Banking | - Part 60

Uganda Central Bank Says Lenders’ Asset Quality Still a Concern

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

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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

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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…

Ghana Keeps Key Rate at 4 1/2-Year Low With Inflation in Target

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a 4 1/2-year low for a third consecutive meeting as the currency stabilized and inflation remain within its target band. The Bank of Ghana maintained the rate at 17 percent, Governor Ernest Addison told reporters Monday in the capital, Accra. All eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast the hold. Key Insights: Underlying inflation pressures are easing, Addison said. The recent oil…

FirstRand’s FNB Targets South Africa Townships With Fintech Deal

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Ltd.’s First National Bank and a startup financial-technology company in South Africa are partnering to connect informal traders in townships with fast-moving consumer-goods companies. FNB is seeking to tap into a market that it estimates could consist of as many as 1 million enterprises that have largely been ignored and falls into the “unseen economy,” the Johannesburg-based lender said in an emailed statement. Townships were created during apartheid on the…

Nigeria’s 9mobile Starts Repaying Debt After Teleology Takeover

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s fourth-biggest wireless carrier 9mobile, formerly known as Etisalat Nigeria, repaid part of a loan taken from a group of banks following its acquisition by Teleology Holdings Ltd. “The money has been distributed to the banks,” Abiola Rasaq, head of investor relations at Lagos-based United Bank for Africa Plc, one of the institutions that received a payment, said by phone. The reimbursement is expected to improve the asset quality of the…

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