MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya Grants Deposit License to U&I Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited

The Central Bank of Kenya, the country’s central banking authority, reportedly has granted a deposit-taking license to U&I Deposit Taking Microfinance Limited (U&I), a  Kenyan domestically-owned microfinance company. U&I is the ninth company to receive such a license from the Kenyan government. The other Kenyan microfinance institutions (MFIs) that have received deposit-taking licenses are Laulu Kenya, Kenya Women Finance Trust, Small and Micro Enterprise Programme, Remu, Rafiki, Century and Sumac and Uwezo.

Across the country, deposit-taking MFIs have assembled KES 12.3 billion (USD 142 million) in deposits and hold an aggregated loan portfolio of KES 17.9 billion (USD 207 million) as of June 2012.

Financial information for U&I is not publicly available.

By Makai McClintock, Research Associate

About Central Bank of Kenya (CBK)
Established in 1966, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is the country’s central banking authority. CBK enacted a Microfinance Act in 2008 to pave the way for the licensing of deposit-taking microfinance institutions (DTMs). Professor Njuguna Ndung’u was appointed Governor of Central Bank in March 2007 and continues to serve in that capacity as of May 2013.

Sources and Additional Resources

CapitalFM Business Article, “U&I Gets Deposit-Taking License,” http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2013/05/ui-gets-deposit-taking-licence/

MicroCapital: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Financial Sector Deepening: Central Bank of Kenya Regulations Cuts Profits of Kenyan Microfinance Institutions,” April 23, 2012, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-financial-sector-deepening-central-bank-of-kenya-regulations-cuts-profits-of-kenyan-microfinance-institutions/

MicroCapital: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Kenya to Allow Deposit-Taking Microfinance Institutions (DTMs) to Use Agents to Provide Financial Services,” January 10, 2012, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-central-bank-of-kenya-to-allow-deposit-taking-microfinance-institutions-dtms-to-use-agents-to-provide-financial-services/

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