Feeling the effects of the economic crisis

Coming at the heels of news that the government has agreed a possible loan deal with the IMF, The Citizen reports today that local banks are starting to feel the strain of the global financial crisis as some creditors may be unable to pay-off their loans. Money quote:

The Citizen has reliably learnt that the Sh271 billion the bank lent to buyers of cash crops last season is at risk of not being repaid mostly due to falling prices of traditional exports in the international markets. 

By March, only 38 per cent of the cash borrowed to buy produce from farmers and facilitate export transactions had been repaid. 

The permanent secretary in the ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, Mr Peniel Lyimo, said recently that CRDB Bank had reported having some Sh168 billion at risk due to traders' inability to service their loans.