Banks |

Nigerian Banks Seen Benefiting as Dollars Start to Flow

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – An increase in dollar sales by Nigeria’s central bank is giving the country’s lenders reason to cheer. “We see an improvement in the number of letters of credit, bills being settled and remittances being allowed,’’ Segun Ajibola, president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, said in an interview in Lagos, the nation’s commercial hub, on April 21. “Ordinarily, a margin will always be left behind for banks,…

Capitec Plans Insurance Offering as Credit-Card Rollout Starts

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s fastest-growing lender by profit, said it will start offering insurance products from next year in a bid to diversify sources of income and bolster earnings. “Right now we’re not covering insurance, but we’re working on that and will launch products next year with a partner,” Chief Executive Officer Gerrie Fouriesaid, declining to disclose details on who it will use as a partner. Having sold credit…

Algeria plans bank privatisations as oil money dries up

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ALGIERS, Capital Markets in Africa: Algeria plans to allow its dominant state banks to list on the local stock exchange to help develop its financial markets and diversify sources of funding after the oil price slide, a senior financial official said. The plan will open the door for foreign investors to acquire controlling stakes in banks, reversing a rule requiring Algerian firms to keep a majority shareholding in any partnership with foreigners, the official told…

What’s driving African banking…and what’s stalling it?

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Very few Africans make use of formal financial services. In fact, only 24% of adult Sub-Saharan Africans had a bank account in 2012, while the global average was 50%, says the Global Findex Database. In the following countries less than 10% had an account that year: Sudan, Senegal, DRC, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Madagascar and Mali. The main reason for this low level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is low income. Closely…