Press Digest

 July 30, 2013 I Issue No. 156 Press Digest ⎯⎯ English-­‐Language Press ⎯ ⎯ Ghana: Government Versus the Banks? Ghanaian Chronicle (All Africa); July 29, 2013 The banks are crying foul over the government Treasury bill rate. They claim it is robbing them of low-­‐cost savings from the general public. The managing director of Societie Generale Bank, Ghana (SG-­‐Ghana), Mr. Gilbert Hie expressed the collective worry of the commercial banks after he hugged the limelight at the Ghana Stock Exchange's "Facts behind the Figures" programme in Accra last Tuesday. Namibia: SME Bank Cash-­‐Strapped The Namibian (All Africa); July 29, 2013 The SME Bank appears to have run out cash and is unable to issue loans, barely three months after it opened its doors to small businesses. People with knowledge of the bank's operations say the bank's core business ground to a halt because most of the start up capital the bank had was spent on buying a building [said to be more than N$20m] and on generous staff salaries. Rwanda: Bank Launches Mvisa in Rwanda East African Business Week (All Africa); July 29, 2013 A Rwandan bank has introduced 'mVisa', a mobile banking solution, in a bid not to be left behind in this fast growing area of financial services. "The mVisa which comes as the first innovative electronic product in the world will allow the bank's clients to easily access their bank's account via their phone and also help encourage non-­‐ account holders mainly rural folks to be bankable. We are proud to be the first bank to launch this product in the world," Lawson Naibo, the Bank of Kigali's Chief Operations Officer said last week. Tanzania Postal Bank in Expansion East African Business Week (All Africa); July 29, 2013 The Tanzania Postal Bank (TPB) has launched a newly agency banking service dubbed 'TPB POPOTE' eyeing for more clients in remote areas. TPB which is one of the banks that have started to implement the central bank's newly initiative 'Agency Banking' to ensure that banking service is available around the rural areas. The Finance Minister, Dr William Mgimwa said during launch that all this was done in recognition of the importance of sending banking services closer to the majority of people especially in rural areas. Nigeria: Ecobank Targets Increased Agricultural Sector Lending This Day; July 29, 2013 Making Finance Work for Africa Secretariat www.mfw4a.org c/o African Development Bank Tel. (+216) 7110 3953 15 Avenue du Ghana, BP 323 Fax: (+216) 7133 4484 1002 Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia [email protected] Weekly Press Digest July 30, 2013 I Issue No. 156 Ecobank Nigeria has disclosed plans to grow its agriculture sector loans to over N50billion in the next one year. The target, according to the bank, was in line with its policy to support the growth and development of the agriculture sub-­‐sector of the economy as a way of contributing to the agricultural transformation agenda of the federal government. Ecobank Country Head, Agric and Export Finance, Abel Ajala, who disclosed this said the bank had introduced concessionary interest rates for its agriculture finance scheme as well as created a robust agriculture and export units adequately manned by professionals for easy loan risk assessment, ensuring that beneficiaries utilise fund given to them judiciously. Nigeria: Banks' Loans to Agric Sector Rise By 3.7 Percent, Says CBN Vanguard (All Africa); July 29, 2013 The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said that Deposit Money Bank's (DMB's) credit to the agricultural sector has risen to over 3.7 per cent. A statement from the CBN reveal that the figure, which is for 2012, indicates an increase of 85 per cent over the two per cent growth of the agricultural sector share of banks' credit five years ago. Also, data obtained recently from the Bankers Committee show that between July and November last year, the country's lenders issued over N6 billion in credit guarantees to farmers. Nigeria: First Bank Moves to Check E-­‐Banking Fraud Leadership; July 28, 2013 In its bid to ensure the safety of customers’ deposits and fraud prevention in Internet banking, First Bank of Nigeria has selected Clydestone’s G-­‐secure Authentication Platform to drive second level authentication on Card-­‐Not-­‐Present transactions. The initiative, which is in line with global best practices is compliant with the mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which stipulated that all banks should ensure integration of payer authentication is guaranteed on a 3D secure platform. Tanzania: Insurance Sector Goes Electronic Tanzania Daily News; July 26, 2013 Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority has procured facilities to enhance its capacity to supervise and regulate operations of the industry electronically. Commissioner of Insurance Israel Kamuzora said in Dar es Salaam that the insurance regulatory body has procured the services of Dublin-­‐based M/s Vizor Limited to develop, install and deploy the Risk Based Supervision System. The system in software and hardware form will streamline the authority's insurance sector supervision operations, Mr Kamuzora said while opening a two-­‐day course on Vizor regulatory software application to insurance players in the country. Ghana: Poor Economic Performance Affects Banks The Ghanaian Chronicles (All Africa); July 26, 2013 The recent increases in the prices of petroleum products and poor economic performance have adversely affected the citizens and business sector. The banks have put measures in place to minimize cost in an increasingly competitive industry. Currently, the country's real domestic Gross Domestic Product growth (including oil growth) stands at 7.9 per cent as against the target of 8.0 per cent with the overall budget deficit of 12 per cent as against the targeted 9.0 per cent. 2 Making Finance Work for Africa Secretariat www.mfw4a.org c/o African Development Bank Tel. (+216) 7110 3953 15 Avenue du Ghana, BP 323 Fax: (+216) 7133 4484 1002 Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia [email protected] Weekly Press Digest July 30, 2013 I Issue No. 156 Zimbabwe: More Zimbabweans Move to Mobile Banking Platforms Zimbabwe Independent; July 26, 2013 Zimbabwe’s turn to mobile banking is a welcome development, but has also been pushed by a general lack of confidence in the banking sector and the economy at large, economist Eric Bloch has said. This comes after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) reported, in its May 2013 monthly economic review, mobile and internet-­‐based transactions had for the first time surpassed card payments after registering a 28, 3% growth in the month of May as more account holders turn to the convenience of mobile banking. Ecobank Opens in South Sudan The Herald; July 25, 2013 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, a leading pan-­‐African banking group, has opened a banking affiliate in South Sudan. The new banking affiliate, the 34th on the African continent, offers the opportunity to support the youngest African state in addressing the challenges in regards to its development, the group said in a statement. Ecobank South Sudan started operations on July 10 and it offers the suite of products and services of the group to individuals, small to medium enterprises, multinationals and institutions. ⎯⎯ Revue de Presse Francophone ⎯ ⎯ Ile Maurice : La PTA Bank ouvre un bureau à Maurice L’express.mu; 30 juillet 2013 La Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, plus connue sous le nom de la PTA Bank, a ouvert un bureau à Maurice, à Ebène, ce mardi 30 juillet. Cette antenne vise à encourager d'autres institutions régionales à utiliser la plateforme mauricienne. Ile Maurice : Maurice à pas concret vers une « cashless society » L’express.mu; 29 juillet 2013 De nos jours, en ce qui concerne le mode de paiement, la technologie prend l'ascenseur et détrône l'utilisation du cash. Cartes bancaires, cartes de débit et de crédit et autres facilités de paiement se font de plus en plus fréquents. Kenya : La Poste investit dans un système de paiement électronique en partenariat avec les banques Ecofin; 29 juillet 2013 La société postale du Kenya (PCK) a investi 80 millions de shillings (915 821 dollars) dans le déploiement d’un système national de paiement électronique qui aboutira au partage de l’infrastructure de paiement avec les institutions financières. Avec la banque centrale du Kenya, cela aboutira au “système national de paiement intègre”. 3 Making Finance Work for Africa Secretariat www.mfw4a.org c/o African Development Bank Tel. (+216) 7110 3953 15 Avenue du Ghana, BP 323 Fax: (+216) 7133 4484 1002 Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia [email protected] Weekly Press Digest July 30, 2013 I Issue No. 156 Côte d’Ivoire : IFC lance un programme de crédit-­‐bail en Côte d’Ivoire pour faciliter l’équipement des PME Ecofin; 28 juillet 2013 IFC, un membre du Groupe de la Banque mondiale, a annoncé le 26 juillet le lancement du programme Africa Leasing Facility en Côte d’Ivoire, qui a pour objectif de poser les bases du crédit-­‐bail comme mode de financement alternatif pour le développement des petites et moyennes entreprises.
Cote d’Ivoire : La Banque africaine de développement bientôt de retour à Abidjan RFI; 28 juillet 2013 Tout le personnel de la Banque africaine de développement (BAD) sera de retour à Abidjan avant la fin de l'année 2014. C'est l'ambition des responsables de l'institution financière panafricaine après le feu vert de son Conseil des gouverneurs. C'était fin mai à Marrakech, lors des Assemblées annuelles de la BAD. Son siège est en pleine rénovation mais il ne pourra pas accueillir tous les agents de la banque. Le gouvernement ivoirien va mettre en location un 2ème immeuble de 28 étages, immeuble dont les travaux de rénovation se terminent en septembre. Où en sont les préparatifs en perspective de ce retour ? Madagascar : Partenariat Airtel-­‐MEXM – Déjà une vingtaine d’opérateurs intéressés Midi Magasikara; 27 juillet 2013 Le partenariat entre Airtel Madagascar et Mercantile Exchange of Madagascar (MEXM) relatif au paiement par Airtel Money des transactions boursières intéresse au plus haut point les opérateurs économiques. « Juste après une semaine de communication au grand public, une vingtaine d'opérateurs économiques malgaches ont manifesté leur intérêt pour ce service moderne et révolutionnaire », apprend-­‐on de source auprès d'Airtel Madagascar. Cameroun : Financement des PME – De nouvelles approches proposées Cameroun tribune; 26 juillet 2013 C'est le fruit d'une réflexion menée dans le cadre d'un forum y relatif clos hier à Yaoundé. C'est la énième réflexion autour du financement des petites et moyennes entreprises (Pme) clôturée jeudi dernier à Yaoundé. Cette fois, les organisateurs du Forum sur l'adaptation du financement aux besoins des Pme, au sein des communes, apportent une innovation incluant aussi les micros entreprises. For more news on African financial sectors please click here. Pour plus d’actualités sur la finance en Afrique veuillez cliquer ici. Compiled by: Alessandro Girola | Research & Knowledge Manager | [email protected] Abdelkader Benbrahim | Communications Officer | [email protected] 4 Making Finance Work for Africa Secretariat www.mfw4a.org c/o African Development Bank Tel. (+216) 7110 3953 15 Avenue du Ghana, BP 323 Fax: (+216) 7133 4484 1002 Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia [email protected] Weekly Press Digest July 30, 2013 I Issue No. 156 5 Making Finance Work for Africa Secretariat www.mfw4a.org c/o African Development Bank Tel. (+216) 7110 3953 15 Avenue du Ghana, BP 323 Fax: (+216) 7133 4484 1002 Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia [email protected]