Nairobi, April 19 -- During a recent chat with a friend, we somehow drifted into a discussion about some of the complex terms and capital market products. Something interesting that caught my attention, was how money market funds and Ziidi Trader dominated the conversation. Securities lending and borrowing (SLB) also came up.

SLB is the lending and/or borrowing of capital market securities (shares, bonds, among others) for a definite period, with a simultaneous agreement to return them (or their cash equivalent) at an agreed future date, together with an agreed lending/borrowing fee.

Under SLB, one can lend 'idle' securities they own but do not intend to sell. This therefore implies that for it to be successful, an SLB transaction needs...