Absa Bank Kenya Resumes Foreign Exchange Operations

Absa Bank Kenya has resumed its foreign exchange operations after being restricted for a week by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

In a statement sent out to the media, the lender said that they have ironed out the issues with CBK and put in place measures to ensure that what led to the restriction does not happen again.

“Following discussions with the Central Bank of Kenya, we have worked through their concerns and are pleased to inform our customers and stakeholders that, effective Thursday, 16 April 2020, Absa Bank Kenya PLC (Absa Kenya) resumed its foreign exchange operations as an authorized dealer,” said Absa in a statement.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) took what it termes as a regulatory action against Absa Bank Kenya PLC (Absa Kenya), following Absa Kenya’s failure to provide information about some specific foreign exchange trades that it conducted in March 2020.

CBK has also directed the lender to by Wednesday, April 15, 2020, put in place a robust framework that ensures all relevant documents for such foreign exchange transactions are available as required, and also ensures the AML/CFT and KYC requirements are adhered to and Reverse the market positions that were created as a result of the flagged transactions.

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“Absa Kenya remains committed to being a constructive participant in Kenya’s financial markets for the benefit of all our customers and stakeholders. We thank the Central Bank of Kenya for supporting us to resolve this matter promptly,” Absa added.

Absa Bank Kenya is among the few lenders in Kenya that have moved to restructure their loans in an effort to cushion their customers against the pains of Covid-19 and give them enough time to pay back their loans. The lender, in the past two weeks, has restructured loans worth 8.3 billion shillings.

The lender has also committed to paying their SME suppliers with 14 days so as to help them sustain cash flow and run their businesses during this pandemic.

READ: Absa Bank Kenya To Pay Supplier SMEs Within 14 Days