[ S U R V E Y
|
A G E N T
B A N K S
I N
F R O N T I E R
Africa
global client service model which has been implemented
should enable Stanbic to maintain this high level of service
offering,” he writes.
BOTSWANA
The Botswana Stock Market, marooned in an MSCI standalone
index, has yet to ascend to Frontier Markets status. Its perfor-
mance is not delivering a strong argument for its admission
either. The BSI DCI main market index of the stock exchange
in Gaborone has slid with minimal pause since late 2015. In
fact, Botswana has delivered a negative return over the last
decade. But the managers of a diamond mining-led economy
are trying to diversify, and they are convinced of the connec-
tions between a robust financial sector and economic develop-
ment as a whole.
Standard Chartered Bank
The scores on page 80 testify to strength in the core services of
settlement and asset servicing, offset by specific weaknesses in
cash management and FX and relationship management, where
the concerns revolve not around the relationship managers
themselves but the willingness to integrate and bespoke the
services. But then it is not easy to excel in a market where reality
is out of joint with aspiration. A good score for regulation and
compliance (6.26) suggests the authorities are making progress.
“They have a very dynamic and vibrant compliance and regula-
tion team on the ground in Botswana and are fully aware and up
to date of all ongoing compliance and existing regulations within
Botswana,” notes a client.
Standard Bank
The regional custodian did not attract enough responses to
be rated in Gaborone, and the scores it did collect are below
the flattering returns of a year ago. In only one service area
do they rise above the less-than-satisfactory, though one
large and important client is looking forward to a new service
model. “Stanbic Botswana currently offer us a dedicated and
strong client service model at a local level, and the recent
72
Global Custodian
M A R K E T S ]
Spring 2019
GHANA
The Ghana Stock Market Composite is down by a third on
year ago, largely thanks to a local banking crisis. The ambi-
tious agenda of the exchange, to help the Ghanaian financial
system and the wider, non-oil economy grow, was not helped
by repeated bank failures. The central bank actually closed
two banks down in 2017, but more had their licences revoked
last year, and two more were closed down in January this
year. Inevitably, bank failures and increased capital require-
ments have squeezed the supply of credit. Ghana, a country
with a GDP of US$47 billion and a population of 30 million,
still has 23 banks in business. The oil boom is driving growth
elsewhere in the economy and, provided the authorities can
stabilise the exchange rate as well as the financial sector, keep
inflation under control, and encourage more companies to
IPO or list, foreign investors are likely to return to the Ghana
stock market in force.
Standard Chartered Bank
This is a much-improved performance by SCB Accra, with the
overall average score up by nearly an eighth. Scoring by SCB
respondents on some asset safety questions is low, reflecting the
macro situation, though they remain robustly confident that the
cash and securities are safe with SCB.
Standard Bank
Standard Bank did well here last year in every field save tech-
nology. But the South Africa-based regional custodian is short
of responses this year, and what scores were delivered also fell
short of the levels attained a year ago. Whatever the levels of
interest from abroad, Stanbic is deeply entrenched in the local
marketplace, where it offers consumer as well as corporate
banking services. It is an investment that ought to pay off, given
that Ghana has exported oil since 2007 and more large oil fields
were discovered off the coast earlier this year.