Kenya: Central Bank Releases Over KSH55B (~ $500M) to Rescue Struggling Local Lenders

Source: The Standard

The Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) lending to banks hit KSH 55.47 billion (~ $500M)  in the financial year to June 2021. This points to the regulator’s increased intervention to rescue lenders from a liquidity crunch.

The disclosures, contained in CBK's latest annual report, shed light on the behind-the-scenes operations to rescue struggling lenders from sinking. CBK’s enhanced liquidity support to the banks was despite the sector’s overall liquidity standing at 57 percent at the end of June 2021, well above the minimum statutory level of 20 percent.