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SSA news through Nov. 30

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SSA news through Nov. 30

* French telecoms giant Orange SA, which recently launched Orange Bank SA in France, will open a bank in Africa within two years, Jeune Afrique wrote, citing the company's CEO, Stéphane Richard.

EAST AFRICA

* Bank of Kigali Ltd. COO Desire Rumanyika said the lender is planning to raise between $80 million and $100 million in 2018 by issuing new shares, Reuters reported. The executive added that the bank has ended discussions with Morocco-based Banque Centrale Populaire, which was previously reported to be eyeing a stake in the Rwanda-based lender, on a potential acquisition deal.

* Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga dismissed reports on social media of Amana Bank Ltd.'s imminent closure, saying the Shariah-compliant lender and other banks are stable, The East African reported.

* Family Bank Ltd. warned investors that it expects its full-year 2017 earnings to be lower than 25% of earnings recorded a year earlier, citing the interest rate cap in Kenya and political uncertainty, Business Daily Africa reported. The lender posted a loss of 748 million shillings for the first nine months of 2017.

* Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge said the implementation of the IFRS 9 accounting standard in 2018 will not result in major capital raising by local lenders, which already have sufficient capital buffers for any required provisions, Business Daily Africa reported.

WEST AFRICA

* Ecobank Transnational Inc. unit Ecobank Nigeria Ltd. appointed Adebiyi Olagbami chief risk officer and an executive director, effective Nov. 15.

* UnityKapital Assurance Plc named Olanrewaju Awolola CFO, following the resignation of acting CFO Olabode Okedun.

* Bank directors with insider nonperforming loans should quit or be removed, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria's new code of corporate governance, the Daily Post wrote.

* Groupe NSIA has completed its acquisition of Diamond Bank SA from Nigeria-based Diamond Bank Plc for €61 million and now owns 97.07% of the Benin-based bank, Jeune Afrique wrote.

* Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison said five commercial banks have already met the new minimum capital requirement of 400 million cedis ahead of the deadline, Joy Business wrote. Addison added that the central bank will not object to a potential merger of National Investment Bank Ltd. and Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. to create a national development bank.

* The Bank of Ghana lowered its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points to 20%.

* Cape Verde's government said it would send legislation to parliament to lift capital controls as the country seeks to attract foreign investment, Expresso das Ilhas wrote. Finance Minister Olavo Correia said the foreign exchange law, which should be approved in early 2018, would lift restrictions on forex transactions and make it easier for foreign investors to open bank accounts in the country.

* Fatimata Gueye Ndiaye replaced Mohamed al-Ghazi as CEO of Crédit du Sénégal, Financial Afrik reported.

SOUTHERN AFRICA

* S&P Global Ratings lowered South Africa's sovereign credit ratings, saying the country's services-dominated economy, excluding agriculture and mining, is barely growing amid low private-sector investment, declining consumption, sluggish exports and a high level of unemployment and income inequality. Meanwhile, Moody's placed South Africa's long-term ratings on review for downgrade, saying growth prospects have become weaker while material budgetary revenue shortfalls have emerged.

* Subsequently, the two rating agencies took actions on several South African financial institutions, including Standard Bank Group Ltd. unit Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd., Absa Bank Ltd., Nedbank Ltd. and insurers Discovery Ltd. and Old Mutual Plc.

* Barclays Plc further reduced its stake in Barclays Africa Group Ltd. to 14.9% from 21.9%, following the transfer of a 7.0% stake in the South African lender, subject to a settlement that is expected to occur Dec. 5.

* FirstRand Ltd. unit FirstRand Bank Ltd. said it will appoint William Jardine independent nonexecutive chairman, effective April 1, 2018. He will replace Lauritz Dippenaar, who will retire as chairman and a director a day before.

* Roland Sassoon will step down as CEO of Sasfin Holdings Ltd. and be replaced by Michael Sassoon, effective Jan. 1, 2018.

* A number of ATMs in Zimbabwe have started issuing U.S. dollars again, as hard currency started to return to the Zimbabwean economy following President Robert Mugabe's resignation, South Africa's Business Day reported. Banks in the country stopped restocking their ATMs in 2016 amid a severe lack of cash.

* Zimbabwe's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, named Patrick Chinamasa as finance minister, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, former Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, who was taken into custody by the military in the run-up to Mugabe's resignation, is facing charges of corruption, including attempting to defraud the central bank in 2004.

* The Bank of Mauritius kept its key repo rate unchanged at 3.50%.

CENTRAL AFRICA

* Banque Internationale du Cameroun Pour l'Epargne et le Crédit denied reports that CEO Alain Ripert has resigned, Financial Afrik wrote.

Sophie Davies and Helen Popper contributed to this report.

S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.