This book comprehensively explores the intricate relationship between banking reforms, economic well-being, and poverty reduction across the African continent. Delving into the historical roots of banking reforms, it examines the resilience of banking sectors in key African countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, MENA, and beyond. The findings suggest that much attention should be paid to the design of banking systems and how banks are regulated. This focus on banks differs from many discussions on the topic, which tend to be more concerned with other policy areas such as economic policy, international trade policy, and aid. The book’s extensive and contemporary overview of banking reforms enables a comparative analysis of regulatory frameworks, supervision practices, and government interventions. It evaluates theoretical frameworks linking banking reforms to bank stability and resilience, drawing on financial intermediation, resource allocation, systemic risk, and financial development concepts. It empirically tests the causal relationships between the Basel II/III capital reforms, bank sector resilience, economic growth, and poverty reduction and identifies and analyses the channels and mechanisms through which banking reforms affect economic welfare and poverty reduction in Africa, such as credit availability, financial efficiency, financial innovation, and financial access. The book offers an insightful exploration into a brighter economic future on the African continent. The findings presented herein offer valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners striving to enhance financial stability, foster economic growth, and alleviate poverty in Africa.

Ghana has a reputation as a trailblazer in sub-Saharan Africa in many areas including monetary policy and financial sector reform. This book provides a detailed and chronological account of monetary policy and financial sector reform in Ghana since independence in 1957 in the context of developments in the international monetary system through the Great Depression, the Bretton Woods System, the Washington Consensus, Structural Adjustment, HIPC, and the recent global financial crisis. What informed the choices of the different monetary policy regimes and reforms? What was the role of the political economy? What was the impact of the different monetary regimes and financial sector reforms on the performance of Ghana's economy? The book examines these issues and draws lessons for other African and developing economies.

FinTech is a major force shaping the structure of the financial industry in sub-Saharan Africa. New technologies are being developed and implemented in sub-Saharan Africa with the potential to change the competitive landscape in the financial industry. While it raises concerns on the emergence of vulnerabilities, FinTech challenges traditional structures and creates efficiency gains by opening up the financial services value chain. Today, FinTech is emerging as a technological enabler in the region, improving financial inclusion and serving as a catalyst for the emergence of innovations in other sectors, such as agriculture and infrastructure.

This book provides a review of the evolution of the post-independence banking system in Africa. There is a strong focus on the problems of restructuring of banking institutions and the management of the bad and non-performing assets of public sector institutions.

Takes an in-depth look at twenty-six economic and social development successes in Sub-Saharan African countries, and addresses how these countries have overcome major developmental challenges.

Sub-Saharan African countries are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that is likely to severely hurt credit quality and raise non-performing loans from already high levels. Banks have a critical role to play not only during the crisis by providing temporarily relief to businesses and households, but also during the recovery by supporting economic activity and facilitating the structural transformations engaged by the pandemic.

As Africa looks for ways to deepen and accelerate the economic reform process, what lessons can East Asia offer? this book edited by Laura Wallace, records the proceedings of a seminar that involved a dynamic exchange of experiences by policy makers and senior government officials from Africa and East Asia and senior staff of international organizations. The seminar addressed themes such as the sequencing and pacing of structural reforms, the need for a broad political and social acceptance of change and reform, and the need for transparency and accoutability in economic management.

Finally, when the country enters the second generation of reforms, such as public sector institutional reform, short-term, conditionality-based aid can once again be harmful - by reducing ownership, participation, and sustainability of the reform process."--BOOK JACKET.

This study assesses the determinants of banking system efficiency in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and asks what, besides the degree of efficiency, explains the low level of financial development in the region. It uses stochastic frontier analysis to measure efficiency and a generalized method of moments system to explain financial development. SSA banks are found to be generally cost-efficient, but nonperforming loans undermine efficiency, which suggests that improvement in the regulatory and credit environments should improve efficiency. The political and the economic environment have held back financial development in SSA.