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SSA news through Feb. 1

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SSA news through Feb. 1

EAST AFRICA

* National Bank of Kenya Ltd. plans to lay off 150 staff through a voluntary early retirement scheme aimed at employees aged 35 years or more who have been with the lender for more than five years, Capital FM reported.

* KCB Group Plc CEO Joshua Oigara said Kenya may be ready for a digital currency in the next three years if necessary regulations are put in place, Standard Digital wrote.

WEST AFRICA

* Nigerian lawmakers have ordered an investigation into bitcoin to determine whether the digital currency is a viable form of investment, Bloomberg News wrote. Bitcoins are openly sold in Nigeria, where trading of the cryptocurrency grew the most in Africa in 2017. Lawmakers also ordered an investigation into alleged arbitrary charges and illegal deductions on deposits by commercial banks, according to ThisDay.

* Fidelity Bank Plc named Julian Kingsley Opuni deputy managing director, Joy Business wrote.

* Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc named Adekunle Adedeji group CFO, with effect from April 3. Adedeji, currently CFO of Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd., will succeed Victor Yeboah-Manu, who will resign from the Nigerian bank March 29 and assume Adedeji's role at the Ghanaian lender.

* Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Edward Adamu to become deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, replacing Sulaiman Barau, who retired in December 2017, Reuters reported.

* Moody's said it expects the muted loan growth in Ghana to reduce banks' revenues and put pressure on their efficiency rations and profitability, Joy Business noted.

* Former Bank of Ghana Deputy Governor Emmanuel Asiedu-Mante said there is no need to introduce a deposit protection scheme in the country, calling it an "unnecessary burden" to both banks and depositors, Graphic Online reported. The scheme will require lenders to earmark a chunk of customer deposits with the yet-to-be created Ghana Deposit Protection Corp.

* Ecobank Transnational Inc. CEO Ade Ayeyemi told Reuters that the lender plans to focus on expanding its customer base in countries where it already operates through its new digital banking platform rather than pushing into new markets.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

* Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. CFO André du Plessis dismissed as "totally unfounded" a report by Viceroy Research accusing the lender of concealing losses and engaging in "predatory finance." Viceroy — the short-selling firm that also pointed to irregularities in retailer Steinhoff International Holdings NV's accounting policies — asked that the South African Reserve Bank and the Minister of Finance place Capitec Bank into curatorship.

* In response, the central bank said Capitec Bank was "solvent, well capitalized and has adequate liquidity," Reuters noted. The National Treasury also urged the Financial Services Board to consider opening an investigation into Viceroy over potential market abuse following its report.

* Separately, South African fund manager Benguela Global Fund Managers (Pty.) Ltd. challenged Capitec Bank's "aggressive practice" of rescheduling arrear loans, saying it was concerned that the practice distorted the lender's financial performance.

* South Africa's Competition Commission named more banks in its foreign-exchange rigging case, including Investec Group unit Investec Bank Ltd., Fin24 wrote. Other banks implicated in the case include HSBC Holdings Plc unit HSBC USA Inc. and Bank of America Corp. unit Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Inc.

* Standard Bank Group Ltd.'s Malawian unit Standard Bank Ltd. named William Le Roux CEO, succeeding Andrew Mashanda.

* The Angolan central bank kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 18%.

* Portugal's Banco BPI SA wants to reduce its stake in Banco de Fomento Angola SA from 48.1% through a potential stock exchange transaction, Macauhub reported, citing BPI Executive Board President Pablo Forero.

* The Angolan Ministry of Finance authorized the sale of 90% of Banco de Negócios Internacional SA's stake in insurance company Aliança Seguros to comply with regulatory measures on good corporate governance practices, Dinheiro Vivo said.

* Mozambique's state prosecutor opened legal proceedings against officials at state-owned firms involved in securing $2 billion in previously undisclosed government loans, the Financial Times reported.

* Moody's revised its outlook on Zambia to stable from negative and affirmed its B3 long-term issuer rating, reflecting reduced government liquidity pressures and slowing debt accumulation.

Sophie Davies and Mariana Aldano contributed to this report.