Central Bank | - Part 14

‘Super Rate Hike’ Still Seen in Egypt as Devaluation Looms

CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt’s central bank, which unexpectedly left borrowing costs unchanged last week, is keeping its powder dry for what one economist called a “super” rate increase. Five out of 8 economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected the Monetary Policy Committee to raise its key rate on Thursday to curb accelerating inflation and lay the ground for a widely anticipated devaluation. The meeting was likely the last before Egypt secures a…

Ghana’s Central Bank Urges Lenders Consolidate to Boost Growth

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ACCRA, Capital Markets in Africa: Ghana’s central bank expects mergers and acquisitions among lenders to increase as regulators prepare new rules that will boost the amount of cash that they need to set aside. Capital levels in the industry are too weak to support the government’s target of reaching gross domestic product growth of at least 8 percent a year, Bank of Ghana Governor Abdul Nashiru Issahaku said by phone on Friday. The bank will publish recommendations of…

Egypt’s central bank unexpectedly keeps rates unchanged in Sept

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CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt’s central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged at a monetary policy meeting on Thursday, confounding a unanimous forecast by analysts that it would hike borrowing costs to curb inflation. Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy since a 2011 revolution drove away tourists and foreign investors, its main sources of vital foreign currency. Its reserves have more than halved since, to around $16.5 billion in August. The…

South Africa’s Central Bank Signals Possible End to Hiking Cycle

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JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s Reserve Bank left interest rates unchanged for a third straight meeting as it signaled it may be close to the end of its policy-tightening cycle. The central bank kept the benchmark repurchase rate at 7 percent, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. This was in line with the forecasts of all 27 economists in a Bloomberg survey. “The MPC is of the view that should current forecasts transpire,…

Kenyan Regulator Says Rate Caps Complicates Monetary Policy

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NAIROBI, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenya’s decision to introduce caps on commercial-lending rates is complicating monetary policy, Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge said. “With the rate caps, it’s not clear which way to go,” Njoroge told reporters in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday, a day after the central bank cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 10 percent. The limits on borrowing rates may result in a “perverse reaction” among banks and lead to riskier…

Nigerian Central Bank Keeps Benchmark Rate Unchanged in Sept

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LAGOS. Capital Markets in Africa: Nigeria’s central bank left its main lending rate unchanged as it weighed supporting the currency and fighting inflation while propping up an ailing economy. The Monetary Policy Committee held the benchmark rate at 14 percent, Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Tuesday in the capital, Abuja. That was in line with projections of eight of the 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. One predicted a 100 basis point cut, and the rest said policy would be tightened by…

Kenya Cuts Rates Weeks After Capping Cost of Commercial Credit

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NAIROBI, Capital Markets in Africa: The Central Bank of Kenya reduced its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 10 percent, its second cut in four months, in a bid to boost private-sector credit amid government restrictions on loan costs. “The MPC noted the continued decline in growth of private sector credit, which has persisted since the last meeting, posing a risk to economic growth,” Governor Patrick Njoroge said in an e-mailed statement from the capital, Nairobi, Tuesday. Only…

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