Banking

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – It took Discovery Ltd. 1.5 million man-hours over four years to build a bank. When the startup opens to the public Monday it will challenge South African lenders with histories going back to 1838, and they’re ready for battle. The insurer prides itself on its Vitality offering, a rewards program that gives its 1.9 million customers discounts for exercising or buying healthy food; a concept also being applied to…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – After years of ignoring consumers, Nigerian lenders are making an unprecedented push into retail banking. Increased technology use and urbanization are opening up a market of almost 200 million people where less than half of adults are banked. Drawn by the vast potential of an untapped market, banks also have little choice as they face competition from wireless carriers with over 160 million users, and the central bank demands they lend…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – West African finance ministers and central bank governors agreed on technical issues surrounding the creation of a single currency for the Economic Community of West African States next year. “At a ministerial level, we’ve established a roadmap” for the establishment of a new currency, Ivory Coast Finance Minister Adama Kone told reporters Tuesday after the meeting in Abidjan. The 15-member regional organization has set a target to have a…

RABAT Capital Markets in Africa) – Morocco’s central bank held its benchmark rate steady Tuesday, refusing to budge even as the country’s economic prospects took a turn for the worse. The decision, which Bank Al-Maghrib said was linked to bullish inflation projections and monetary conditions, came even as the government presses ahead with measures that will inject billions of dirhams into the economy — steps that also are impeding an easing. The bank’s board said…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Most banks across Zimbabwe are unable to process salaries and pensions after one of the country’s largest payment networks suspended its services for unpaid bills. Cambria Africa Plc blocked bank customers on June 10 because its Payserv Africa unit is owed $470,000 for more than 4 million transactions since May 1, the Isle of Man-based investment company said in a statement on Wednesday. That was after it lost a collective $170,000 providing services over…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Equity Group Holdings Plc set up a representative office in Ethiopia as the East African nation opens up its financial sector. Hassan Maalim will lead the office in Addis Ababa, which should be fully operational in July, Kenya’s biggest bank by market value said in a statement on Thursday after Bloomberg reported its plans. The bank’s “entry into Ethiopia is part of our phase two expansion in pursuit of our…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African Reserve Bank’s forecasting model suggests there might be room for interest rate cuts in the next year or two, given how weak the economy is, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. While the central bank can play a role to help economic growth, decisions should be supported by other policies and structural reforms, Kganyago said in a copy of a speech posted on the Reserve Bank’s website. The…