IslamicFinance.de

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is asked to enact a sector-specific legislation tailored to Islamic finance sector to monitor and regulate transactions. According to Jacqueline Wangui, Partner at MMC Africa Law, the absence of specific legislation on Islamic finance is in itself a hindrance to the realization of the financial benefits. Wangui proposed that embedding a Shariah council within the structure of the CBK could go a long way. The Sharia council would constitute of local and international Islamic scholars to sit in an advisory capacity with the aim of producing a congruent regulatory framework for Islamic financing. Currently, there is no overall regulator at the level of the CBK appointed to specifically oversee the management of Islamic financing and its products.

Dubai Islamic Bank’s (DIB) formal entry into the Kenyan market is expected to shake up locally-owned Islamic lenders that have faced little competition for a decade. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has now opened the door for the bank after more than a year of waiting. Kenya has until now had only two fully-fledged Islamic banks, while five other conventional lenders have been offering Shariah-compliant services and products through "Islamic Windows". DIB makes its foray into Kenya at a time when authorities are keen to make Kenya a hub for Islamic finance in Africa with ongoing reforms expected to drive the growth of Islamic-finance operations. The Kenyan government has recently unveiled a package of initiatives to develop a policy framework for Islamic finance in the country.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has licensed Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) after the bank fulfilled its stipulated requirements. Dubai Islamic Bank Kenya intends to exclusively offer Shariah compliant banking services becoming the third fully Shariah compliant bank in Kenya. The decision is seen to highlight the CBK's confidence in the stability of the banking sector, which has been experiencing turbulence in the past couple of years. DIB is a fully owned subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank of the United Arab Emirates, which has an asset base of Sh4.8 trillion and capital of Sh754.8 billion. The Central Bank of Kenya welcomes the entry of international brands and believes that DIB's entry will expand the offerings in the market.

The Central Bank of #Kenya (CBK) announced it was in final stages of licensing two banks, DIB Bank Kenya, which is owned by Dubai Islamic Bank, and Mayfair Bank which is owned by Kenyan investors. The two firms had received an "approval in principle" before the indefinite suspension of new banks. CBK suspended the licensing of new banks on November 17, 2015 saying it needed to strengthen oversight. The moratorium stalled entry of international banks into the country, where commercial banks have come under closer scrutiny from the regulator because of increasing bad debts. CBK governor Patrick Njoroge said the local banking sector has made huge improvements over the past year, adding that CBK’s supervision department has improved its monitoring capacity.