TOP NEWS IN MIDDLE EASTERN AND AFRICAN FINANCIALS
* South Africa's Nedbank Group Ltd. said it expects its full-year 2020 headline EPS to drop by between 55% and 60% year over year to a range of between 11.72 rand and 10.42 rand due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* The Bank of Israel's banking supervision department proposed that banks hold off from paying out dividends until the end of September, saying it expects lenders to use capital surpluses to boost credit until that point.
➤ Global i-banks post record revenues, ROE in 2020
The top 12 global investment banks booked their highest sector revenues in more than a decade, and their best return on equity in five years, according to Coalition Greenwich.
➤ For UK institutions, crypto is no longer the 'Wild West' of finance
As central banks around the world keep interest rates low to cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, growing worries about inflation have prompted institutions to look at cryptoassets anew, according to industry insiders.
BANKING
* Saudi Arabia-based National Commercial Bank intends to redeem in full on March 23 its 2.7 billion riyals Tier 1 Islamic bonds, or sukuk, at face value. The sukuk were offered through private placement on Dec. 23, 2015.
* Peter Matlare, deputy CEO of South African bank Absa Group Ltd., died yesterday due to complications related to COVID-19, Bloomberg News reported, citing his family.
* YAP, the United Arab Emirates' first independent digital banking platform, launched yesterday, Reuters reported. Katral-Nada Hassan, the bank's head of product, said the company is currently partnering with banks in other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Ghana.
* Moody's placed all of Banco Económico SA's long-term ratings and assessments on review for downgrade, citing continuous delays in the Angola-based lender's recapitalization process. Angop covered.
* Angola-based Banco de Negócios Internacional SA injected €4 million into Portuguese unit BNI - Banco de Negócios Internacional (Europa) SA, which is awaiting a buyer after Chinese investors backed out of the purchase almost a year ago, ECO reported. The capital boost operation served to improve the bank's capital ratios in line with regulatory requirements.
* Equity Group Holdings PLC CEO James Mwangi said the Kenyan bank extended loan moratoriums on 35% of its loan portfolio by three years to help customers recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Business Daily Africa reported.
* National Bank of Kuwait SAKP elected Robert Eid and Nasser Saidi as independent board members to complete the remaining board term.
* Tunisia-based Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie SA launched a pre-incubator in Tunis housed in its BIATLABS space, Il Boursa reported.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* South Africa-based insurer Old Mutual Ltd., through private equity unit African Infrastructure Investment Managers, acquired a stake in Ghana's Onix Data Centres Ltd. for an undisclosed sum, Bloomberg News wrote.
* South African insurer Sanlam Ltd. expects its 2020 net operational earnings to decline to a range of 352.0 cents per share to 400.9 cents per share from 488.9 cents per share a year ago.
* South African insurer Liberty Holdings Ltd. agreed to acquire separate 9.25% and 6.48% stakes in unit Liberty Kenya Holdings PLC from two shareholder groups for 11 shillings per share.
* Iran's Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance appointed Majid Bakhtiari CEO of Bimeh Iran (Iran Insurance Co.)
* A.M. Best affirmed the A- financial strength rating and the "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of Kuwait Insurance Co. S.A.K.P, with a stable outlook.
* Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority renewed the securities license of Amar Finance and Leasing Company - KPSC to exercise the activity of securities brokerage nonregistered in the local stock market. The license is valid for three years.
* Mohammed al-Sada was appointed head of Bahrain and Kuwait for Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.'s private wealth. Al Ayam covered.
* Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insurance Co.'s shareholders approved electing members of the board of directors for the upcoming term starting March 8. The new board includes Faisal Farouk Tamer, Hamad Abdullah al-Mahyas and Al-Dana Khaled al-Juffali as nonexecutive members, and Khalid Abid Gama, Alexand Ankel, Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Dar, Abdullah Mohsen al-Nimri and Amr Mohamad Khashoggi as independent members.
* Kenyan insurer Britam Holdings PLC is assessing several top executives, including its principal executive director and group COO, for potential reassignment to other posts or exit under a voluntary early retirement scheme, insiders told Business Daily Africa. The move is reportedly part of the company's plans to cut roughly 138 jobs by May-end to reduce staff costs.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The Saudi Central Bank extended a deferred payment program for private sector financing by three months, until June-end, in a bid to soften the pandemic's economic impact, Reuters reported. The regulator also extended a guaranteed financing program aimed at supporting small businesses by a year, until March 14, 2022.
* The Dubai International Financial Centre proposed amendments to its employment and data protection laws and its insolvency rules, saying the move is aimed at keeping its regulatory framework in line with international best practices.
* The U.S. is considering imposing sanctions on Lebanese central bank Governor Riad Salamé amid a probe into allegations of embezzling public funds, insiders told Bloomberg. The measures could reportedly include freezing his overseas assets and limiting his ability to do business abroad.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* S&P Global Ratings downgraded Kenya's long-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings to B from B+, saying it expects a sharp slowdown in the country's GDP growth in 2020 and a consequent increase in fiscal deficits to weigh on its already weak public finances and external debt metrics.
* The IMF said talks between the fund and Zambia over a program for the country have made significant progress, with the discussions expected to continue in the next few weeks. Zambian Finance Minister Bwalya Ng'andu said the government will continue to seek an IMF program, Reuters wrote.
* Capital Intelligence Ratings affirmed Egypt's long- and short-term foreign- and local-currency ratings at B+/B, with a stable outlook.
* A pan-African payment and settlement system will be launched in April, with the West African region's central bank approving $500 million to support implementation of a pilot project there, according to Financial Afrik.
Erin Tanchico, Abdelghani Henni, Pádraig Belton and Nelson Siqueira contributed to this report.
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