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AfricaMay 2 2016

Kenyan banks' east African expansion raise supervisory concerns

As trade and co-operation has increased across east Africa, so has cross-border banking, with Kenyan lenders leading the way. But although this move is spreading new technologies and services while increasing competition, are there sufficient supervisory structures in place? James King investigates.
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Kenyan banks' east African expansion raise supervisory concerns

As regional integration projects go, the East African Community (EAC), consisting of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan, has been a standout success. Since its formation in 2000, the bloc has been quick to pursue economic integration through the ratification of protocols for, among other things, a customs union, a common market and a common currency.

According to the US think tank the Brookings Institution, these efforts and others have seen the EAC emerge as the world’s second fastest growing economic community behind the Association of South-east Asian Nations, while per capita incomes for the region have risen above the rest of sub-Saharan Africa in recent years.

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