| {"doc_id": "05abed74eac8789bca28c0aa1cdbd225", "text": "CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA\nRemarks by\nPROF. NJUGUNA NDUNG’U\nGOVERNOR\nCCEENNTTRRAALL BBAANNKK OOFF KKEENNYYAA\noonn tthhee\nOCCASION OF THE IFC/FT SUSTAINABLE BANKING AWARDS DINNER\nIntercontinental Hotel, Nairobi\nThursday, February 12th, 2009\nREMARKS BY PROF. NJUGUNA NDUNG’U, GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF\nKENYA DURING THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION/FINANCIAL\nTIMES SUSTAINABLE BANKING AWARDS DINNER AT INTERCONTINENTAL\nHOTEL, NAIROBI ON 12TH FEBRUARY 2009\n\nGovernor’s Remarks – IFC/FT Sustainable Banking Awards Dinnerl – February 12th, 2009-02-12\nMr. Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive\nOfficer, IFC;\nJean Philippe Prosper, Director, East and Southern Africa, IFC;\nDistinguished Guests;\nLadies and Gentlemen:\nIt is my joy and pleasure to join you this evening on the occasion of the\nInternational Finance Corporation (IFC)/Financial Times (FT) Sustainable\nBanking Awards Regional Dinner. Let me start by thanking IFC for inviting me\nto this prestigious meeting. Allow me also to commend the IFC and the\nFinancial Times for this initiative. I am indeed informed that the Awards have\ngrown from strength to strength since their launch in 2006. In this regard, a new\nAward for Banking at the “Bottom of the Pyramid” has been introduced in\n2009. I am advised that this new award will reward those that address the\nestimated four billion people in the world that live on less than two dollars a\nday. That is, reward those who provide financial reach downstream as I\ndescribe it in Kenya.\nSustainable banking is more than ever before in sharp focus, particularly in\nview of the ongoing global financial crisis. Financial institutions are increasingly\nbeing called upon to incorporate social, environmental and corporate\ngovernance considerations in their operations. Banking is no longer just about\nfinancial value, it is increasingly about creating social and environmental values\nas well as providing consumer protection. The role of the market, the regulator\nand consumer protection are becoming important with the current global\nfinancial crisis.\nLadies and Gentlemen: The introduction of the “Bottom of the Pyramid”\naward is timely as we stand today. A vast proportion of the African populace is\nunder-served or even totally unserved by financial institutions. To tap this\n“mass of under-banked and un-banked market”, financial institutions must\ncome up with innovative products that cover them and are reflective of their\nneeds. I therefore commend IFC and the Financial Times for introduction of\nthis award.\nThe “Bottom of the Pyramid” has specific characteristics that require specific\nproducts consistent with them. They need services to support their savings, as\nsafe havens, they need low barriers to entry in that market; they need low or no\n2\n\nGovernor’s Remarks – IFC/FT Sustainable Banking Awards Dinnerl – February 12th, 2009-02-12\ncosts for maintaining their accounts. But they provide a mountain of deposits\nthat rarely move. The CBK will strive to support those banks that target this\ndownstream market with the requisite risk management culture inculcated in\ntheir operations and of course infrastructure that lowers costs.\nLadies and Gentlemen: Beyond embracing sustainable banking, financial\ninstitutions should also incorporate sustainability reporting in their public\ndisclosures. Regulators set the minimum disclosure requirements and banks are\nurged to go beyond these requirements and embrace emerging trends such as\nsustainability reporting. The Central Bank of Kenya has indeed discussed the\nissue of sustainability reporting with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) in\nthe recent past. I was therefore pleased to note the launch of a sustainability\nreport late last year by one of our leading Kenyan banks.\nIn closing, I would therefore urge banks in the region, some of which are\nrepresented here to submit their entries for these important awards. It is only by\nbeing benchmarked against other entities in the region and globally that our\nbanking sector can move to new frontiers of innovation, competitiveness in\ntheir market niche, transparency and growth. I wish you all a very fruitful and\nenjoyable evening.\nThank You\n3", "source": "CBK", "stratum": "cb_requests", "fetch_date": "2026-04-26", "url": "https://www.centralbank.go.ke//images/docs/speeches/2009/IFC%20Sustainable%20Banking%20Awards%20Dinner.pdf"} |