NAIROBI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's banking sector is on a growth trajectory, says a report released on Tuesday.
The State of the Banking report, released by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), says the outstanding loans and advances are rising, although the pace has been tapering over the past three years.
"With the industry remaining well capitalized and liquidity being sufficient and increasingly well distributed, it is anticipated that the credit growth tapering is at an inflection point," the KBA said. "The stretch of that point will be influenced by the extent to which the downside challenges to the industry's optimal operations are redressed."
The report is motivated by the fact that stakeholders seeking perspective on the Kenya banking industry engage various sources including market analysts, banks as well as financial sector regulators.
The findings indicate that financial market distortions that have led to financial resource allocation shifting away from the core of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are key to the economy's sustained growth, need to be tackled.
The survey shows that banks are expected to continue deploying technology for efficiency and cost management as well as product design that utilizes the analytical capability of data abundance.
"The ensuing interventions will admittedly support the industry as it embraces the Central Bank of Kenya's charter that espouses transparency, customer centricity and encouraging credit allocation to the SMEs," says the report.
The survey observes that it is clear that investments in the form of financial resources, personnel and technology are expected to remain on the fore toward ensuring that banks remain compliant with financial sector regulators. Enditem
