National Assembly Deputy Minority Leader Jakoyo Midiwo has announced plans to cap bank interest rates through an amendment to the Finance Bill 2015.
Midiwo said bank interest rates were ballooning and needed to be controlled through legal mechanisms.
He said his quest to have the interest rates capped is driven by the suffering of Kenyans who are exploited by profit driven banks.
The Gem MP said the funds meant for the poor Kenyans must reach them at affordable lending rates.
“Many Kenyans receive their bank statements but could not read and understand what is taking place, the interest rates are high and will kill Kenyans, banks must lower the rates,” he said.
Addressing a press conference in Kisumu on Friday, Midiwo said amending the bill has flopped several times and promised to soldier on to save Kenyans from exploitation.
In his amendment, Midiwo is proposing that the maximum interest rate that a bank may charge for a loan shall not exceed by more than three per cent.
He also wants banks or financial institutions to pay depositors not less than 70 per cent of the base rate published by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Opponents of interest rates control have advanced an argument that such a move would make Kenya unattractive to foreign investors and restrict lending on the domestic front.