IslamicFinance.de

#Kenyan financial regulators expect new guidelines in 2017 for the supervision of the entire sector. Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) supervisor Mary Nkiomu said the Islamic Finance Project Management Office established in December 2015 has submitted policy proposals to the National Treasury. The guidelines will enable the financial sector regulators to incorporate Islamic finance regulatory frameworks. Islamic finance institutions are largely operating in a self-regulatory environment governed by religious principles, backed with regulations for conventional operations. The guidelines, drafted in 2015, are set be rolled out to the public for consultations this year. The delay in the roll out has been attributed to terrorist attacks over the years.

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.