Category: East Africa

Kenya’s biggest bank by assets KCB and CfC Stanbic Wednesday announced that they had lowered interest rates for existing borrowers in line with the new law capping the cost of loans, piling pressure on their peers to follow suit. The decision marks a departure from the industry lobby Kenya Bankers Association’s (KBA) earlier position that…

Bank stocks appeared to have bottomed out after days of a rout with nearly all counters rising Wednesday amidst rising orders. Share prices of Housing Finance, Coop and I&M rose by the highest allowable margin of 10 per cent for a single day but those of StanChart and National Bank of Kenya remained unchanged. With…

CFC Stanbic has become the first bank to cut rates for existing loans following the move by President Uhuru Kenyatta to sign the Bill capping interest rates on bank loans into law. The new law caps loan interest rates at 4 per cent above the central bank rate. – Credit: Business Daily

The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Tuesday with demand coming from importers and manufacturers expected to put pressure on it, traders said. At 0700 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.35/45 to the dollar, unchanged from Monday’s close. – Credit: CNBC Africa

Nigeria’s Dangote Cement has started its shake-up of the Kenyan market with importation of the commodity from its plant in neighbouring Ethiopia as it prepares to establish a local manufacturing plant. Dangote’s targeting of the Kenyan consumer with low-cost cement from Ethiopia is expected to further drive retail prices downward in a market where they…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has made a multi-billion shilling tax demand on insurance brokers in a move that industry insiders say could take down many of the underwriters. The bill is related to unpaid excise taxes on commissions earned between July 2013 and December last year when the law exempting them from paying the…