Market activity at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) soared to a three month high as bank counters blinked green on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s rejection of the interest cap law. Banks have been lobbying for the scrapping of the law signed in 2016 that capped lending at four per cent above the Central Bank Rate (CBR). The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) retained the minimum rate at nine per cent during its September meeting, limiting commercial bank rates at a high of 13 per cent. Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) yesterday commended Uhuru for rejecting the cap law, saying the private sector activities have been adversely affected by the legislation. The news of Uhuru rejecting the law saw equity turnover at NSE improve by 449 per cent from Sh362 million on Wednesday to Sh1.9 billion on Thursday.

Source: The Star October 19, 2019 00:56 UTC