2016 has come rapidly to an end. It has been a challenging and busy year across the globe. For us it has also opened up opportunities for growth in both the region and the skills and expertise that we offer our clients.

The performance and regulation of South African state-owned entities (SOEs) have been a major focus in 2016 with South African Airways now having cumulative guarantees of about R14-billion (USD 125-million) gathered over the past five years.

Social savings and lending groups could play a role in reaching the 25% of South Africans who remain under or unserved by financial institutions - especially in rural areas.

Public interest considerations emerged as a key topic for debate at the Competition Law, Economics and PolicyConference held in October 2016 in South Africa.  

An 'own goal' describes an act that unintentionally harms one’s own interests. It is certainly a term that springs to mind when considering the Kenyan Banking Amendment Bill, which imposes interest rate caps on the Kenyan banking sector.

Postbank (South Africa) has recently been granted a banking licence. Considering the persistent financial woes of the South African Post Office, which reported R1.49 billion in losses in the 2015 financial year, will Postbank’s new activities be a step towards recovery or exacerbate the losses? 

With the 2016 Ghanaian general election fast approaching, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) sought to limit the government’s borrowing with the BoG Amendment Bill. The bill, which was blocked in July, was an attempt to break Ghana’s past cycle of election induced spending, inflation surges and currency collapses.

The Economist’s blog recently ran an article on Nigeria’s Eurobond negotiations under the title ‘The end is naira’, highlighting the travails of the economy and the hapless mismanagement of the naira.

In the wake of collusion findings against a number of construction companies, momentum is now growing to bring damages claims against these firms.

Genesis highlights its partnership with Parker Fitzgerald this month by sharing an article on digital risk from their Quarterly Outlook.

Every bank and investor in financial services faces difficult choices when it comes to mobile financial services. 

2016 will prove to be a watershed for many of Africa’s banks as their growth disappears along with many of the normal sources of dollar earnings.