CBK rejects new bank-owned T-bond trading platform, targets deep pocketed investors
Treasury bonds are very lucrative investment products in the capital markets by virtue of being tools used by the government to raise revenue to finance operations and budget deficits.
Kenya’s Central Bank and the National Treasury are in discussions to onboard deep pocketed individuals and firms in the form of market makers to stabilise government bond prices and enhance liquidity in the debt instruments after the banking regulator rejected a new bond trading platform dubbed the East African Bond Exchange( EABX) that is owned by commercial banks and that is expected to run parallel with the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The EABX Plc received regulatory approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in February last year (2024) to establish and operate an over-the-counter (OTC) bond trading platform and function as an autonomous self-regulatory organisation within the country, with a plan to expand operations into the wider East African region.
