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Kenya Bankers Association CEO Habil Olaka. [File, Standard]

Habil Olaka is in a pensive mood. He smiles even as he furrows his brow to remember the highlights of his 14 years at the helm of the bankers’ lobby, Kenya Bankers Association (KBA).

As he stops to take stock of his achievements as the prime advocate of the banking sector, he says there is one thing he regrets and one that has far far-reaching consequences; overlooking the possibility of the interest capping law going through in the year 2016.

The industry had discounted it as a remote possibility with Kenya being a free market economy, and with the Parliament never having shown signs of any controlled economic tendencies.

Its passing caught most of industry captains flatfooted and many paid over the next few years with reduced profits from decreased lending. But in his estimation, it is the market that suffered the most from reduced credit supply.

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