Banking

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ugandan lender pledged to reduce the cost of borrowing after the central bank threatened to set pricing in line with the lowest benchmark interest rate recorded. Commercial banks “heeded the governor’s call” and will review interest rates downwards within 30 days, the Uganda Bankers’ Association said in a statement on its website. Bank of Uganda said it considered determining rates if lenders didn’t reduce loan prices to reflect the…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) — Bankers in Zimbabwe are demanding that part of their salaries be paid in dollars to cushion themselves against soaring inflation and a depreciating currency. Workers are asking that their pay be based on what they were earning in 2018, Shepard Ngandu, assistant secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Banks and Allied Workers’ Union, said by phone on Monday. Receiving pay in the local currency is of no value because of the…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — FirstRand Ltd. plans to replicate its South African business, where it is a leader in car and home finance, in Ghana following the takeover of the West African nation’s biggest mortgage provider. First National Bank Ghana Ltd. will also expand GHL Bank Ltd.’s offerings to include insurance, personal loans, and investment products, said Dominic Adu, the chief executive officer of the combined entity. Until the deal in May, FirstRand…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria’s central bank has blocked access to foreign exchange for corn imports as it seeks to boost local farming output, even though the move is expected to add to already soaring food inflation. All authorized dealers must immediately stop processing requests for the hard currency used for importing corn, the central bank said Monday in a statement on its website. The announcement is the latest effort by the central…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — A South African regulator warned insurers to stop broadly rejecting claims from businesses seeking to cover losses because of a lockdown to curb the coronavirus. “The Financial Sector Conduct Authority is concerned about the behavior of some insurers who are deliberately avoiding paying business-interruption claims were no grounds exist to do so,” the Pretoria-based regulator said in an emailed statement. “The national lockdown cannot be used by any insurer…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South African government debt could rise by 40 percentage points over the next three years as strong, widespread fiscal pressures and persistently low economic growth weigh on the nation’s credit profile, according to Moody’s Investors Service. That would push government debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product well over 100% and much higher than the 87.4% peak the Treasury projects for 2023-24 under its active management scenario….

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — The World Bank will provide Ghana with a $250 million credit facility to start its own development bank. The Washington-based lender is finalizing the terms of the funding with the country’s Ministry of Finance, the World Bank’s office in the nation’s capital, Accra, said in an email on Monday. The World Bank’s board may consider the facility before September, it said. Ghana’s government said in October that it plans to raise…