Kenyan interbank rate hits 8-year low

The rate at which Kenyan banks borrow money from each other fell to an eight-year low this week as liquidity surged in the money market.

The interbank rate declined by 3.08 per cent to 1.71 per cent down from 4.79 at the end of last week, the Central Bank says in its weekly brief on Saturday.

The last time the rate stood at such a low was on March 30, 2011, according to the apex bank data.

“The money market was liquid during the week partly due to government payments which offset tax payments in the week. Commercial banks’ excess reserves stood at 17.3 (171 million U.S. dollars) in relation to the 5.25 per cent cash reserves requirement,” says the bank.

It notes that the average number of interbank deals was stable during the week at 20 with volumes traded falling to 100 million dollars from 119 million dollars.

 

Kenyan interbank rate hits 8-year low

The rate at which Kenyan banks borrow money from each other fell to an eight-year low this week as liquidity surged in the money market. The interbank rate declined by 3.08 per cent to 1.71 per cent down from 4.79 at the end of last week, the Central Bank says in its weekly brief on Saturday. The last time the rate stood at such a low was on March 30, 2011, according to the apex bank data. The money market was liquid during the week partly due to government payments which offset tax payments in the week. Commercial banks excess reserves stood at 17.3 (171 million U.S. dollars) in relation to the 5.25 per cent cash reserves requirement, says the bank. It notes that the average number of interbank deals was stable during the week at 20 with volumes traded falling to 100 million dollars from 119 million dollars.