trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/IARZ9CVNOlyniCK0yoI48g2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Nigeria levies 500B naira fine on 12 lenders; Abu Dhabi eyes more digital banks

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook


Nigeria levies 500B naira fine on 12 lenders; Abu Dhabi eyes more digital banks

* A majority of the world's largest private banks have failed to make commitments to provide or facilitate capital for climate and sustainability solutions, according to the World Resources Institute. The group found that as of July, only 23 out of 50 lenders had a sustainable finance target.

GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL

* Abu Dhabi Global Market Executive Director Ahmed al-Sayegh said the financial hub is in talks to license more digital banks after it granted its first license to Anglo-Gulf Bank, The National reported.

* Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority authorized Axa Cooperative Insurance Co. to increase its capital by 50 million riyals to 500 million riyals through the issuance of 1 bonus share for every 9 shares held by investors.

* Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Co. QPSC said it will close Mozoon Insurance Marketing Services as of Nov. 3.

* Kuwait and Middle East Financial Investment Co. KSCP has passed the final test to start serving as market player in Kuwait, Al Qabas reported.

REST OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* Central Bank of Egypt (SAE) Governor Tarek Amer said the government is proceeding with a plan to sell shares in state-owned United Bank of Egypt, Reuters reported. Amer also said the government is set to appoint a local and an international investment bank to serve as advisers on the deal, pending final approvals from Egyptian authorities, which he expects to be granted within a week.

* Meanwhile, Amer said Egypt is in talks with the IMF for possible further assistance after its current three-year program with the fund ends in November, Reuters wrote.

* Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said the government will boost its share of longer-dated debt to 40% of annual domestic issuance by the end of the current fiscal year from 5% a year earlier in a bid to bring the average maturity on debt to around four years by June 2020, Bloomberg News reported.

* Egypt's sovereign wealth fund named Ayman Mohamed Solaiman its CEO for a three-year period, Al Masry Al Youm reported.

* Egyptian Arab Land Bank Deputy Chairman Amr Gadallah said the lender is in negotiations with a group of investors to sell 1.2 billion pounds' worth of assets, Mubasher reported.

* Moody's placed the Caa1 deposit ratings of Lebanon-based Bank Audi SAL, Byblos Bank SAL and Blom Bank SAL under review for downgrade, among other ratings, following a similar action on the sovereign.

* Lebanese central bank Governor Riad Salamé said increased imports caused a recent surge in demand for dollars and that the regulator's recent circular aimed at ensuring dollar supplies to banks was necessary "for social stability and to avoid creating further chaos," Bloomberg News reported.

* Bank Leumi le-Israel BM said the country's banking regulator has approved Hanan Friedman's appointment as its new CEO, Reuters reported. Friedman will begin in his new role Nov. 1.

* Jordan's government reduced the amount that investors have to deposit in the central bank to gain citizenship to $1 million from $1.5 million, The Jordan Times reported.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* The Central Bank of Nigeria imposed a combined 500 billion naira in penalties on 12 lenders operating in the country — including U.S.-based Citigroup Inc. — for failing to comply with its mandate of increasing their loan-to-deposit ratios to 60%, Bloomberg News wrote, citing a circular sent to the banks. The heads of the affected lenders have asked the central bank to review the penalties, saying the regulator did not follow the Sept. 30 deadline it announced for the directive, an insider told Reuters.

* Union Bank of Nigeria PLC secured $200 million in funding from U.S.-based Overseas Private Investment Corp. for investments in digitization, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and funding for women-led businesses.

* Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said a new national development bank focused on industry and agriculture will begin operations in January 2020, Joy Online reported.

* Ghana's Securities and Exchange Commission enforced a six-month moratorium on the issuance of new fund management licenses to carry out a review of the licensing regime and clean up the sector, Citi Business News reported.

* London Stock Exchange Group PLC entered into a partnership with Ghana Stock Exchange to cooperate on developing capital markets infrastructure, the Ghana News Agency wrote.

* National Bank of Canada will sell its stakes in NSIA Banque and AfrAsia Bank Ltd. and leave Africa, following heavy losses on its investment in NSIA Banque, Financial Afrik reported.

* Moody's affirmed Burundi-based Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank's Baa3 issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings, with a stable outlook.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* South African asset manager Vunani Ltd. said it expects basic and headline EPS for the six months ended Aug. 31 to drop on a yearly basis by between 21.2% and 41.2%, saying the decline was mainly due to the decreased performance of its commodities trading businesses.

* A regional electronic payment system established by countries belonging to the Southern African Development Community carried out 1.5 million transactions worth some 6 billion South African rand from July 2013 to July 2019, Jornal de Angola reported, citing the head of the settlement platform, Andrew Mugari. The platform is used by 83 banks in 14 African countries.

* Recredit, the state-run Angolan bad bank set up to manage the nonperforming loans of public lenders, recorded net income of 8.44 billion kwanzas in 2018, compared with 690 million kwanzas a year ago, Jornal de Angola wrote.

* Zimbabwe-based reinsurer Zimre Holdings Ltd. said negotiations related to the capital raise of Emeritus International Reinsurance Co. Ltd. have been terminated.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Bank inquiry in Australia; some LSE investors urge HKEX to raise bid

Europe: 'Problematic points' seen in new Brexit offer; Metro rebound; Sberbank data leak

Latin America: New economy minister for Peru; Vida Camara buys Rigel Peru's portfolios

North America: Former Citigroup trader sues; 2 Ky. banks in deal; DIMIA thresholds increased

Global Insurance: Tokio Marine in $3.1B US deal; Chubb retreat; AmWINS acquisition

Leo Magno, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Hellen Popper contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose Middle East and Africa has an editorial deadline of 5 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.

This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.