Banking | - Part 98

Africa’s Biggest Bank Chasing Nigerian Deals After Oil Slump

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The crisis in Nigeria is throwing up opportunities for Africa’s largest bank. FirstRand Limited, which is seeking an acquisition of mid-sized lender in the continent’s most populous nation, is also considering one other target after ending talks with two lenders because of differences over price, Chairman Laurie Dippenaar said. The Johannesburg-based company would prefer an institution with a big branch network, though is unlikely to buy any of the country’s large banks,…

Kenya Central Bank Expects Current-Account Gap to Stabilize

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s current-account deficit will stabilize after shrinking last year as the currency strengthens, exports increase, tourism improves and remittances climb, central bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said. The gap probably narrowed to 5.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2016 from 10.4 percent 1 1/2 years earlier, he said in an interview Thursday in Davos, Switzerland. The bank will continue to intervene to slow the shilling’s depreciation and appreciation, trying to smooth…

Barclays Africa Faces Apartheid-Era Investigation on Bankorp

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Barclays Africa Group Ltd. is being investigated by South Africa’s graft ombudsman over whether it received undue state support when it bought Bankorp during the apartheid era, and whether it should repay the money. The Barclays unit said it’s “regrettable” that a preliminary report by the ombudsman was leaked to the media, adding that the document contains “several factual and legal inaccuracies.” The Johannesburg-based lender, then known as Absa, did not benefit from…

Cash Is King in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe as Dollar Supply Dries Up

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Walk into Pedzai Nyika’s furniture factory in Zimbabwe’s capital and he’ll offer a 20 percent discount straight away — provided you pay in cash. He’s not alone. A shortage of banknotes gripping the southern African nation has become so dire that business are offering huge discounts to cash-paying customers and limiting the amounts they can charge on credit cards or refusing to accept them altogether. “I am desperate. Business is…

African banks’ regulation and supervision is improving, Says Moody’s

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – While increased regulation and improved supervision have strengthened the financial stability of African banks, progress has not been uniform and gaps remain, especially in the areas of enforcement and cross-border coordination, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report today. The report, entitled “Banks — Africa: Gaps in Banking Regulation and Supervision Are Progressively Being Addressed”, is now available on www.moodys.com. Moody’s subscribers can access this report via the link…

Zimbabwe Bank Suspends Use of Visa Cards as Cash Crunch Worsens

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – CBZ Holdings Ltd., Zimbabwe’s largest bank, suspended the use of Visa Inc. cards for local transactions as the country struggles to cope with a cash shortage. Charges on making transactions are very expensive for customers, CBZ Chief Executive Officer Never Nyemudzo said by phone from Harare, the capital, on Friday. Money also has to be settled outside the country for accounts that are held overseas in foreign currency, he said. The…

Troubled Nigerian Loans Seen Spiking Before Economic Rebound

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Access Bank Plc is predicting that the level of troubled loans in Nigeria will continue to climb before an economic recovery in the second half of the year brings relief to the country’s lenders. “Across the entire industry you’ll see an uptick in non-performing loan ratios,” Chief Executive Officer Herbert Wigwe said in an interview on Thursday in Lagos, the commercial hub. “We are better than most.” Nigeria’s fourth-largest bank by assets expects…

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