NAIROBI, October 14 – The Kenya Commercial Bank has reassured its customers that proper systems are in place to cushion the bank from any negative effects of the on-going global financial crunch.
Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer Peter Munyiri said on Tuesday that the bank’s risk management framework was strong enough to detect and deal with any effects of the global drama that has led to the collapse of major US investment banks and a credit freeze by commercial banks.
“We are quite comfortable with the way we are managing the risk in regards to the global financial crisis and are very proactive in monitoring what is happening worldwide,” he said.
Mr Munyiri said the bank welcomed worldwide interventions by governments that are injecting funds into their struggling financial systems and reassured that the situation could not get any worse.
He was speaking during the launch of a joint loan product with the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB), aimed at bridging the increasing gap to finance tertiary education in the country.
KCB Masomo Loan will benefit parallel degree students pursuing undergraduate and post graduate studies in accredited Kenyan universities to the tune of Sh300,000.
Mr Munyiri observed that the rising number of qualified students seeking to proceed to universities and the pressure on limited national resources had made it difficult for the national system to avail the required amount of funding.
“As a result, the opportunities for qualified students to join public universities have continued to be limited forcing some to join private universities while others opted for alternative programmes. The cost of tertiary education, in the meantime, has continued to escalate beyond the reach of a majority of qualified students,” he said.
Loan repayment will be through a check-off system based on the cost of the education program.
“Applicants can borrow up to Sh300, 000 repayable within a maximum period of 24 months subject to the duration of the programme. The loans will attract an interest rate of 2 percent above base rate, which at the moment stands at 15 percent,” said Mr Munyiri.
