The Banking Sector in Angola

This report focuses on the Angolan banking industry and includes other credit granting, lease financing, and loyalty and reward programmes. The finance, real estate and business services sector contributed 3.6% to GDP in 2013 and with total banking assets in 2014 of approximately US$65.5bn, the banking sector plays a vital role in the country’s economy.

A Flourishing Sector

Since the end of the civil war in 2002, the Angolan banking sector has evolved from a state-controlled financial system into a flourishing sector espousing privatisation and liberalisation. Of the 29 commercial banks that are currently licensed to conduct business, three are state-owned. However, through the state oil company, Sonangol, the government has retained an indirect stake in six other banking institutions. There is a high level of concentration, with five banks controlling 73% of the country’s total banking assets, and 77% of deposits and short-term funding.

Challenging Conditions

Since 2015 the Angolan banking sector has seen a slowdown in its growth rate and is facing major challenges as a result of the low oil price and the lack of economic liquidity in terms of foreign currency. Increasing pressure on economic growth is evident in the inflation rate that climbed to 20.3% in February 2016, the highest it has been since December 2005. Interest rates were increased to 14% in March 2016, following a raise to 12% the previous month and the World Bank anticipates that Angola’s US$113.9bn economy will contract by 0.3% in 2016.

Report Coverage

The detailed report on the Angolan banking sector describes the current market, the latest regulatory developments and discusses factors influencing the success of the sector. The report profiles 24 companies, including the five leading banks, Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI), Banco de Poupança e Crédito (BPC), Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA), Banco Privado Atlântico (BPA) and Banco Internacional de Credito Angola (Banco BIC). Also profiled are Standard Bank de Angola (SBdA), a subsidiary of Standard Bank of South Africa, and Banco VTB Africa, S.A. (VTB), a partnership between Russian bank VTB Bank and Angolan partners which specialises in the provision of corporate banking services to international companies operating in the country.