Banking Sector |

Standard Bank Lifts Targets as Sees South African Economy Improving

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender by assets, said it expects its return on equity to rise as South Africa’s economy improves. “The positive steps taken already by the ruling party subsequent to its leadership conference will improve business and consumer confidence,” the Johannesburg-based bank said in a statement on Thursday. The return on equity target range has been increased to as much as 20 percent from an earlier…

UniBank Clarifies MD After Confusion Over Ghana Bank Deal

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – UniBank Ghana Ltd. said it is not buying the country’s Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. as it clarified comments by its top executive on Wednesday that were interpreted even by regulators as a takeover offer. UniBank Managing Director Kwabena Duffuor told an Accra-based radio station that Belstar Capital Ltd. is leading a group of shareholders who have pledged to sell 53 percent of their holdings in ADB, as the agricultural…

IMF Urges Nigeria to Keep Tight Monetary Policy, Curb Inflation

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Central Bank of Nigeria should maintain its tight monetary-policy stance and consider raising interest rates to help anchor price expectations, the International Monetary Fund said. Increasing the monetary policy rate from 14 percent to exceed price growth, which stood at 15.1 percent in January, “would more transparently reflect CBN intentions, help anchor inflation expectations, and signal forward-looking policy,” the Washington-based lender said in a report release Wednesday after an Article IV consultation. Governor Godwin…

Takeover Bid by Ghana’s UniBank in Doubt as Regulator Balks

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – UniBank Ghana Ltd. agreed to buy a controlling stake in Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. from a group of exiting investors in a deal that still needs to win support from the country’s central bank. The planned takeover comes as lenders in Ghana scurry to meet an end-of-the-year deadline to bolster their capital buffers. The new rules are part of a government effort to create stronger banks better able to…

Moody’s affirms ratings of Tanzanian banks; changes outlook to negative

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DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service has today affirmed the B1/ Not Prime long and short-term local-currency deposit ratings and the B2/ Not Prime long and short-term foreign-currency deposit ratings of NMB Bank PLC and CRDB Bank Plc. The outlook on the banks’ long-term deposit ratings was changed to negative, from stable. At the same time, Moody’s has affirmed NMB Bank PLC’s b1 baseline credit assessment (BCA), b1 adjusted BCA,…

Tanzania’s Tough Stance on Banks to Stoke Consolidation: Moody’s

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DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Central bank’s revocation of five lenders’s licenses and their subsequent liquidation last week signals willingness to let ailing banks fail, which will lead to industry consolidation and smaller number of larger, stronger banks, Moody’s Investors Service says in an emailed note. Move will lead to struggling small banks merging with each other, being acquired by larger competitors or finding strategic shareholders Contagion risks remain for smaller lenders…

IBM, Comcast Ventures Back Fund for Blockchain Business Startups

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – International Business Machines Corp. and Comcast Corp.’s venture arm will become the largest supporters of an investment fund for startups that help corporations use blockchain, the digital ledger that’s become a hot technology. The startup accelerator, called MState, plans to invest $25,000 to $50,000 apiece in five or six companies over the next six months, co-founder Rob Bailey said in a phone interview. MState, with locations in New York and…

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