Financial Services

The success with which Egypt’s banks have increased their deposit base against the backdrop of political unrest and economic uncertainty is good news for the sector. According to a recent report by Lebanon’s Bank Audi, total deposits rose by 20.6% in 2013 to reach $189.2bn, an expansion more than double the size of that seen in the previous year.

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...

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.

Bank penetration increased from 67% in 2012 to 75% in 2013, with an additional 3.5m people having access to formal banking services. The rollout of the South African Social Security Agency – adding 1.9m people – spurred much of this growth. Of the 16m South Africans who receive social grants, 93% are now registered on the new social security system, which requires a bank...