Banking

Kenya central bank keeps benchmark rate at 10 percent

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s central bank kept its benchmark lending rate at 10.0 percent on Monday, the bank’s monetary policy committee said, a bid to reduce the threat of demand-driven inflation. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted rates wouldn’t change. The government, which faces parliamentary, presidential and local elections in August, is struggling to contain high inflation, caused mostly by higher food prices. Kenya’s inflation rose to an annual 11.48 percent in…

South Africa Rate on Hold as Central Bank Warns of Rand Risk

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African Reserve Bank left its key rate unchanged for a seventh straight meeting as policy makers warned politics and ratings downgrades could still knock the rand and scupper an improving inflation outlook. The Monetary Policy Committee maintained the benchmark repurchase rate at 7 percent, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. The decision was in line with the estimates of all 21 economists in a Bloomberg…

Kenya’s Biggest Bank Warns Rate Caps Risk Crippling Industry

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Equity Group Holdings Ltd., Kenya’s biggest bank by market value, posted a 6 percent decline in first-quarter profit as its chief executive officer warned government-imposed caps on commercial lending rates risk crippling the industry. Net income slid to 4.83 billion shillings ($47 million) in the three months through March as the revenue generated from loans after expenses tumbled 15 percent to 8.89 billion shillings, the Nairobi-based lender said in…

Rwandan Bank Mulls First Foreign Listing Outside Country

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KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bank of Kigali Ltd., Rwanda’s biggest lender by market value, plans to cross-list in Nairobi, Johannesburg or London in 2018, Chief Financial Officer Nathalie Mpaka said. The lender will make a decision by December based on the amount of capital the bank plans to raise, Mpaka said Wednesday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. It would be the first Rwandan company to list its shares outside the East African nation. “We…

Nigerian Banks Make Eurobond Comeback as UBA Plans Debut Deal

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – United Bank for Africa Plc said it plans to sell a debut Eurobond, a day after local rival Zenith Bank Plc tapped the market for the first time since 2014. UBA, Nigeria’s third-biggest lender by assets, wants to sell as much as $500 million of senior unsecured debt, it said in a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It will announce plans later on Tuesday for investor meetings in Europe…

In surprise move, Egypt central bank hikes key interest rates

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s central bank raised its key interest rates by 200 basis points on Sunday, confounding the expectations of economists who saw rates unlikely to change, but in line with recent IMF statements. At a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, the bank hiked its overnight deposit rate to 16.75 percent from 14.75 percent and its overnight lending rate to 17.75 from 15.75 percent, it announced in a statement. This…

Ghana to cut interest rates May 22, Nigeria, S/Africa, Kenya to hold

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of Ghana will extend its interest rate-easing cycle on Monday to give its economy a boost but other major African central banks will keep rates stable after a commodity price slump, a Reuters poll found. Ghana’s central bank cut its high prime rate by 200 basis points to 23.5 percent in March and is expected to chop another 100 basis points on Monday, according to the median…

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