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Browsing: CBK Governor
On 15 May, President William Ruto nominated Kamau Thugge as the new governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). If the Senate and the National Assembly ratify the appointment, Thugge will begin his first term as the CBK governor in mid-June. He will replace the incumbent Patrick Njoroge who assumed office as CBK governor in 2015.
The nomination of Thugge comes at a pivotal time for the Kenyan economy. Kenya’s inflation remains high at almost 8 per cent. The Kenyan shilling has also hit all-time lows against the US dollar. Thus, the monetary policies from the CBK will most likely come in handy in the coming months. But what makes Thugge the perfect fit for the crucial role of Kenya’s top banker?
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has retained the base lending rate in the country at 8.75 per cent, citing…
The Central Bank of Kenya added that all countries in the region needed to participate in flattening the multi-layered correspondent banking structure and shortening the payment chains for a digital currency to work.
The development of CBDCs has been on the rise. According to a 2021 survey of central banks by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 86 per cent of central banks are in the process of researching the potential for CBDCs, 60 per cent are experimenting on them, and 14 per cent were deploying pilot projects.
The CBK has maintained the cryptocurrency ban and has not issued a digital currency due to concerns about the risks of a CBDC.
The CBK has also issued circulars to local commercial banks warning them against dealing with cryptocurrencies transactions or face penalties for non-compliance.
The last circular was issued in 2018 and has remained in action up until now.
While delivering the monetary policy announcement where the monetary policy committee retained the base lending rate at seven per cent for the 12th time, Dr Patrick said that their position had not changed on any of the crypto products in the market.