Kenya

Kenyans who were attracted to bank loans by last year’s low interest rates are headed for tough times as the lenders raise the cost of money to protect their margins against inflation and exchange rate turbulence, Business Daily Africa reported. The reality of the high cost of debt has been emerging in the past couple of weeks in which successive lenders have raised interest rates citing increased costs of funds from depositors. The rise in interest rates started last week when I&M Bank increased its base lending rate by 2.25 percentage points to 15.75 per cent.

Troubled insurer Blue Shield was on Friday placed under statutory management by the Insurance Regulatory Authority for inability to honour claims. IRA commissioner Sammy Makove further barred the insurer from conducting any new business and advised existing policy holders to use other underwriters, allAfrica.com reported. IRA attributed the firms woes to its involvement in the public service vehicles (PSV) insurance business which has been beset by soaring claims, fraud and litigation.

Stockbrokers have reserved large portions of the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) for collapsed rivals in a move that could see them rake in billions of shillings when the bourse is sold to the public early next year, Business Daily Africa reported. A legal document drafted by the brokers’ advisers shows that each of the NSE’s 21 intermediaries – whether operational, in receivership or collapsed – has been allocated one million shares worth millions of shillings.

The I$M Bank has raised its lending by 1.5 per cent to reflect an increase in lending rates by the Central Bank, Business Daily Africa reported. This makes I$M Bank the second industry player to increase the cost of credit in the country with other players expected to follow suit as the CBK tightens its monetary policy. The revision puts the lending rate above the industry average of 13.92 per cent according to the Central Bank of Kenya. Commercial Bank of Africa revised their rates one week ago by the same margin to 14.5 per cent.

Treasury’s new measures to plug loopholes that property dealers use to avoid paying taxes are expected to add impetus to real estate price inflation, as agents pass on the additional levies to home buyers, Business Daily Africa reported. The new measures contained in Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s Budget proposals require real estate developers and land dealers to pay taxes on gains made from the appreciation in the value of properties sold.

Civil servants last year earned better pay than their private sector counterparts in what marks the biggest labour market shift in more than three decades, Business Daily Africa reported. Public servants took home an annual average pay of Sh394,131 compared to private sector employees’ Sh393,760, according to official data contained in the Economic Survey 2011, which was released last week. The change in fortunes of government employees is partly attributed to the reforms that the Kibaki administration has pursued since coming to power in 2003.

Kenyan workers lost buying power last year despite being awarded pay increments after a two-year freeze caused by the combination of the 2008 post-election violence and global economic recession, official data released last week shows, Business Daily Africa reported. Though nominal wages were up by an average of 3.5 per cent, prices of goods and services rose at a higher rate of 4.1 per cent, leaving workers with negative real wages, according to Economic Survey 2011.

Executive pay in the banking sector rose faster than other employees’ take home last year helped by a vicious war for talent as competitive intensified in the lending market, raising the compensation bar, industry statistics show, Business Daily Africa reported. Top bankers’ payroll grew by more than 30 per cent in the year buoyed by a rise in the number of managers and intense competition for top talent that required lucrative perks to hire and retain. This helped widen the pay gap between the executives and the rest of staff – especially in the industry’s top players.

The tax collector has sealed a loophole that allowed companies to claim tax returns on debts that they were finding difficult to collect as it unveiled tighter rules to guide the claim process, Business Daily Africa reported. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) published the new rules in the latest Kenya Gazette in a bid to bridge its tax collection deficit that stood at Sh11 billion in the six months to December amid growing public expenditure.

KCB is set to receive a Sh8.8 billion ($105 million) loan from the World Bank to support its regional mortgage business, Business Daily Africa reported. World Bank’s private lending arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has indicated it is considering advancing the cash to finance KCB’s mortgage and small and medium enterprises business in Kenya, Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. According to IFC, KCB Rwanda will get $5 million. The final details of the proposed credit line will be discussed at a board meeting slated for June 7.