Nigeria tests waters for possible broad naira devaluation

Nigeria tests waters for possible broad naira devaluation

ABUJA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria effectively devalued the naira for private individuals on Monday, paving the way for a possible broader move despite stiff resistance from President Muhammadu Buhari. With Buhari abroad for medical treatment and the country’s currency exchange system in chaos, the central bank said Nigerians wanting dollars for travel or to pay foreign school fees could buy dollars at nearly 20 percent above the official rate. Some Nigerians saw the…

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Nigerian Central Bank Issues New Policy Actions in the Foreign Exchange Market

Nigerian Central Bank Issues New Policy Actions in the Foreign Exchange Market

ABUJA (Capital Markets in Africa) – In continuation of efforts to increase the availability of Foreign Exchange in order to ease the difficulties encountered by Nigerians in obtaining funds for Foreign Exchange transactions, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is providing direct additional funding to banks to meet the needs of Nigerians for Personal and Business Travel, Medical needs, and School fees, effective immediately. The CBN expects such retail transactions to be settled at a…

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Bank of Mauritius keeps the Key Repo Rate unchanged at 4%

Bank of Mauritius keeps the Key Repo Rate unchanged at 4%

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Mauritius unanimously decided to keep the Key Repo Rate unchanged at 4.00 per cent per annum at its meeting today. Growth in major advanced economies is likely to strengthen in 2017. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook Update released in January 2017 projects world growth to increase from 3.1 per cent in 2016 to 3.4 per cent in 2017 and…

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Ghanaian banks face high asset risks, despite solid capital buffers, stable funding, Says Moody’s

Ghanaian banks face high asset risks, despite solid capital buffers, stable funding, Says Moody’s

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – High asset risks pose the biggest challenges for banks in Ghana, says Moody’s Investors Service in a report published today. Moody’s report, entitled “Banks — Ghana; Ghanaian banks face high asset risks, despite solid capital buffers, stable funding and an economic recovery,” is available on www.moodys.com. Moody’s subscribers can access this presentation via the link provided at the end of this press release. “We expect asset risk for banks…

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Central Bank of Nigeria boosts key industries with $2.83 bln for economic recovery

Central Bank of Nigeria boosts key industries with $2.83 bln for economic recovery

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank has disbursed $2.83 billion to critical sectors of the economy in December and January, it said in a statement on Thursday, in an attempt to kick-start a struggling economy and alleviate a drought of foreign currency. Nigeria’s economy is wallowing in its first recession in a quarter of a century, hamstrung in part by low exports of the crude oil on which the government depends for…

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Egyptian Central Bank Retains Benchmark Interest at 15.25%

Egyptian Central Bank Retains Benchmark Interest at 15.25%

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s central bank left its key interest rates unchanged on Thursday at a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, the bank said in a statement, the third consecutive meeting where it kept rates on hold. The bank kept its overnight deposit rate at 14.75 percent and its overnight lending rate at 15.75 percent. The decision comes after Egypt’s core inflation rate soared in January to 30.86 percent, its highest…

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Bank of Uganda Slashes Benchmark Rate amid shrinking growth

Bank of Uganda Slashes Benchmark Rate amid shrinking growth

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of Uganda on Wednesday lowered the central bank rate by 50 basis points from 12 percent, set in December 2016, to 11.5 percent. The cut was necessary to “support economic activity”, according to the Monetary Policy Statement for February 2017. It is the sixth consecutive cut since the central bank started easing the policy rate in April 2016. “A further cautious easing of monetary policy is warranted to…

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