Banking | - Part 91

Tunisia central bank to steadily weaken dinar, finance minister says

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s central bank will reduce its interventions so the value of the dinar steadily declines, but it will prevent a dramatic slide in the currency, the finance minister said on Tuesday. The strategy is part of Tunisia’s talks on reforms with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF is pushing Tunisia to overhaul its finances and reduce public spending, especially public-sector wages, where spending is among the highest in the…

Central Banks in Africa Keep Rates Amidst Fed Rate Hike in March

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tanzania’s central bank cut its discount rate to 12percent from 16 percent on Monday 6th March 2017, to help spur lending and boost economic growth, the first time it has lowered borrowing costs since 2013. The cut, which the central bank said in a circular to commercial banks becomes effective on Monday, follows a steep drop in private sector credit growth last year. “The discount rate which is applicable…

South African Banks Fall on S&P Downgrade, Rand Weakness but Resilience

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s banking sector fell by nearly three percent on Thursday after S&P cut the credit ratings of several major financial institutions following a sovereign downgrade. S&P cut South Africa’s credit level to junk status on Monday, citing growing concerns of political and policy instability following President Jacob Zuma’s midnight cabinet reshuffle a week ago. A weak rand following the downgrade compounded the impact on banking shares on Thursday,…

Ghana names monetary policy expert Addison as central bank governor

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo named senior monetary policy expert Ernest Addison as central bank governor on Thursday, a day after his predecessor resigned for personal reasons, a statement from the presidency said. Addison, who in the early 2000s was a leading architect of Ghana’s monetary policy, worked as a lead economist at the African Development Bank. The announcement comes as Akufo-Addo’s young government seeks to stabilize national finances and…

South Africa Central Bank Signals End of Rate-Increase Cycle

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African Reserve Bank held its benchmark rate unchanged for a sixth straight meeting and said it may have reached the end of its policy-tightening cycle, even as the rand remains a risk to inflation. Five of the six Monetary Policy Committee members voted to keep the repurchase rate at 7 percent, and one favoured a 25 basis-point cut, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. The decision…

Bank of Ghana Governor Issahaku Resigns After Year in Post

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bank of Ghana Governor Abdul Nashiru Issahaku tendered his resignation after a year in the job and three months after the president who appointed him lost power. Issahaku, 55, will leave the post for “personal reasons,” he said in a text message on Thursday. He was appointed governor in April by former PresidentJohn Dramani Mahama, whose National Democratic Congress lost the December election to the New Patriotic Party led by President Nana Akufo-Addo….

Ghana central bank slashes benchmark interest rate

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate on Monday by two percentage points to 23.5 percent, noting signs inflation was trending downwards, in a move that may help spur lending and business activity. Ghana was for years one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies but growth slumped in 2014 due to falling commodities prices, high inflation, a big budget deficit and public debt. As inflation eases, the bank can lower…

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