Kenya's Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has warned the government against becoming an IMF puppet, urging expanded budgetary support options to avoid eroding domestic policy-making reforms. She also raised concerns about the planned National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) established under the Government Owned Enterprises (GOE) Act.

• Dr. Nyakang’o emphasized that IMF programmes carry significant tradeoffs, notably the conditionalities requiring rapid fiscal tightening.
• The GOE Act, a key structural reform aligned with IMF conditionalities, bypasses Parliamentary scrutiny and the CoB's office, weakening public oversight.
• The NIF is mandated to mobilize non-debt capital and aims to raise Sh5 trillion to finance national priorities, including re-investing proceeds from the monetization of public assets like the privatization of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and divestiture from Safaricom.

Kenyan commercial banks, including NCBA Bank Kenya, KCB Bank Kenya, Equity Bank Kenya, and Family Bank, have begun repricing their loans in line with the new risk-based pricing framework and the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) latest rate cut.

• The CBK lowered the benchmark rate (CBR) by 25 basis points to 8.75%, marking the 10th straight cut since August 2024.
• The new loan-pricing framework, effective December 1, 2025 for new facilities, prices all Kenya shilling variable-rate loans using the CBR as a common base, with a customer-specific premium.
• Banks are setting timelines, such as NCBA's March 12 date, for migrating older facilities to this new framework, while new variable-rate loans are immediately subject to the revised CBR.

Kenya is moving closer to creating the National Infrastructure Fund after the Tabling of the National Infrastructure Fund Bill, 2026, in Parliament. This fund aims to mobilize up to Sh5 trillion by leveraging up to Sh10 for every shilling invested, primarily through privatizing State entities and selling government assets.

• The Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah tabled the Bill, outlining the fund's governance and investment policies.
• The fund will be governed by a nine-member board including the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, responsible for mobilizing resources and developing an investment policy.
• Seed capital will come from the Kenya Pipeline Company IPO (expected to raise Sh106 billion) and the partial sale of Safaricom shares (expected to raise around Sh244.5 billion from selling a 15 percent stake to Vodacom Group).