Banking

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of England said more companies are triggering plans for a no-deal Brexit as it kept policy in a holding pattern while the government takes withdrawal talks to the brink. Around two-thirds of firms surveyed by the central bank said they had started implementing contingencies for a disorderly departure from the European Union. About 80 percent judged themselves ready for such an outcome. With Britain just days away from its scheduled…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world needs a new model to channel private finance into emerging-nation clean projects and commercial banks are among those planning to help create it. Firms including Macquarie Group Ltd., HSBC Group Plc and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are scheduled to participate in this week’s Green Bank Design Summit in Paris. They’re joining representatives of 24 developing countries accounting for almost half the world’s greenhouse gases that will be attending the…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan banks might turn the lending taps back on after a court ordered lawmakers to review a law that capped the interest rates they can charge, potentially providing further impetus to economic growth. Shares in the East African nation’s largest lenders rallied after a Nairobi High Court on Thursday described the legislation governing the rate caps as “vague, imprecise, ambiguous and indefinite.” The court suspended the implementation of the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markers in Africa) – Naspers Ltd. wants to spend about $1 billion in India this year as it scours the globe for investments that can replicate its blockbuster bet on China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd., a person familiar with the matter said. Africa’s largest company by market value is in talks to inject about $200 million into business loan provider Capital Float and payments security firm Wimbo as a first step, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions,…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender, sees trade opportunities opening up for the continent as a result of Britain’s eventual exit from the European Union and the dispute between the U.S. and China over tariffs. Britain and China will be looking to bolster their relationship with emerging markets, and African nations could benefit from improved access, more favorable tariffs and increased trade should their governments step in to…

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates again in the first half of the year, its governor said Wednesday, arguing that the latest increase was already paying off. The regulator raised the benchmark rate by 100 basis points in February, the first increase since June, as annual inflation rose to 7.4 percent, near the 25-year high of 7.7 percent recorded in mid-2018. “We hope we don’t have…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Ltd.’s corporate and investment banking division Rand Merchant Bank is seeking new management for its corporate-finance unit with co-heads Craig Forbes and Puso Manthata stepping down later this year. New leadership will be appointed at the start of the lender’s new financial year in July, RMB said in response to emailed questions. Forbes will be joining his family’s investment office by the end of the calendar year, while…