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African Banks Strong Despite Meltdown- Pera
Emilio Pera, banking and Capital Markets director at Ernst & Young has said that banks across sub-Saharan Africa, with the possible exception of Nigeria, have not faced collapse on a major scale in spite of global economic meltdown.
He noted that while they have felt the effects of slowing revenue growth and reduced trading income, “this has not led to the collapse of any of the major banking institutions.”
“There are a number of lessons the banks have learnt from the recent crisis. First and foremost, banks have had to acknowledge that liquidity risk is a crucial risk area that has to be given more attention. An area the G20 also committed to modify in the Basel II Capital Framework. Prior to the outbreak of the financial liquidity crisis, banks tended to concentrate on three major risk categories, namely credit, operational and market risk. This is increasingly going to be complemented by a fourth risk category, namely liquidity risk. Major banks, including some South African institutions, have incurred losses from proprietary trading positions, which proved difficult to unwind in an illiquid market,” he added.
“Indeed, some major Nigerian banks had to be rescued by central bank intervention due to those banks building up significant portfolios of credit with direct exposure to equity markets. This meant that those banks had taken on significant market positions, knowingly or unknowingly, even if the banks were not themselves directly exposed to stock-exchange equities.”
This according to Pera raises two concerns, “On the one hand, there was undoubtedly a credit risk issue in that too much credit was extended to equities, resulting in concentration risk. But in addition to that, liquidity risk was in all likelihood overlooked, or at the very least under acknowledged. Having concentrated risk in one or two market segments is already a major risk in its own right. But having major exposure to capital markets is another matter, and one that banks (and other financial services companies) across the globe have been grappling with.”
Currently, the Nigerian stock exchange index is 38% off its levels of 12 months ago, indicating why creditors that borrowed funds to purchase shares have struggled to repay loans.
Ernst & Young reports that many sub-Saharan banks have not incurred losses as a result of the banking crisis. “Rather profits have slowed dramatically in the last reporting periods. This is true for banks in all of the major hubs, including East and Southern Africa, and with the exception of Nigeria, the western hub too,” Pera said.
In this environment of slowing revenue growth, banks have been forced to re-examine their cost structures. But, he points out: “It’s about more than just cost-cutting. Whilst cost cutting is essential to getting financial services companies through a short-term crisis, firms need to take a longer-term view of their core business. This in turn, will help them determine what business processes need improvement and refinement.”
“In addition, financial services companies may need to re-examine their core versus non-core business, and decide what should best be divested from, and where to concentrate resources for future growth. In reality, some costs may need to be increased in the short-term as longer-term efficiencies are sought.”
“Information Technology is one area where if anything, financial services companies understand they may need to increase their spending in order to benefit over the longer term. IT is critical to ensuring enhanced data quality, finance and risk integration, and greater client insight. All of these components have become critical in light of the recent crisis,” he added.
CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.
Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.
This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.
The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.
According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.
He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.
“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.
A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.
He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.
Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.
He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.
Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.
Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.
Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Participants at the event
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
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