Nairobi, Kenya
Players in the banking industry will converge in Nairobi next week for the inaugural research conference, a meeting set to address key issues affecting stakeholders in the banking sector.
The two-day conference christened ‘KBA Banking Research Conference’ is organized by the banking sector umbrella body Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) and will be opened by the Minister for Finance Njeru Githae.
Several stakeholders in the banking sector such as Central Bank of Kenya Governor, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u are expected to grace the event. Also representatives from the private sector and the public domain are also expected to attend the event in which KBA officials will inform the attendees on developments the body has undertaken in the sector.
While commenting on the conference, KBA Chief Executive Officer Mr Habil Olaka said the conference is an indicator of KBA’s renewed commitment to closer engagement with stakeholders for the benefit of the industry as well as the banking public.
“Our goal is to set and shape the agenda towards a more vibrant and sustainable banking sector. Towards this end, we have collaborated with researchers from the Central Bank of Kenya, the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, Strathmore Business School, Kenyatta University, Egerton University, International Monetary Fund and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA).”
Through rigorous and objective research, the recently formed KBA Centre for Research on Financial Markets and Policy hopes to come up with measures to address constraints to credit access and reduce the cost of credit in Kenya,” said Mr Olaka.
Among the research topics to be presented at the conference are a study on agency banking, income diversification in the banking sector –beyond interest income, overreliance on collateral lending, and the role of capital requirements on competitiveness and stability of the banking sector.
The writer is a Communication and Journalism, Moi University
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