Banking in Africa

Thorsten Beck and Robert Cull

No 6684, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: This paper takes stock of the current state of banking systems across Sub-Saharan Africa and discusses recent developments including innovations that might help Africa leapfrog more traditional banking models. Using an array of different data, the paper documents that African banking systems are shallow but stable. African banks are well capitalized and over-liquid, but lend less to the private sector than banks in non-African developing countries. African enterprises and households are less likely to use financial services than their peers in other developing countries. The paper also describes a number of financial innovations across the continent that can help overcome different barriers to financial inclusion and have helped to expand the bankable and the banked population.

Keywords: Access to Finance; Banks&Banking Reform; Debt Markets; Emerging Markets; Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-10-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-ban, nep-cba and nep-mfd
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6684

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