Reforming State-Dominated Banking Systems in Africa : Financial Adjustment and Technical Assistance Programs
The objective of the reforms is to improve the capacity of financial institutions to serve the needs of economic agents and the population at large. In Cote d'Ivoire, downsizing, reorganization and (as required) privatization and liquidation o...
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| Format: | Brief |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1996/08/13982689/reforming-state-dominated-banking-systems-africa-financial-adjustment-technical-assistance-programs http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9960 |
| Summary: | The objective of the reforms is to
improve the capacity of financial institutions to serve the
needs of economic agents and the population at large. In
Cote d'Ivoire, downsizing, reorganization and (as
required) privatization and liquidation of key banks and
insurance companies, in the early 1990s led to the
establishment of a more efficient and competitive banking
system. In Benin, all state-owned commercial banks were
liquidated in the late 1980s, leading the way to the
emergence of a strong network of private banks serving urban
areas, and of grass root-based institutions serving people
in rural areas. On the other hand, efforts undertaken in
Tanzania in the late 1980s and early 1990s to restructure
the banking system met with failure. Continued fiscal
disequilibria, lack of political commitment behind the
privatization of the state-owned National Bank of Commerce
(NBC), and lack of clarity on the appropriate strategy to
carry out such privatization have left Tanzania with well
over 80 percent of banking assets held by NBC and with well
over half of the loan portfolios of NBC and other
state-owned banks non-performing. |
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