Author: David Indeje

The Central bank of Kenya (CBK) on Thursday issued new guidelines for the listing of loan defaulters with Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs) following end of the six-month suspension.  In a release, the central bank said borrowers are “always required to fully service their loan obligations on a timely basis and engage their lenders in case of any concerns’. “The suspension did not apply to loans that were non-performing before April 1, for which the regular procedures continued to apply,” CBK clarified. Under the new guidelines, financial institutions will from October 1, 2020, access the performance of all loans that were…

Kenya’s National Treasury is back in the domestic market with two re-opened bonds seeking to raise Ksh 50 billion for October. The two bonds- a 20-year issue with 10.6 years to maturity and a 25-year issue maturing in 22.7 years will be sold to investors between now and October 13. According to the Central Bank, completed bond application forms must be submitted to any of their branches in the specified tender box or via Treasury Mobile Direct (TMD) or CBK internet Banking by 2.00 p.m on Tuesday, 13th October 2020. The bonds will be auctioned a day later.  “The Central…

Kenya’s retail inflation dropped marginally to 4.2 percent in September, government data showed on Wednesday compared to 4.36 percent the previous month. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that the September Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, stood at 108.57. “The month-on-month food and non-alcoholic drinks index rose by 0.15 percent, while the year-on-year food inflation rose by 5.18 percent mainly due to an increase in the price of peas, oranges, Irish potatoes, and cabbages by 13.69, 3.82, 2.74, and 1.72 percent respectively, among…

Allianz, Germans’ leading insurers, and asset managers on Tuesday said it has entered into a strategic partnership to acquire a majority stake in East Africa’s largest insurance group Jubilee Holdings. In the proposed partnership structure, Allianz will acquire controlling stakes in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda as well as the short-term insurance segment in Burundi and Mauritius. businesses for a total consideration of Ksh 10.8 billion (EUR 84 million, USD 100 million) while JHL will retain a significant minority stake.  JHL’s subsidiary in Kenya, Jubilee General Insurance Limited is the future joint venture company that will also acquire the business of…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has implored the National Treasury to extend tax reliefs, which took effect in April to Kenyans hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking during the National COVID-19 Conference Monday, Kenyatta directed the National Treasury to consider retaining the VAT at 14 percent until the first of July 2021. Treasury has also been asked to retain the income tax rate, Pay-As-You-Earn, at 25 percent until the first of January 2021 and retain the corporate tax at 25 percent until January 2021. “To protect low-income earners, I am asking the National Treasury to maintain the 100 percent tax relief of…

The African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd), a commercial subsidiary of African Risk Capacity Group (ARC Group), has signed a partnership agreement with Pula to help provide agriculture index insurance products to the continents’ farmers.  African farmers are exposed to a range of climate risks including drought, excessive rainfall, pests and diseases, and several other perils that negatively affect their yields. Pula specialises in meso and micro parametric insurance in agriculture and provides the levers to connect participating farmers with regional insurance companies and global reinsurance firms to underwrite such risks. The partnership will run for an initial period of…