Banking system is safe, don’t panic - CBK
CBK termed as malicious claims that the banking sector could be headed into turmoil
12d agoEMMANUEL WANJALARealtime
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Deputy Governor nominee Gerald Arita has vowed to fight money laundering and institute measures to counter the financing of terrorism.
Appearing before a joint committee of Parliament for vetting, Arita, an experienced financial expert, said that curbing the vices is at the centre of his agenda to reform the country’s financial sector.
"For the Central Bank, one of the issues that we want to do now is to have a stand-alone team that deals with money Laundering and countering the Financing of Terrorism,” Arita said.
He said establishing a standalone team to focus its attention on the vice will be the surest way to tame money laundering.
“……as opposed to where we've put them together, that they do what we call prudential supervision, checking on the stability of the financial sector as well as money laundering," he explained.
Arita appeared before the joint committee of the Senate’s Finance and Budget and the National Assembly’s Finance and Planning on Monday. The joint panel is co-chaired by Mandera Senator Ali Roba and Molo MP Kiami Kuria.
The lawmakers questioned the nominee on how he would work with his boss, CBK governor Kamau Thugge, to reform the country’s banking sector.
“What are you going to ensure that you do have a smooth working relationship with your boss? " Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale posed.
While facing the committee, said that there was a need for full adherence to banks' statutes are responsible for their actions. He said he would ensure strict adherence to the existing laws and regulations by banks in a bid to streamline the sector and end malpractices.
"I think we have to check whether institutions are adhering to the anti-money laundering laws that have been put in place to guard against money laundering, corruption, and misuse of funds,” he said.
Arita is a professional accountant who has worked with CBD for several years. He joined CBK in 1988 as a management trainee and worked there until his recent retirement.
During his tenure, Arita served in various senior positions at the institution. He served as a manager in charge of the Currency Division, responsible for ordering, storage issuance and distribution of currency to commercial banks. He was also the head of Human Resources, Mombasa Branch.
The position involved the management of human resources and personnel matters at the branch. In addition, he served as an inspection team leader at CBK. His duties included planning and carrying out inspections on financial institutions and discussion of inspection findings with commercial bank management.
The nominee is a former head of CBK Bank Supervision Data Bank. The division is responsible for the storage of commercial banks financial data and providing financial analysis reports of the banks.
He was also an inspector in the Bank Supervision Department. The duties involved carrying out on-site inspections on commercial banks as a member of the inspection team.
Julius Otieno
