Economics
Kenya’s Njoroge Vows to Tackle Inflation to Help Lower Rates
This article is for subscribers only.
Patrick Njoroge, nominated to be the next governor of Kenya’s central bank, vowed to target inflation to help reduce commercial-bank lending rates in East Africa’s biggest economy.
The “very high” cost of credit is “a bit of a puzzle” given the low level of non-performing loans among commercial lenders, Njoroge told a parliamentary vetting committee Tuesday. Kenya’s benchmark interest rate currently stands at 10 percent, while the average cost of a bank loan is about 15.4 percent, according to the central bank’s website.