Angola plans to introduce a fund to guarantee bank deposits next year, state news agency Angop cited the country’s central bank Governor Jose de Lima Massano as saying.
Massano said that in the absence of such a fund, client deposits have been protected against the possible bankruptcy of commercial banks by capital reserves which the central bank requires them to hold.
The central bank last year cut the capital reserves requirement to 20 percent from 25 percent to help banks solve liquidity problems caused by the global financial crisis, Reuters reports
Angola top banks include state-owned Banco Africano de Investimento, the local units of Portugal’s Banco BPI , Millennium BCP and BES and South Africa’s Standard Bank .
Analysts say the country’s banks are well managed and highly liquid, adding that upcoming legislation forcing international oil companies to do their transactions in Angola through local banks could provide a capital boost worth several billion U.S. dollars per year.
Massano, who was appointed a year ago, has been praised by the International Monetary Fund and credit ratings agencies for executing a monetary policy which has helped reduce inflation, keep the kwanza currency stable and boost foreign reserves.
Earlier this month he announced the introduction of a benchmark interest rate — to guide monetary policy and help the economy reach price stability — and which was last week set at 10.5 percent.
Angop cited Massano as saying lending rates have been dropping but not at the desired speed and still remain high.
He added that interest rates on investment loans stand at around 17 percent, with rates for consumer loans even higher.
