Financial Services

Nigeria’s banking sector is a diversified one, in which the largest banks follow the universal banking model and a range of specialised actors tap specific niches within Africa’s largest economy. New trends include merchant banks, sector-specific lending vehicles, and from policymakers, increased focus on financial inclusion. These include...

Naira-denominated bonds dominate the public debt profile of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). Data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) show a stock of N8.9trn ($28.8bn) at the end of June 2018, equivalent to 11% of GDP in 2017. They also represent 73% of FGN naira debt and 47% of total FGN debt. The bonds are sold monthly at DMO...

Despite multiple trading platforms, a variety of debt instruments and a range of institutional investors, both domestic and foreign, Nigeria’s capital markets are relatively underdeveloped. According to a PwC article published in January 2018 titled “External Debt Issuance: Towards Capital Market Development”, Nigeria’s capital markets...

The period of easily raising funds from abroad seems to be coming to an end for emerging markets around the world. In the new environment of higher interest rates in the US and increased competition for capital flows, portfolio managers are becoming more selective with where they place their money.