Banking | - Part 114

South Africa Maintains Rate at 7% Despite Inflation Risk in May

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: The pause in the South African central bank’s policy tightening cycle may be short-lived as it forecast increasing risks for inflation from a weaker rand and food prices. The repurchase rate was left unchanged at 7 percent, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters on Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. Nineteen of the 25 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted no change to borrowing costs. Five of the six members Monetary Policy Committee members preferred to keep the rate unchanged…

Barclays Africa Mulls Investment-Bank Venture Post Parent’s Exit

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Barclays Africa Group Limited said it is considering a joint investment-banking venture with Barclays Plc as its London-based parent plans to further reduce its controlling stake. “At the corporate and investment bank the synergies provided a significant advantage,” Barclays Africa Chairwoman Wendy Lucas-Bull said at the Johannesburg-based bank’s annual general meeting on Tuesday. “We are looking at the issues business by business and at what the options are, like a joint venture.” Barclays sold…

We Were Sleeping, Says Kenya Central Banker After Lenders Fail

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenya’s central bank said that it should have stepped in sooner to halt the collapse of three lenders in the past nine months and that a culture of leniency by the regulator contributed to a build-up of misconduct in the industry. “The watchdog should have barked sooner and louder,” Njoroge told lawmakers in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. “We have been asleep at the switches in terms of us failing to…

Kenya Cuts Rates for First Time Since 2013 on Slow Inflation in May

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenya’s central bank cut its key rate by 100 basis points to 10.5 percent, the first reduction in three years, as the rate of inflation decelerates to within the government’s target corridor. Only two of nine economists and analysts polled by Bloomberg expected the decision. Central bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said in an interview in Kigali, Rwanda, earlier this month falling consumer prices, which are now within the government’s 2.5 percent…

Ghana’s Central Bank Holds Benchmark Rate as Inflation Burden Eases

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ACCRA, Ghana, Capital Markets in Africa: Ghana’s central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate as the cedi stabilized and inflation eased. The monetary policy committee of the Bank of Ghana held the rate at 26 percent, Governor Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, who chaired the meeting for the first time, told reporters in Accra, the capital, on Monday. This was in line with the forecast of all eight economists in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Former governor Kofi Wampah didn’t…

Ghana Interest Rates Seen Steady as Issahaku Holds First Meeting

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ACCRA, Ghana, Capital Markets in Africa: Ghana’s new central bank governor, Abdul Nashiru Issahaku, will probably keep policy unchanged at his debut interest-rate announcement after inflation started to slow and the cedi stabilized. Issahaku, 54, appointed last month after the early retirement of Kofi Wampahin March, will probably leave the benchmark rate at 26 percent when he announces the first Monetary Policy Committee decision under his leadership on May 16, according to the median of eight economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg….

South Africa | SARB Serves Economy Best With Price Stability, Mminele Says

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: The Reserve Bank can best serve the South African economy by ensuring price stability, even if higher interest rates affect growth over the short term, Deputy Governor Daniel Mminele said. “The long-term interests of the South African economy are served by focusing on that price stability mandate and avoiding any temptation to try and play a short run trade-off between inflation and growth,” Mminele said Friday in an interview at the World…

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