Banking

LAGOS(Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigerian central bank adjusted the exchange rate of the naira on its website to reflect the devaluation of the local currency last month. The Abuja-based bank will exchange a dollar for 379 naira compared with 360 previously as an official exchange rate, according to an update of the rate on its website on Friday. The currency’s official value was reduced by 5.3% to 381 per the dollar last month on…

LAGOS (Capital Markers in Africa) — The Central Bank of Nigeria held interest rates as it remains concerned about a persistent increase in inflation. Of the 10 members of the monetary policy committee who attended its meeting, eight voted to keep the rate unchanged at 12.5%, Governor Godwin Emefiele said at a briefing in the capital, Abuja, on Monday. That matched the median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey. Key Insights The unchanged stance could…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria’s central bank wants the nation’s lenders to restructure almost two-thirds of all loans to help borrowers cope with lower oil prices and economic fallout from the coronavirus. Loans worth 7.8 trillion naira ($20 billion) to 35,640 customers are already being reorganized out of 18.9 trillion naira in credit across the industry, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele said on Monday. The central bank would be “more comfortable” if 65% of loans…

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ugandan lender pledged to reduce the cost of borrowing after the central bank threatened to set pricing in line with the lowest benchmark interest rate recorded. Commercial banks “heeded the governor’s call” and will review interest rates downwards within 30 days, the Uganda Bankers’ Association said in a statement on its website. Bank of Uganda said it considered determining rates if lenders didn’t reduce loan prices to reflect the…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) — Bankers in Zimbabwe are demanding that part of their salaries be paid in dollars to cushion themselves against soaring inflation and a depreciating currency. Workers are asking that their pay be based on what they were earning in 2018, Shepard Ngandu, assistant secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers’ Union, said by phone on Monday. Receiving pay in the local currency is of no value because of the…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — FirstRand Ltd. plans to replicate its South African business, where it is a leader in car and home finance, in Ghana following the takeover of the West African nation’s biggest mortgage provider. First National Bank Ghana Ltd. will also expand GHL Bank Ltd.’s offerings to include insurance, personal loans, and investment products, said Dominic Adu, the chief executive officer of the combined entity. Until the deal in May, FirstRand…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria’s central bank has blocked access to foreign exchange for corn imports as it seeks to boost local farming output, even though the move is expected to add to already soaring food inflation. All authorized dealers must immediately stop processing requests for the hard currency used for importing corn, the central bank said Monday in a statement on its website. The announcement is the latest effort by the central…