, we will open the payment market to non - financial

njuguna ndung ’ u : consolidated bank of kenya ’ s new look remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the unveiling of the consolidated bank of kenya ’ s new look, nairobi, 4 june 2010. * * * eunice kagane, chairlady, consolidated bank of kenya ltd ; mr. david ndegwa wachira, chief executive officer, consolidated bank of kenya ltd ; board members ; management and staff ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : 1. i am delighted to have been invited to this auspicious occasion of unveiling the new look of consolidated bank of kenya. allow me at this early juncture to commend the board, management and staff of consolidated bank of kenya for their contribution in the growth of the institution from the reigns of the failed institutions of the 1980 ’ s to where it is currently. it is a stark reminder of our failures in the past and how we have managed to turn it into an opportunity. the re - branding identity is a significant development aimed at achieving this goal. 2. i am aware that consolidated bank of kenya has come a long way since it was incorporated in 1989 under the financial sector reform program established by the government with the objective of taking over and re - structuring various troubled institutions. the process of rationalising, reorganising and re - structuring of the failed institutions into a viable professionally managed commercial bank was initially expected to take about five years and thereafter its shares were to be sold to the public. however, the institution ’ s mandate was changed in 2001 to operate as a fully fledged commercial bank offering a full range of both retail and corporate banking services. 3. the banking industry has become very competitive in the recent past and for you to compete effectively within your market niche you need to keep abreast of various innovative technological advancements that will support the service platform of your market niche. it is therefore important that this re - branding is seen not only in terms of a corporate identity but should also reflect an improved service delivery by the institution as well. 4. the government of kenya unveiled the country ’ s development blueprint, “ vision 2030 ” in 2008. the vision for the financial sector is to “ create a vibrant and globally competitive financial sector, driving high levels of savings and financing kenya ’ s investment needs ” to achieve this, the banking sector is expected to increase efficiency and