Banking

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Marketds in Africa) – Old Mutual Ltd. said first-half profit rose 10% from a year earlier as higher investment returns boosted earnings, offsetting tepid economic growth in its home market. Adjusted earnings before one-time items increased to 5.2 billion rand ($342 million), the Johannesburg-based firm said in a statement on Monday. Results from operations increased 2%, while revenue from premium sales rose 4%. Net income fell 55% to 5.82 billion rand after gains from…

LONDON (Capital Marketds in Africa) – Just weeks before the European Central Bank gets its first-ever female president, another milestone for the institution is being set by Ireland. Gabriel Makhlouf, a Briton who was a top civil servant in New Zealand, becomes the Irish central bank chief this week. He is the ECB Governing Council’s first member who isn’t a citizen of the country appointing him. While Christine Lagarde’s impending ECB presidency is unprecedented, that role has citizenship…

LONDON (Capital Marketds in Africa) – London’s outsized role in the global insurance industry is being whittled down by Brexit. As much as 61 billion pounds ($75 billion) of business is shifting to rival financial centers in the European Union as a consequence of Britain’s vote to leave the bloc. And it’s happening regardless of the divorce terms. The EU’s insurance and pensions regulator has ordered every U.K.-based underwriter to transfer policies held by European clients to…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Global banks are preparing their staff in the U.K. for big changes as the prospect of a no-deal Brexit in October looms. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Nomura Holdings Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among those taking action as the British government tries to stare downthe European Union on the terms of withdrawal, increasing the chance of a chaotic exit from the bloc that could curb access to talent and certain markets. JPMorgan…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The central bank announced last week it had revoked the licenses of savings and loans companies as well as finance houses and appointed a receiver to manage their affairs. The steps marked the end of an industry cleanse of lenders and second-level financial institutions that started in August 2017 and cost the government at least 12 billion cedis ($2.2 billion) in bonds and cash to cover depositors’ holdings. The…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa)  – KCB Group Plc is targeting an increase in full-year earnings of as much as 12% as Kenya’s biggest bank boosts lending and scouts for acquisitions to bolster an African expansion. That’s more than double the pace in the first half as the Nairobi-based lender chases double-digit loans growth for the full year, mainly in the personal, corporate and manufacturing space, Chief Executive Officer Joshua Oigara said. An expansion of KCB’s mobile-banking services…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Absa Group Ltd.’s push to reclaim market share lost while under the control of Barclays Plc is beginning to pay off at the South African lender’s main retail-banking business. First-half net income climbed 5.4% to 7.64 billion rand ($500 million) as Absa provided more personal loans and credit cards, while boosting the revenue it generates from fees and commissions, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement Tuesday. The improvement at its…