Banking | - Part 86

South Africa Central Bank Says Ombudsman’s Actions Risk Economy

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank filed court papers to reverse an instruction by the anti-graft ombudsman that its mandate of protecting the value of currency be changed, saying the “reckless” proposal is harming the economy. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane in a report earlier this month instructed parliament to start a process to change the nation’s constitution to make the central bank focus on the “socioeconomic well-being of the citizens” rather than inflation….

Rate-Cutting Race Among BRICS Outliers Pits Russia, Brazil

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The race to ease monetary policy in Russia and Brazil may come down to factors neither of the central banks can control. Even after months of rate cuts, the two economies continue to endure some of the world’s highest borrowing costs when adjusted for inflation. While both countries are still consumed by crises as they try to put two years of recession behind them, the political turmoil gripping Brazil leaves its central bank facing a tougher task ahead, according…

Banks Balk at Risk of Funding South Africa Mining Charter Deals

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JOHANNESBURGH (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s plan to force mining companies to give the black majority a bigger stake in the nation’s mineral wealth faces a major obstacle: convincing banks to back billions of dollars of fresh deals in an industry in decline. Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on June 15 that local mines should be at least 30 percent owned by black people, up from the previous requirement of 26 percent. The mining companies need banks to…

Etisalat Nigeria Faces Hunt for New Owner After Talks Fail

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) Etisalat Nigeria faces a search for a buyer and operator after a consortium of banks seized control of a 45 percent stake from Emirates Telecommunications Corp. following the failure of talks about a $1.2 billion loan. A group of 13 Nigerian lenders ordered the Abu Dhabi-based company to transfer the shareholding to United Capital Trustees Ltd. by June 23, the operator of Nigeria’s fourth-biggest wireless carrier said in a statement Tuesday. Etisalat Nigeria…

Angola’s Biggest Bank to Sell Bad Loans to Restore Profit

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s biggest bank plans to sell non-performing loans as part of a reorganization to return to profit. Banco de Poupanca e Credito SARL, known as BPC, aims to dispose of 231 billion kwanzas ($1.38 billion) of its unpaid loans to a state-owned company created earlier this year to recover bad debt and free the nation’s banks to lend again, according to Chairman Ricardo Viegas D’Abreu. The lender has also been…

Atlas Mara Sells Stake to Revive Nigerian Ambitions

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Atlas Mara Ltd., which has dropped almost 80 percent since an initial public offering led by co-founder Bob Diamond, plans to raise more than its market value by selling a 35 percent stake to Fairfax Africa Holdings Corp. The firm expects to get $200 million from selling new stock to existing shareholders and Fairfax Africa and will also issue a fresh convertible bond to the Toronto-based investment company, the company said in…

South Africa Central Bank to Fight `Unlawful’ Mandate Proposal

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank accused the graft ombudsman of overreaching her powers and promised to fight a proposal to change the institution’s primary objective of protecting the value of the currency. “The Reserve Bank has consulted its legal team and has been advised that the remedial action prescribed by the Public Protector falls outside her powers and is unlawful,” the Pretoria-based central bank said in a statement on its website. Public…

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