IMF reports slow down in economic growth for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2017: Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana has been projected at 3 percent in 2017 lower the 3.3 percent projected for 2016. According to the IMF regional economic Outlook report for October 2016, on the Sub-Saharan Africa on the theme “Time for a Policy Reset.” The report revealed that a combination of lower commodity prices, decrease of inflows from major trading partners and the tightening of borrowing conditions. As well as domestic factors such as political instability and conflict and electricity shortages. The report highlighted severely affected was commodity exporters like Congo, whereas the best performers like Ivory Coast were resilient due to high investment in infrastructure and greater diversification. Output among oil exporters is expected to shrink by 1.3 percent this year, while other resource-intensive countries are expected to struggle too.
NDIC urge banks to restore banking services to North East: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called on banks to restore banking services to the North Eastern part of Nigeria. Due to the ravages Boko Haram, a high number of bank closed its doors in the region. The states are doing their best in rebuilding the region’s economy. However, without access to finance the progress that has been made will be hindered. Blue prints developed by the CBN could not be implemented because of the terror group. Without the success of the Nigerian Army in curbing the group, banks are urged to return banking services to the locals. The corporation is geared towards promoting financial education, enlighten on the benefits of having a savings culture, cooperative societies and trading in order to raise the standard 0f living in Nigeria.
Co-operative Bank’s after-tax profit soars to hit Sh10.5 billion: The bank registered a 22 per cent jump in net earnings in Q3 to Sh10.5 billion profit after-tax, 2.1 billion increase from last year Q3. Thus the shares edged up 0.4 per cent, trading at Sh13.40; with notable foreign investor demanding amounting to 60 per cent of buys. Shareholders’ funds grew from Sh49.5 billion to Sh59.2 billion, supported by a steady retention of earnings and improved earning over the years. The lender’s loan book grew by 6.9 per cent to Sh227.1 billion while deposits jumped from Sh257.5 billion in September last year to Sh260.6 billion. The bank projects it will double this loan growth by the end of the year and grow deposits almost six times. This success has been due to the two-year strategic transformation, that has focused on improvement in operating efficiency, sales fore effectiveness and innovative customer delivery platforms.
| Country | 2015 P GDP Growth (%) | 2016 GPD (USD ‘b) | 2016 P GDP Growth (%) | 2017 P GDP Growth (%) | Credit Rating |
| Ghana | 3.881% | 42.761 | 3.337% | 7.38% | B-/S&P, B/Fitch |
| Nigeria | 2.653% | 415.080 | -1.746% | 0.65% | B+/S&P, BB-/Fitch |
| Kenya | 5.649% | 69.170 | 5.987% | 6.14% | B+/S&P, B+/Fitch |
| Mauritius | 3.500% | 11.740 | 3.523% | 3.90% | Baa1/Moody’s |
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Database (Oct. 2016), GDP (P- Projected)
| Country | 91 Day T-Bill | 182 Day T-Bill | Inflation (%) | Policy Rate (%) |
| Ghana | 20.42% | 22.50% | 15.80% | 25.50% |
| Nigeria | 14.50% | 19.05% | 17.70% | 14.00% |
| Kenya | 8.20% | 10.32% | 6.34% | 10.50% |
| Mauritius | 2.60% | 2.72% | 1.50% | 4.00% |
Source: Various Central Banks.
| Country | Year Open 31-Dec-2015 | Week Close | YTD Change | YTD (%) |
| Ghana | 3.8011 | 3.9813 | -0.1802 | -4.74% |
| Nigeria | 196.899 | 313.849 | -116.95 | -59.40% |
| Kenya | 100.529 | 99.9922 | 0.5368 | 0.53% |
| Mauritius | 34.8304 | 34.4846 | 0.3458 | 0.99% |
Source: Oanda
| Country | Year End 2015 | Week Close | Week Change | YTD Return (%) |
| Ghana | 1,994.91 | 1,688.92 | -305.99 | -15.34% |
| Nigeria | 28,642.25 | 25,537.54 | -3,104.71 | -10.84% |
| Kenya | 145.7 | 138.73 | -6.97 | -4.78% |
| Mauritius | 1,811.07 | 1,820.76 | 9.69 | 0.54% |
Source: Various Stock Exchanges
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