Banks raise concern over rising SME bad loans

The banking sector is expressing concern over the growth in non-performing loans among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). According to the Kenya Bankers’ Association, despite a decline in non-performing loans across the wider banking industry, the MSME sector continues to record an increase in bad debt. As Jimmy Mbogoh reports, the sector is calling on the Central Bank of Kenya to go beyond inflation targeting when setting the base lending rate by also considering employment data, which it says provides a more accurate measure of growth in the economy.