Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, Dr Patrick Njoroge, has been named the Central Bank Governor of the Year for Sub-Saharan Africa by Global Markets magazine, a world-leading financial journal.
The Governor received this award for the second time in four years, having first received it in 2016, reinforcing his high acclaim amongst central bank governors in Africa and globally.
In its citation of the award to Dr. Njoroge, GlobalMarkets wrote: “[Dr.] Njoroge has presided over a period of consolidation within the Kenyan banking sector that has helped clean up the country’s banks and vastly improve oversight over the sector.
Banks have tightened their lending standards in response, thanks to the central bank’s oversight.”
The citation also noted that under the Governor’s tenure, the improvements in the banking sector are “helping the expansion of Kenya’s domestic capital markets. “While accepting the award, the Governor recognized the work done by CBK staff and pointed to the ongoing work in support of innovation and green finance. Dr. Njoroge dedicated his award to the youth of Africa.
Dr Njoroge’s latest achievement as the 9th Governor of CBK is the seamless demonetization of the 1,000 old notes, which ceased to be legal tender on 1st October this year. The exercise was able to lock out the older series 1,000 banknotes— which were suspected of being used for to execute illicit financial flows in Kenya and the region.
