Why MPs rejected Treasury’s bid to raise banks core capital to Sh5 billion

Nairobi: National Treasury’s bid to have banks raise their core capital to Sh5 billion within three years ran into a legislative whirlwind, after MPs sided with the Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge and vowed to sink the proposal.

In a three-hour debate in the National Assembly, the lawmakers said the push to have banks raise their core capital as proposed in the Finance Bill, 2015, will expose the banking sector to wealthy money-hungry cartels and smother entrepreneurship by blocking access to cheap loans. This, they said will lock a majority of Kenyans out of banking.