Banks and insurance companies (financial sector) are a risk in a bear market. When I mentioned this back in 2015s -2016s I was immediately greeted by hardcore fundamental analysts who pointed out that the fundamentals in the banking sector were strong.
Well, we have our bear market now and banks and insurance companies are facing difficulties. We have banks that are now retrenching and Mwalimu Sacco bank has just lost a CEO. Remember banks loan out money using property as collateral? And the real estate industry is already in bear market territory! But there is worse to come so long as the NSE keeps falling.
Mwalimu Sacco bank CEO quitsQuote:Naaman Ambunya, the chief executive of the Mwalimu National Sacco majority-owned Spire Bank has quit the troubled lender at a time it needs to turn around its struggling business.
The bank has tapped its former general manager, Onesmus Muia to replace Mr Ambunya in an acting capacity, the Business Daily has learnt.
In a letter to the bank chairman, Teresa Mutegi, Mr Ambunya underlined several challenges the bank faces, mainly delayed recapitalisation.
“I summarise the key matters confronting the bank that require immediate resolution—otherwise the financial sustainability of the bank is at a huge risk — which, have been presented before in board committees since 2017,” said Mr Ambunya.
“They include immediate stable funding without which deposit mobilisation efforts are unlikely to yield sufficient results for financial sustainability. The deposits held at the bank are largely for working capital and are very short term. The customers use the funds on a daily basis.”
BD LinkWhy would a CEO of a bank quit? Is he concerned about the doomed future of the institution?
Now the fundamentalists would have you believe that there are institutions with strong fundamentals and you just have to invest in those.

Unfortunately for this kind of mindset the financial sector depends alot on positive sentiment. If there is even a whiff of trouble then the whole system almost certainly collapses. In any case banks do lend out more than they have in deposits. Therefore a bank run will most certainly ruin even the seemingly stable ones.
Keep hard cash, buy 'hard' US dollars and consider buying cryptocurrencies (especially bitcoin once it falls back toward $5000).
Disclaimer: This analysis depends wholly on the direction of the stock market (and the NSE 20 Share Index in particular) which I have forecasted to keep falling. If by some miracle the Index turns around and starts to rise strongly (above 4300 for example) then I will reconsider my conclusions herein.
But for now, be safe, DO NOT BUY REAL ESTATE and certainly DO NOT BUY STOCKS.
Conventional thinkers waste time building shelters when they are unnecessary and then have no shelters when they need them the most. Socionomists do the opposite.