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Structural issues in the Kenyan financial system: improving competition and access

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Author Info
Beck, Thorsten
Fuchs, Michael

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Abstract

Although by regional standards, Kenya's financial system is relatively well developed and diversified, major structural impediments prevent it from reaching its full potential. Crosscountry comparisons, however, show the importance of a well-developed financial sector for long-term economic growth and poverty alleviation. Experience from other developing economies has shown the detrimental effect of government ownership and the positive impact that foreign bank ownership can have on the development of a market-based financial system. Analyzing and decomposing the high interest rate spreads and margins in Kenya helps identify structural impediments that drive the high cost of and low access to financial services. The limited information sharing on debtors, deficiencies in the legal and judicial system, the limited number of strong and reputable banks and non-transparency and uncertainty in the banking market are major impediments to the development of Kenya's financial system, to reducing spreads and to widening access.

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Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 3363.

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Date of creation: 01 Jul 2004
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:3363

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Related research
Keywords: Financial Intermediation; Payment Systems&Infrastructure; Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring; Banks&Banking Reform; Economic Theory&Research; Financial Intermediation; Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring; Environmental Economics&Policies; Banks&Banking Reform; Economic Theory&Research;

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-deSilanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2000. "Government Ownership of Banks," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1890, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Claessens, Stijn & Laeven, Luc, 2004. "What Drives Bank Competition? Some International Evidence," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(3), pages 563-83, June.
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  3. Raddatz, Claudio, 2003. "Liquidity needs and vulnerability to financial udnerdevelopment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3161, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2004. "Finance, Inequality, and Poverty: Cross-Country Evidence," NBER Working Papers 10979, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-86, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Clarke, George R. G. & Cull, Robert & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2001. "Does foreign bank penetration reduce access to credit in developing countries"evidence from asking borrowers," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2716, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  7. Wurgler, Jeffrey, 2000. "Financial markets and the allocation of capital," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 187-214. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  8. Clarke, George & Cull, Robert & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad & Sanchez, Susana M., 2001. "Foreign bank entry - experience, implications for developing countries, and agenda for further research," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2698, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  9. Beck, Thorsten & Cull, Robert & Jerome, Afeikhena, 2005. "Bank privatization and performance: Empirical evidence from Nigeria," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(8-9), pages 2355-2379, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Gerard Caprio, Jr., 1995. "The role of financial intermediaries in transitional economies," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 257-302, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Demirguc, Asli & Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2003. "The impact of bank regulations, concentration, and institutions on bank margins," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3030, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Richard Podpiera & Martin Cihák, 2005. "Bank Behavior in Developing Countries: Evidence from East Africa," IMF Working Papers 05/129, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  2. Hesse, Heiko, 2007. "Financial intermediation in the pre-consolidated banking sector in Nigeria," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4267, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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