At the Central Bank of Kenya, Dr. Patrick Njoroge served as the ninth governor from 2015 to 2023, leading the country's financial sector through a period of significant reform, modernization, and digital transformation. During his 8-year tenure, Njoroge was also known for his strong stance on integrity, ethics, and consumer protection that helped shape the future of Kenya's banking sector.
President chose my name. That's when everybody sort of got excited. Who is this person? Does he know anything?
In 2015, a relatively unknown economist stepped into one of Kenya's most critical institutions.
It was a new country that I had not been fully engaged in for 20 years.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Patrick Njoroge, the nominee for the Central Bank of Kenya. Patrick Njoroge.
In the first 2 months, I lost 5 kilos. What would keep me awake at night? It wasn't so much inflation and things like that. It was will the systems turn on the next morning? Some of these things, if they broke and the thing didn't work in the morning, then the whole country would go down. We are all a creation of the experiences we've had over the years. And my experiences, of course, began very much in my family, being pushed to be a good student, good professional. And that has stayed with me throughout my life. It has changed in various ways.
In high school, which is a place where we learn a lot and we become more of ourselves, I went to Mangu. And that was fun. I learned a lot. I then did my A levels in Strathmore. Strathmore College then, that was the name then. Very exciting times. I always wanted to be an engineer. And that was a time when we were all in the sciences. And I was actually accepted to go into electrical engineering, University of Nairobi.
But during that period I kind of realized that that's not what I want to do. And that's when I changed and ended up doing arts. So I studied Bachelor of Arts Economics, did a masters at University of Nairobi, and then eventually ended up doing my doctorate at Yale. Came back, did two years at the Ministry of Finance, and then eventually got a job at the IMF. Did that 20 years.
I mean, you may look at one aspect and sort of say, oh, you know, but that's not what defined me. What defines me is everything, you know, put together. You know, about 2015, the position was advertised.
The Public Service Commission has advertised the position of Central Bank of Kenya Governor, a week following the expiry of Professor Njuguna Ndung'u's.
I and others applied. And then there was a whole bunch of interviews, including with the Public Service Commission. And then this was quite public. First time, I think, in CBK's history where this process was followed from start to end.
I had come to Kenya to interview. I still had my job in Washington with the IMF. But then it became clear that that was going to happen very quickly. And sure enough, very quickly the president chose my name and sent this name to parliament for the vetting. And that's when everybody sort of got excited because who is this person? He's coming in from abroad. Does he know anything? Things took a turn that most people would not have planned for.
Following his appointment, the governor was faced with some challenges. He had been away from the country for a while and was not sure how the transition back and the adjustment to the role of governor would be.
It wasn't just the new job. It was a new country that I had not been fully engaged in for 20 years. And the country had moved on in all sorts of ways. So, there was also the cultural shock. In the first 2 months, I lost 5 kilos. 5 kilos that I didn't have to lose, but I lost that.
Upon assuming office, Governor Patrick Njoroge inherited an economy facing high inflation, banking sector instability, and several other challenges. To counter this, he took aggressive monetary actions in his first 2 months.
Basically, there was no time to lose. We hit the ground running. Inflation was very high. There was never a moment that you could sit back and sort of, you know, think calmly through things. There was no time for calm. It soon became clear that we needed to do more than just deal with inflation. We needed to improve the toolkit on monetary policy. So, we started that and eventually put together a white paper on monetary modernization of monetary policy, etc., much later and, you know, implemented it in various ways.
From the start, the governor's tenure marked a period of aggressive regulatory clean up that was part of his effort to instill discipline and transparency in a sector previously plagued by weak corporate governance.
And we also had the problems that were becoming evident in some of the banks, and a lot of forbearance before that. And basically, you know, we had to deal with three banks in quick succession. It was necessary to shut them down. And really insist on what the rules were and that they follow the rules.
The governor is just saying that we must now strengthen and remove the weaknesses in our banking system.
