Central Bank | - Part 18

Kenyan Central Bank Signals Rates on Hold as Inflation Slows

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenya’s central bank signaled it will keep interest rates unchanged after inflation slowed to within the government’s target range. The bank last month cut its benchmark lending rate by one percentage point to 10.5 percent, the first reduction in three years, as consumer-price growth eased to 5 percent, the slowest pace since June 2013. Inflation will probably remain steady even as fuel costs rise and after the Treasury announced tax increases…

Nigeria Delays New Bank Capital Rules in Bid to Avoid Recession

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigeria plans to delay new capital rules for banks as regulators in Africa’s biggest economy follow fellow oil producer Kazakhstan in trying to boost lending and avoid a recession. The Central Bank of Nigeria in 2014 ordered the country’s lenders it considered too big to fail to boost minimum capital adequacy ratios to 16 percent from 15 percent to increase their resilience to shocks. The new rules, which followed a banking crisis…

Egypt’s Dilemma as Central Bank Meets on Rates

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa: Soaring inflation and a long-running dollar shortage suggest Egypt’s central bank has ample reason to raise interest rates when officials meet on Thursday. On the flip-side, doing so would increase interest payments for a government trying to plug a hole in its finances. A Bloomberg survey shows economists are split, with three predicting a hold and three predicting an increase to the benchmark rate. The central bank raised Egypt’s key interest…

Mozambique Raises Key Rate to 14.25% to Contain Inflation in June

Posted on by The Editorial Team

MAPUTO, Capital Markets in Africa: Mozambique’s central bank raised its key interest rate for a third time this year as a weakening currency led to soaring inflation in the southern African nation. Policy makers increased the benchmark policy rate by 150 basis points to 14.25 percent, the Maputo-based institution said in a statement on Monday. The interest rate on the standing deposit facility was raised to 7.25 percent from 5.75 percent. The annual inflation rate…

Nigerian Naira Devaluation Bets Surge Before Nigeria Unveils New Policy

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Naira forward contracts surged to a record as traders anticipated Nigeria’s central bank would devalue the currency on Wednesday as part of a new foreign-exchange policy. Governor Godwin Emefiele will make a televised announcement from around 2 p.m. in Abuja, the capital, according to Isaac Okorafor, a central bank spokesman. Twelve-month non-deliverable naira forward contracts surged 3.3 percent to352 per dollar, a record on a closing basis, as of 11:27 a.m. in…

Nigerian Monetary Policy Committee Embraces Flexibility — Afrinvest

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at the conclusion of its 3rd meeting for the year decided to hold all rates unchanged. More specifically, the Committee decided to; Retain the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12.0% Maintain the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +200/-500bps Retain Cash Reserves Ratio (CRR) at 22.5% Keep the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30.0% Adopt flexibility of the interbank exchange rate market with a small…

Nigeria’s Central Bank Seen Loosening Stranglehold on Currency

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigerian policy makers may be about to loosen their stranglehold on the nation’s currency. The central bank of Africa’s biggest economy will decide Tuesday on whether to adjust borrowing rates as evidence mounts that a recession is looming. Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Renaissance Capital Ltd. are among banks predicting it will also carry out a de facto devaluation of the naira, or even a gradual removal of capital controls that have…

« 1 … 16 17 18 19 20 … 26 »