Banking

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s lenders, which include units of Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Ecobank Ltd., appealed to the central bank to raise interest rates that have been capped at 12 percent for the past two years, saying this would increase lending in the collapsing economy. They also proposed that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduce an overnight rate to facilitate lending between financial institutions and the central bank, Bankers Association of Zimbabwe submissions seen by Bloomberg…

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – SBM Holdings Ltd. shares sank to a 4 1/2-year low after the owner of Mauritius’s second-biggest bank said a tripling in bad-debt provisions halved profit last year. The stock fell as much as 2.7 percent and closed down 2.3 percent at 5.86 rupees in Port Louis, the Mauritian capital. That’s the lowest since October 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Sentiment on SBM remains weak as investors continue…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – – Ghana’s central bank maintained its benchmark interest rate at a six-year low, warning that it could tighten policy if inflation risks from a weaker currency materialize. The Bank of Ghana kept the rate at 16 percent, Governor Ernest Addison told reporters Monday in the capital, Accra. All four economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast the unchanged stance. After an unexpected rate cut in January on favorable inflation outcomes, the cedi accelerated its…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The New Development Bank plans to issue South African bonds in the third quarter to raise 4.4 billion rand ($310 million) for two infrastructure projects in the continent’s most-industrialized economy. Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Absa Group Ltd. have been picked to arrange the debt sale, Leslie Maasdorp, the NDB’s chief financial officer, told reporters in Cape Town on Monday. The funding is earmarked for Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, the state-owned firm responsible…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Monetary stimulus is needed to revive growth and attract foreign direct investment. Business activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector slipped in February to its lowest level since September 2017. The central bank is still a long way from unwinding rate increases deployed to steady inflation after floating the currency in November 2016. While price growth has since stabilized, however, it accelerated for a second month to an annual…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in  Africa) – Higher power, food and fuel prices will likely crimp household spending and limit prospects for stronger economic growth, resulting in the South African Reserve Bank having to hold the nation’s key interest rate for the rest of the year, economists said. The Monetary Policy Committee’s unanimous decision to maintain the repurchase rate at 6.75 percent was in line with the expectations of all 18 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The bank…