Nairobi, March 28 -- Senior bankers held a flurry of meetings with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) two weeks ago to revive the interbank forex market after the shilling neared a historic low of 150 units to the dollar amid State concern over external debt service costs and public unease on inflation.

The interbank market, which is the window through which banks trade dollars with each other on wholesale, had been effectively inactive for nearly two years as banks withdrew out of fear of offending the regulator's tough rules.

The CBK's tight control due to suspicions some players were manipulating the market had been identified by the industry as one of the reasons for the reluctance of banks to trade dollars with each other.

This saw t...