Banking

KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rwanda’s central bank kept its benchmark lending rate at a record-low 5.5 percent for a third straight meeting as consumer-price growth remains subdued. They key rate was held at 5.5 percent, Governor John Rwangombwa told reporters in the capital, Kigali, on Tuesday. Inflation, which was at 2.1 percent in August, won’t exceed the central bank’s target of 5 percent by the end of the year, Rwangombwa said. That’s partly…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Morgan Stanley plans to offer trading in complex derivatives tied to the largest cryptocurrency, according to a person familiar with the matter, joining other Wall Street firms in creating ways for clients to play the digital currency market. The U.S. bank will deal in contracts that give investors synthetic exposure to the performance of Bitcoin, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Investors will…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s central bank fined five of the country’s biggest lenders a total 392.5 million shillings ($3.9 million) after a probe showed they handled money acquired illegally from the National Youth Service. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Ltd., Equity Bank Kenya Ltd., KCB Bank Kenya Ltd., Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd. and Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd. handled 3.58 billion shillings, the regulator said in an emailed statement. Violations include failure…

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mauritius’s biggest bank expects economic growth to accelerate next year, driven by railway, road and other infrastructure projects, its chief executive officer said. The Indian Ocean island nation’s economy will probably grow 4 percent in 2019, compared with 3.8 percent this year, MCB Group Ltd. CEO Pierre Guy Noel said in an interview Monday in Ebene, south of the capital, Port Louis. “We are expecting to benefit, in 2019, from the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s has changed its outlook on the South African banking system to stable from negative, reflecting the expected resilience of the banks’ financial metrics and creditworthiness over the next 12-18 months, despite weakening operating conditions, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report today. Moody’s report, “Banking System Outlook – South Africa, Resilient financials amid a weakening economy drive our stable outlook” is available on www.moodys.com. Moody’s subscribers can access…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan lawmakers’ move to postpone a value-added tax on fuel and their failure to repeal a cap on commercial lending rates weakens the government’s fiscal-policy credibility, Moody’s Investors Service said. While President Uhuru Kenyatta can still reject the proposed amendments to legislation, they could exacerbate Kenya’s “sizeable financing needs in light of the government’s recurring fiscal deficits and growing debt burden,” Moody’s Vice President Lucie Villa said in an emailed report Monday. The 16 percent…