trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/llcvowtfnnp5wu3j0xomuq2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Kenyan watchdog probes central bank officials; S&P affirms South Africa

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

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Kenyan watchdog probes central bank officials; S&P affirms South Africa

* African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said the lender is considering increasing its capital base to meet an increasing need for funding in the continent, Business Day reported.

* Standard Chartered PLC named Shada El Borno regional head of global subsidiaries for the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan markets, as well as head of global subsidiaries for the United Arab Emirates, Trade Arabia wrote.

* The Africa Finance Corp. agreed on a 50:50 joint risk-sharing facility with Standard Chartered group, intended to increase access to trade finance in Africa, Financial Afrik reported. AFC head Andrew Alli estimated the facility would lead to $350 million in additional trade volume over three years.

* Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has ordered a freeze on awarding government contracts to German firms amid strained relations between the two countries, Reuters wrote, citing German magazine Der Spiegel. Bloomberg News reported in March that government agencies were instructed not to renew a number of non-essential contracts with German companies, citing sources as saying that Deutsche Bank AG's mandates in Saudi Arabia were among those that could be impacted.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* Qatar has banned imports from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain that imposed an embargo on Doha a year ago, Reuters wrote, citing newspaper Al Watan. Meanwhile, Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa told newspaper Alsharq Alawsat that the country sees no resolution in sight to the Qatar dispute, Reuters noted.

* The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates injected a total of 14 billion dirhams of liquidity into the market in April, the highest amount so far this year, Gulf News wrote. The move led to a reduction in the central bank's certificates of deposit to 118.3 billion dirhams from 134.3 billion dirhams in March.

* UAE-based Gulf Capital Pvt. JSC plans to invest $350 million in in areas such as consumer-led sectors and renewable energy in the next two years as part of a shift away from traditional, legacy sectors such as oil and gas and infrastructure, CEO Karim El Solh told Reuters.

* Peter Boyles, global CEO of HSBC Private Banking, told Gulf News that he sees growth opportunities for private banks in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, citing an increase private wealth combined with the trend of wealth being passed from one generation to the next in the Middle East.

* Abu Dhabi Global Market, the financial hub of the UAE, has launched its first overseas representative office in Beijing, China, Arabian Business wrote.

* Fitch Ratings placed Alawwal Bank's long-term issuer default rating of BBB+ and viability rating of "bbb" on Rating Watch Positive, following the announcement of a nonbinding merger agreement between the lender and Saudi British Bank.

* Meanwhile, Fitch downgraded to "bbb+" from "a-" the viability rating of Banque Saudi Fransi.

* Wafa Insurance Inc. warned that it will face dissolution if shareholders fail to hold an extraordinary general assembly before June 20 or fail to make a decision to address the firm's accumulated losses, Argaam noted. An extraordinary general assembly meeting is scheduled May 30. Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has prohibited Wafa Insurance from issuing or renewing insurance policies, citing a decline in its solvency margin.

* Kuwait Finance House KSCP will join RippleNet, the blockchain payments venture by Ripple, Live Bitcoin News wrote.

* Kuwait's Noor Financial Investment Co. sold a 2.49% stake in Pakistan-based Meezan Bank Ltd., equivalent to 26,447,000 ordinary shares of the lender at a purchase price of 70 rupees per share, The News International reported.

* The Central Bank of Iran has resolved to establish investment banks to help meet the funding requirements of the country's ailing production sector, the Financial Tribune wrote, citing lawmaker Behrouz Nemati.

* Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on Tunisia's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to negative from stable and affirmed the rating at B+, citing increased pressures on the country's external finances and the high uncertainty over the government's capacity to speed up the implementation of necessary economic policies.

* Capital Intelligence Ratings lowered Lebanon-based Byblos Bank SAL's financial strength rating to BB+ from BBB-.

* Capital Intelligence Ratings affirmed Jordan's BB- long-term foreign currency rating, its BB long-term local currency rating, and its B short-term foreign- and local-currency ratings. The negative outlook on the ratings was affirmed.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is conducting a probe into former and current Central Bank of Kenya officials over their role in the multi-billion shilling accounting fraud that led to the collapse of Imperial Bank Ltd., Business Daily Africa reported.

* Barclays Bank of Kenya Ltd. defended its decision to appoint KPMG Kenya as its external auditor for a second year even after parent company Barclays Africa Group Ltd. fired KPMG South Africa as one of its auditors over integrity concerns, Daily Nation wrote. The bank said the partnership in Kenya is a separate entity from the one in South Africa.

* Economists at Commercial Bank of Africa Ltd. said the Central Bank of Kenya will likely delay a decision on a further rate cut until the proposed review of the interest rate cap is carried out, Business Daily Africa reported.

* The Central Bank of Nigeria instructed financial institutions to sell foreign currencies to customers over the counter to ensure that travelers can easily access dollars, Pulse wrote.

* Cape Verde's central bank has given approval for Bahrain-based IIBG Holdings to buy a 90% stake in Banco Internacional de Cabo Verde, following an August 2017 deal for IIBG Holdings to buy assets in the lender from Portugal's state-rescued Novo Banco SA, news website Macauhub and Expresso Das Ilhas reported. Novo Banco will retain a 10% stake in the bank — formally Banco Espírito Santo Cabo Verde — following completion of the deal.

* Moody's affirmed Rwanda's long-term issuer ratings at B2 and maintained the stable outlook.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* S&P Global Ratings affirmed South Africa's BB/B long- and short-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings and its 'BB+/B' long- and short-term local currency sovereign credit ratings. The outlook is stable, which according to the agency reflects its view that the economic growth in the country "will pick up modestly over the next year, while government debt will remain above 50% of GDP."

* South African authorities have opened an investigation into an alleged bitcoin investment scam that defrauded investors of 1 billion South African rand, Reuters reported. The allegations involve a company named BTC Global.

* South Africa-based money management firm Sygnia Ltd. said it plans to launch a cryptocurrency exchange in the third quarter of 2018, to be named SygniaCoin, Bloomberg News reported. The company also aims to start a fund that will invest in a range of cryptocurrencies.

* The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and its governor, John Mangudya, were sued by local cryptocurrency exchange dealer Bitfinance (Pvt) Ltd., which is seeking to nullify the central bank's decision to ban all transactions in virtual currencies, the Zimbabwe Independent reported. The company, which trades as Golix, argued that the regulator has no jurisdiction to ban transactions in cryptocurrencies as they are not regulated by the central bank.

* Angola's biggest commercial bank, Banco de Poupança e Crédito SA, posted a net loss of almost €400 million for 2017 due largely to impairments for loans granted during previous years, Portugal's official Lusa news agency and Angola's Angop state news agency reported.

* The International Monetary Fund said Angola's central bank should phase out direct sales of foreign currency to the country's commercial lenders as a step toward normalizing the forex market, Novo Jornal reported.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Indonesia mulls another rate hike; Bank of Baroda posts Q4 net loss

Sheryl Obejera, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton, and Helen 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, a separately managed division of S&P Global. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.