Banking | - Part 59

Nigeria Holds Key Rate at Record High Before Presidential Vote

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank held its key rate at a record high as it warned of rising inflationary pressures, it said. The decision to retain the rate at 14 percent was unanimous, Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Abuja. All eight economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast the pause. Key Insights By keeping the rate at this level for more than two years, the bank has sought…

Abubakar Will Change Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor If Elected

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said he would appoint a new central bank governor and float the naira if he wins next month’s elections. Godwin Emefiele is not doing a good job, Abubakar said, adding that he’d make the change when the governor’s first term ends in June. “I don’t think he’s pursued the right policies,” Abubakar, 72, said Wednesday in an interview in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. “We have…

Policy Stability Seen as Key African Central Bankers’ Terms End

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The possible replacement of the governors of three key African central banks this year could yield an unexpected surprise: policy stability. Time is running out on the first terms of Nigeria’s Godwin Emefiele, Kenya’s Patrick Njoroge and South Africa’s Lesetja Kganyago. While all three are eligible to serve another term at the helms of their central banks, this isn’t guaranteed. Still, deepening institutional strength means there should be broad buy-in of the policies…

Uganda Central Bank Says Lenders’ Asset Quality Still a Concern

Posted on by The Editorial Team

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The asset quality of Uganda’s banking sector “remains a concern,” even as the country’s 24 commercial lenders reduced the amount of non-performing loans in the past fiscal year and were able to record higher profits, the Bank of Uganda said. The ratio of non-performing loans to total loans declined to 4.4 percent in the 12 months through June from 6.2 percent a year earlier, but “credit quality could be…

Nigeria Softens Rules Shielding Banks From Wireless Rivals

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is preparing rules that will allow wireless carriers to transfer cash, softening a previous policy that protected the turf of banks in Africa’s most populous country. The central bank may have realized it can’t rely on lenders alone to achieve its objective of extending services to the 50 million adults still without a bank account in the nation of about 200 million people. Telecommunications firms, including South Africa’s MTN…

Access Bank Sees Diamond Takeover Lifting Earnings by 2021

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Access Bank Plc, which plans to create Africa’s largest retail lender by customers with the takeover of Diamond Bank Plc, expects that the deal will start adding to earnings by the third year. “Integration comes with issues,” Access Bank Chief Executive Officer Herbert Wigwe said in an interview in Lagos on Wednesday. “We want to ensure that all our staff get working so that we don’t suffer the problems most mergers have….

Morocco Holds Key Rate Despite Signs of Economic Slowdown

Posted on by The Editorial Team

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – Morocco’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 2.25 percent, even as it warned of an economic slowdown stretching into next year. The decision Tuesday came amid a dramatic falloff in credit growth and inflation, both potential catalysts for a rate cut to stimulate investment. Government data for the second quarter “indicate an economic activity level well below expectations,” Bank Al Maghreb said in a…

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