Banking

HARARE (Capital Martkets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s government has ruled out adopting the U.S dollar as the country’s sole official currency, terming it “suicidal,” the state-run Sunday Mail reported, citing Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube. Ncube said such a move could result in foreign currency deficits and deflation for the African nation. “We cannot adopt the United States dollar alone as the official currency,” Ncube told lawmakers during a pre-budget consultation meeting, according to the Harare-based newspaper. “You…

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) –  Credit Suisse Group AG agreed to pay almost $475 million to resolve multiple investigations into its role in a fundraising scandal that saw hundreds of millions looted from Mozambique and tipped the country into economic crisis. The Zurich-based bank said it expects to take a $230 million charge in the third quarter as a result of the settlement, a further hit for shareholders after the bank was buffetted by…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey moved to strengthen the case for raising interest rates, saying the central bank will “have to act” to curb inflationary forces and warning higher energy costs mean price pressures will linger. Speaking to an online panel organized by the Group of 30, Bailey said that while central banks don’t have the tools to counter supply disruptions and he still believes the recent acceleration…

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s central bank will focus on inflation and then financial stability from the start of next year after lawmakers agreed to change its mandate, Governor Jose de Lima Massano said.  Parliament on Sept. 1 approved a law to boost the central bank’s independence by changing the way the governor is appointed and the mandate of the bank. At a meeting of the central bank’s monetary policy committee on Thursday, the first since the…