Nairobi, 28th JUNE 2018 – Members of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) have elected Kenya Commercial Bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer Mr. Joshua Oigara as the new Chairman of the Governing Council and re-elected NIC Bank’s Managing Director Mr. John Gachora for another term as Council Vice Chairman. The new leadership will serve for a one year period.
Mr. Oigara takes over from Standard Chartered Bank’s Chief Executive Officer and Area General Manager for East Africa, Mr. Lamin Manjang. Mr. Manjang, who has served as KBA Chairman for two years, was recognised as being instrumental in steering the industry during the tumultuous period following the enactment of the Banking (Amendment) Act, which introduced price controls on bank interest rates.
Notable developments under Mr. Manjang’s leadership include the launch of Integrated Payment Services Limited (IPSL), established to provide a secure, fast and efficient 24/7 bank-to-bank money transfer platform under the PesaLink brand. To date, 30 KBA member banks offer the PesaLink service, which moves more than Ksh 100 million in value per day. Since its launch in June 2017, PesaLink has facilitated Ksh 68 billion worth of transactions across the banking network.
Most recently, Mr. Manjang led the KBA Council to adopt higher standards of governance including taking on policies that will see the industry address the areas of fraud and money laundering. His tenure also saw the industry train more than 28 thousand bank employees on the role the sector plays in promoting Kenya’s sustainable development under the Sustainable Finance Initiative.
In his acceptance address to members, Mr. Oigara acknowledged that the interest rate cap has remained one of the industry’s greatest challenges over the last two years, adding that it will be an area that the KBA Council will continue to engage on. “We have given proposals to make credit more accessible, and the Inuka SME Program, particularly the Ksh 30 billion fund, will be an important component of the industry’s response to concerns raised by our stakeholders,” he said.
The new KBA Chairman also committed that industry players would continue supporting IPSL in rolling out PesaLink and other FinTech innovations that promote industry efficiency and enhance the user experience for consumers of financial services. “Governance remains an important area for us and therefore we will work to promote the KBA Charter which introduces an industry code of ethics and framework for peer accountability,” he added.
On his part, the KBA Chief Executive Officer Mr. Habil Olaka thanked the KBA members and the Council for their leadership role in the implementation of the transformation programmes that have ensured innovation, efficiency and standardization of banking services to conform to Global best practises.
KBA Governing Council For The 2018/2019 Period:
The KBA Governing Council is nominated to represent three categories – large, medium-sized and small banks, as defined by the KBA articles of association. The incoming Council members are as follows:
1. Kenya Commercial Bank, Group CEO, Joshua Oigara (Chairman)
2. NIC Bank, Group Managing Director, John Gachora (Vice Chairman)
3. Standard Chartered Bank (K), Managing Director & CEO, Lamin Manjang
4. Barclays Bank of Kenya, Managing Director, Jeremy Awori
5. Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Group Managing Director & CEO, Dr. Gideon Muriuki
6. Commercial Bank of Africa, Chief Executive Officer, Jeremy Ngunze
7. Diamond Trust Bank, Group CEO & Managing Director, Nasim Devji
8. Equity Bank, Group CEO, Dr. James Mwangi
9. I&M Bank, Chief Executive Officer, Kihara Maina
10. Citibank, East Africa Chief Executive Officer, Joyce-Ann Wainaina
11. Family Bank, Managing Director & CEO, Dr. David Thuku
12. GT Bank, Regional Managing Director, Ibukunoluwa
13. Gulf African Bank, Chief Executive Officer, Abdalla Abdulkhalik
14. DIB Bank, Chief Executive Officer, Peter Makau
15. Guardian Bank, Managing Director, Vasant Shetty
16. Middle East Bank, Managing Director, Dhirendra Rana
Notes to editors – About the Kenya Bankers Association:
KBA (www.kba.co.ke) was founded on 16th July 1962. Today, KBA is the financial sector’s leading advocacy group and banking industry umbrella body that represents total assets in excess of USD 40 billion. KBA has evolved and broadened its function to include advocacy on behalf of the banking industry, and championing financial sector development through strategic projects such as the launch of the industry’s first P2P digital payments platform PesaLink. In line with the Government’s policy on public-private partnerships, KBA and Central Bank of Kenya have implemented key projects such as modernization of the National Payments System through the Automated Clearing House, implementing the Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS), and the Kenya Credit Information Sharing Initiative. The KBA members are comprised of commercial banks and deposit taking microfinance banks. These banks are represented by their Chief Executive Officers, who appoint a Governing Council to oversee industry wide activities on the General Body’s behalf. The Governing Council is supported by various Committees and Sub-Committees which are comprised of nominated bank representatives. These committees coordinate activities with the KBA Secretariat.
For more information, kindly contact Ms. Nuru Mugambi, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Kenya Bankers Association, Phone: +254-20-2221704/2224014 or Email: nmugambi@kba.co.ke
