| dc.description.abstract | This study sets out to make a case for institutional reform and partial integration of the
financial services sector in Kenya. The sectors identified for reform and integration
include banks and insurance companies. The case for reform followed by partial
integration is necessitated by several circumstances. First, financial services in Kenya
are highly integrated today. Examples of integration include the cross-marketing of
insurance products by banks ("bancassurance') thereby posing the challenge of
"circumvention of regulation" for the present regulators of the two sectors. Second, the
emergence of financial conglomerates in Kenya such as CFC-Stanbic Bank and the
establishment of financial services units within certain financial institutions like the Co-
operative Bank pose a challenge to regulators and call for a single regulatory authority in
the market. Third, the failures of prudential regulation characterized by the collapse of
stockbrokers such as Thuo & Partners, Nyaga Stockbrokers and Discount Securities and
the collapse of banks such as Charterhouse and Daima Banks are clear examples of
serious regulatory failures. Fourth, the requirement of multiple approvals during IPOs
may negate investor appetite. The study therefore explores the rationale behind
regulation of the financial services sector in Kenya, an overview of the relevant players
in the sector and the possibility for partial integration of some aspects of the sector in
order to enhance regulatory control of the financial services sector in Kenya | en |
