Kenya

Kenya's central bank said on Thursday it would require another three months of investigation to determine the fate of Imperial Bank, which was put into receivership in October, delaying a resolution that had been scheduled for the end of this month, Reuters reported. The Imperial Bank receivership, which came two months after the liquidation of a smaller bank, rattled confidence in a financial sector where more than 40 foreign and local banks operate.

Kenya’s economic growth has failed to keep pace with its peers and the country needs to “step up a gear” if it is to achieve its long-term goals, the World Bank has concluded in a major report on east Africa’s largest economy, the Financial Times reported. The five-yearly study, “From economic growth to jobs and shared prosperity”, provides a striking contrast to recent reports from analysts and investors, who have been championing Kenya as one of the brighter emerging economies, particularly in the wake of falling commodity prices.

The receiver for Kenya's privately owned Imperial Bank (IBL) found substantial fraud but the bank is still viable and shareholders are considering a proposal to inject capital, the central bank said on Tuesday. Imperial Bank was put into receivership this month after the board alerted the central bank to malpractices at the mid-sized lender, rattling the financial community.

Kenya's central bank on Wednesday said it was ready to provide "adequate liquidity" to the country's banking system after a mid-sized lender was put into receivership a day earlier and hit banking shares on the stock market, Reuters reported. A government agency took control of privately-held Imperial Bank on Tuesday after the central bank said it had become aware of "unsafe or unsound business conditions". Another smaller bank was put in receivership in August after liquidity problems.

Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd., Kenya’s only publicly traded retailer, fired two top executives amid a forensic audit and announced plans to hire a management consultancy to review its business strategy. The stock slumped. Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ciano and Chief Financial Officer Chadwick Okumu were relieved of their duties, while Human Resources Manager Michael Kibe was suspended, Chairwoman Khadija Mire told reporters Monday in the capital, Nairobi.

Kenya Planters’ Co-operative Union’s (KPCU) receivership has been lifted by the Kenya Commercial Bank. The development comes after the farmers’ union agreed to the new conditions set by the bank before it could waive the bankruptcy notice, Standard Digital reported. KPCU chairman David Gatei confirmed Monday that the matter has been agreed upon between the two organisations and a formal announcement will be made soon. “The board has worked tirelessly and we have received a lot of support from President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Nzoia Sugar Company has denied a report by the Auditor General last week that indicated that it is technically insolvent and operating on a negative working capital, allAfrica.com reported. The company is reported to have debts amounting to Sh16billion hence making it hard to even meet its basic financial obligations. The second largest sugar milling company however said the report presented to Parliament's Public Investments Committee, did not include all the required records especially the cash books while carrying out the forensic audit.

The Kenyan government has approved a restructuring plan to bolster the operations of stricken fixed line operator Telkom Kenya, Standard Digital reports. The new proposals include the recapitalisation of the firm via a KES10 billion (USD115.6 million) cash injection from co-owners France Telecom-Orange (FT-Orange) and the government of Kenya. Other plans include the writing-off of around KES30 billion worth of shareholder loans by FT-Orange and a retrenchment of the company’s ‘bloated workforce’.

Commercial banks that borrow from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK’s) emergency lending window more than twice in a week will be investigated, Business Daily Africa reported. In a circular elaborating on the new market-based operations, CBK said banks using the overnight window will also be charged a high penalty above the Central Bank Rate (CBR) that currently stands at 16.5 per cent. “Those banks utilising the CBK Overnight Window will be charged the CBR plus a high penalty.

Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd., which resumed trading in May after a five-year suspension, advanced for the first day in as sell-offs by long-time shareholders slowed down, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. “We have seen the tail-end of the selling pressure of the people who are selling after holding the stock for so long,” Aly-Khan Satchu, chief executive officer of Rich Management, a Nairobi-based investment adviser to high-net-worth individuals, said in a phone interview today.