Banking

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African Reserve Bank’s ability to cut interest rates to boost the economy is limited by political and policy uncertainty and inflation that’s still not sufficiently anchored at the midpoint of its target range. Investors pay a premium for South African debt to compensate for the risk of holding it and this constrains monetary policy by raising the interest rate needed to stabilize inflation, the central bank said…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank is increasing pressure on lenders to keep providing credit to boost economic growth in Africa’s biggest oil producer. The West African nation’s banking regulator raised the minimum loan-to-deposit ratio to 65% from 60% to “sustain the momentum” seen in lending since it first lifted the measure in July, it said in a statement dated Sept. 30. Banks have until Dec. 31 to comply with the directive…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s banking regulator will issue a fresh circular to the West Africa nation’s lenders after some failed to meet a deadline to ramp up lending. “All banks have strived to meet it, but not all did,” Ahmad Abdullahi, director of banking supervision at the Central Bank of Nigeria, said in a text message on Monday, without elaborating. The authority will issue another notice to banks on the directive, he said, without being…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe has clamped down on mobile money, tightened controls on foreign-exchange bureaux and dealers and banned the quoting of prices in any currency other than its own dollar as it struggles to manage a monetary system that’s spiraling out of control. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on Monday stopped operators of mobile-money services, the dominant way in which money is moved in the country, from paying out cash. It also tightened…

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambian Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu’s job when presenting his maiden budget to lawmakers on Friday should be simple: he only has to show the plan for 10% of the government’s spend next year. That’s because about 90% is already tied up with wages and paying debts, according to President Edgar Lungu. The hard part is figuring out how to spread the meager resources, while at the same time trying to raise…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission approved the recapitalization plans of 26 insurance companies and directed them to proceed with their proposals to meet prescribed capital thresholds. The commission asked 22 other companies to revise their own proposals and resubmit for further review, the Abuja-based agency said Thursday in an emailed statement. Insurers combining life, property and casualties are to have a minimum capital of 18 billion naira ($50 million), while those…

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – The central bank hasn’t budged since 2016 despite taking an increasingly dim view of the country’s economy after a poor harvest and still-weak demand from its key markets in Europe. Meanwhile, consumer prices have recovered from a bout of deflation to exceed projections for the year. Policymakers are likely to keep their benchmark interest rate at a record-low 2.25% again at a quarterly meeting on Tuesday. The pause will probably last…