A fall in oil prices brought Angola to its knees two years ago. A deal with the IMF has helped the economy to stabilise and signs of growth can be seen in Luanda, but to avoid a repeat of such economic hardship, more structural reforms are needed to make the country attractive for business.
The tenacious Portugese banks have prided themselves in their ability to stick with the Angolan economy in good and bad years, but they are now facing increasing competition from foreign banks, which stress their international network credentials.
Consolidation of the domestic banking sector has led to Sampo Bank being the only feasible target for takeover in Finland, Nigel Dudley explains.In Helsinki, the main subject of discussion among bankers is the further consolidation of the financial sector and particularly the future of Sampo Bank, the smallest of the three institutions that dominate Finland’s banking business.