The second-largest economy in Africa after Nigeria, South Africa benefits from some of the most sophisticated financial markets in the world, paired with a robust regulatory system, and is also home to the headquarters of a number of major multinational players in the fields of industry, energy and financial services.
Bucking the trend of the country’s subdued economy, South Africa’s banks have again posted solid earnings, as they continue to strengthen their position through improved risk management practices and robust capital adequacy levels.
After the 2008 global financial crisis, the G20 group of countries – of which South Africa is a member – saw the need to reinforce a stable financial system and asked the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to create a new banking regulation framework.
With both performance and assets outstripping the continent’s other large emerging markets in Egypt, Nigeria and Morocco, South Africa’s banking sector is the biggest and most developed on the continent. The country’s largest banks have branch networks across the region and – unusually for many African institutions – they also have the ability to finance capital-heavy projects...
To what extent will stricter regulatory controls negatively impact liquidity in the long term?
