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Kenya shilling holds steady

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

The Kenyan shilling held steady against the dollar on Thursday aided by lower dollar demand ahead of the festive season and traders said high rates in the money markets could support the shilling. At 09:16 SA time, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 83.45/65 against the dollar, barely change from Wednesday's close of 83.50/70. “The shilling is holding on support from little activity on the (dollar) demand side as companies close for Christmas,” said Robert Gatobu, a trader at Bank of Read more [...]

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South Africa’s rand to stay on backfoot bonds weaken

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

JOHANNESBURG -- South Africa's rand steadied against the dollar on Tuesday with the market wary of taking on risky assets due to fears of possible sovereign ratings downgrades in the euro zone. The rand fell sharply in the previous session as investors were disappointed by a lack of concrete action from euro zone leaders to end the debt crisis after a summit last week. Rating agencies warned the summit, viewed by some as a last chance to save the euro, did not go far enough in easing immediate Read more [...]

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Merchant Bank For Sale? South African And Nigerian Banks Nose Around

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

From next year, the banking sector in the country will experience lots of vibrant activities as banks face unused lending capacity and depressed market values leaving the industry ripe for takeovers and acquisitions. Officials of cash-stressed Merchant Bank are on an excursion to Southern Africa to gauge regional interest of some financial institutions for the acquisition of the bank. Preparatory discussions have already begun with a number of financial institutions from Nigeria and South Africa Read more [...]

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Botswana c.bank leaves bank rate steady at 9.5 pct

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

JOHANNESBURG - Botswana's central bank left its key lending rate unchanged at its last policy-setting meeting of the year on Monday, citing a positive inflation outlook for the medium term and increased output from the mining sector. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee has left rates at 9.5 percent this year and on Monday said maintaining at that level was consistent with its objective of 3-6 percent inflation. "Low growth in domestic demand and the forecast modest external inflationary Read more [...]

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