Banking

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa Finance Corporation, one of Africa’s biggest investors in infrastructure development, has delivered a 20% growth in total assets during the 2020 pandemic year. AFC’s audited financial statements for 2020 calendar year show strong and continued growth, with total assets reaching US $7.36 billion on Dec. 31, compared with US$ 6.12 billion a year earlier. Amidst the tough economic climate, asset growth was largely driven by the robust pipeline…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigerian banks are not indebted to MTN Nigeria and other phone companies for using telecommunication platforms to provide payment services, a bank chief executive said. “There is no such thing as an obligation due from banks to telcos,” Herbert Wigwe, chief executive officer of Access Bank Plc, said on an investor call in Lagos. “We chose not to make a public statement out of it because it is not appropriate for…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — The International Monetary Fund has walked into a storm of social-media criticism after approving a $2.34 billion three-year financing package for Kenya. Some citizens in East Africa’s biggest economy don’t want any more loans for their government, saying a lot of the cash will be embezzled by state officials, and are signing online petitions to the Washington-based lender. “Previous loans to the Kenya government have not been prudently utilized…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa): The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) temporary callable capital increase of XDR28.6 billion (to XDR180.6 billion) should ensure the bank’s net debt will remain fully covered by ‘AAA’ callable capital – the key metric underpinning the bank’s ‘AAA’ rating – even in the case of a US (AAA/Negative) downgrade, Fitch Ratings believes. After the 2019 General Capital Increase (GCI-VII), which raised the bank’s capital by 125%, the new capital increase approved…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Global regulators’ approval of a U.S. dollar-denominated rate that assesses market credit risk is growing nearer as the beleaguered London interbank offered rate is set to be phased out, allowing financial service firms to fill the void with new benchmarks. Bloomberg’s Short-Term Bank Yield Index, or BSBY, adheres to the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ Principles for Financial Benchmarks, based on an independent assurance review, Bloomberg LP said in…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Navigating Nigeria’s foreign exchange rate policy is tricky. There are multiple exchange rates; officials issue confusing and contradictory statements; promised reforms don’t materialize; and the central bank and finance ministry don’t always appear to see eye-to-eye on how to manage the naira. Economic fallout from the pandemic, including a deterioration in state finances, has made the need for clarity all the more pressing. 1. Why does Nigeria have multiple…