Eyes on Uhuru as MPs pass law capping cost of loans

Parliament yesterday passed a Bill capping bank interest rates at four per cent above the indicative Central Bank Rate (CBR), taking the battle to bring down the cost of loans to the doorsteps of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who must sign it before it can become law.

Mr Kenyatta, like his predecessors who have twice rejected similar Bills, presents the biggest obstacle to Parliament’s long-held ambition of putting Kenya on a controlled interest rate regime — the presidency being where the interests of the public, bankers and bank owners converge.