Banking | - Part 68

Fed’s Powell Says Gradual Rate Hikes Are the Best Path `For Now’

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will continue to gradually raise interest rates “for now’’ to keep inflation near target amid a strong U.S. labor market. The Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed panel that sets interest rates, “believes that — for now — the best way forward is to keep gradually raising the federal funds rate,” Powell said in prepared testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. “We…

Nigerian Lender Sees Credit Surging as Banks Sign Up for Loans

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, a state-owned lender set up to improve access to credit in Africa’s largest economy, expects loans to small businesses to surge after the number of banks signing up to disburse the facilities more than doubled. The state-owned bank, targeting as much as 60 billion naira ($166 million) of loans this year, expects lending to small- and medium-sized companies to reach “hundreds of billions of…

Ghana Takes Back Control of Bank After `Questionable’ Deals

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana took back control of Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. after the regulator annulled deals for more than half of the lender’s shares following its initial public offering in 2016. The West African nation’s central bank regulator cancelled the holdings of Belstar Capital Ltd., Starmount Development Co., Ecobank Capital Ltd. and SIC Financial Services Ltd., which together held 52 percent in the lender known as ADB, Bank of Ghana said in a statement on Monday….

Ghana Growth Targets at Risk as Banks Pull Brakes on Lending

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – A reluctance by banks in Ghana to lend is threatening to stall one of Africa’s fastest expanding economies. With almost a quarter of all outstanding loans in the country at risk of not being repaid, credit granted to the private sector is increasing at nearly the slowest pace in four years. At stake is the 6.8 percent growth that the government is hoping to achieve to boost revenue and narrow its…

What Central Bankers Are Saying About the Trade War Threat

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Central bankers are sounding the alarm on how the fledgling trade war could complicate their work by fanning inflation, undermining demand and unnerving investors. With President Donald Trump readying to impose tariffs on China and also European automakers, monetary policymakers might be forced to decide whether to focus on supporting growth or fighting price pressures. A sell-off in equity markets would only add to their stress. Here are extracts of some…

South African Central Bank Is Said to Call for Capitec Fee Probe

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank asked the country’s credit regulator to probe whether Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. re-introduced a product criticized for its fee structure, an investigation that is ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter. The referral to the National Credit Regulator came after the issue about the so-called multi-loan product was raised in a report by short-seller Viceroy Research in January, said the person, asking not to be…

Ghana Sets January Deadline for Banks to Comply With Basel II

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of Ghana is changing the way lenders calculate their capital-adequacy levels as the regulator seeks to strengthen the industry. Banks would on Sunday begin adopting Basel II framework, which will require they include their risk-weighted assets when determining capital adequacy ratios, the Accra-based regulator said in a statement on its website on Monday. The companies have until Jan. 1 to comply with the directive, it said. Ghana is looking for ways to bolster…

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