The head of Angola’s central bank – The Banker’s central bank governor of the year for Africa – discusses the development of the oil-rich country’s rapidly growing financial sector and whether the government plans to open up to foreign portfolio investors. 

The central bank governor of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa says that the advantages of the CFA franc’s peg to the euro greatly outweigh the disadvantages, but he believes deeper integration among its six members is needed for them to realise their potential in the long term.

In light of the growing demographic bulge in the Middle East and north Africa, regional governments must focus on generating new employment opportunities. At the top of their agenda should be growing the role of the private sector and prioritising the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, both of which can be achieved by much-needed regulatory reforms and a rethinking of the economic landscape.

South Africa’s banks still dwarf those in the rest of Africa, but other countries are slowly gaining on their peer.

With balance sheet clean-ups continuing in Europe and the US, banks in emerging markets have grabbed the opportunity to forge stronger relationships with local commodity producers.