Ecobank to Boost Transaction Income to Reduce Lending Focus

Ecobank to Boost Transaction Income to Reduce Lending Focus

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ecobank Transnational Inc., the most geographically diverse African lender, plans to increase revenue from transactions rather than depending on interest from loans, Chief Executive Officer Ade Ayeyemi said. “We’ve been a big lending bank, we are now moving more and more to a big transaction services bank,” he said on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast. “You need to be a balanced…

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Mondi Falls as Rising Costs, Currency Moves Weigh on Earnings

Mondi Falls as Rising Costs, Currency Moves Weigh on Earnings

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mondi Limited shares slumped the most in more than a year after South Africa’s biggest packaging maker said rising costs and unfavourable currency moves would see full-year earnings come in below expectations. The stock plunged as much as 7 percent in early trade in Johannesburg and London, the most intraday since June 2016. The cost of wood, energy and chemicals increased in the three months through September, while the weaker…

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Lending cap, drought hurting Kenya’s banks: Equity Group CEO

Lending cap, drought hurting Kenya’s banks: Equity Group CEO

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan lenders are facing severe turbulence, grappling with a government cap on commercial lending rates, and the impact of a drought, Equity Group Chief Executive James Mwangi said on Wednesday. Equity, one of the country’s biggest by customers, saw its pretax profit edge up 3.75 percent last year to 24.9 billion shillings ($242.22 million), as it boosted provisions for bad debts. Mwangi said the cap on rates, at 4…

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