Banking | - Part 92

Ghana names monetary policy expert Addison as central bank governor

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

Posted on by The Editorial Team

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

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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…

Reserve Bank of Malawi slashes policy rate to 22 percent

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LILONGWE (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of Malawi on Friday 24th March 2017, agreed to cut the indicative cost of money, technically known as the policy rate, by 200 basis points from 24 percent to 22 percent, a development buoyed by a sharp fall in inflation. It is the second time in five months that the monetary authorities have slashed the policy rate following a 300…

Nigerian Banks Continue To Face Challenges Amidst Foreign Currency Shortage

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fitch Ratings says Nigerian banks will continue to face challenges this year, following an extremely difficult 2016. Banks faced multiple threats from the operating environment in 2016, including Nigeria sliding into recession, the economy continuing to suffer from low oil prices and severe shortages of foreign currency (FC). Consequently banks struggled with declining operating profitability (excluding translation gains), sluggish credit growth, fast asset quality deterioration, tight FC liquidity and…

Nigerian Central Bank Keeps Key Policy Rate Unchanged at 14%

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria left its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fourth consecutive meeting to balance lifting the economy out of its worst slump in 25 years with fighting inflation that’s at almost double the government’s target. The Monetary Policy Committee held the key policy rate at 14 percent, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday. That was in line with the forecast of all 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. While inflation in Africa’s…

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