South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni could do with extra help from his cabinet colleagues in pushing the reforms needed to rejuvenate economic growth.
That’s the view of James Formby, the chief executive officer of Rand Merchant Bank, the investment-banking unit of Johannesburg-based FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s largest lender by market value.
Mboweni has warned the country faces a debt crisis unless it reins in borrowing as the longest downward cycle since World War II and the coronavirus weigh on tax income. The former central bank governor has advocated pro-business reforms that have met opposition from some factions within the ruling party and its communist and labor union allies, which seek more government control over the economy.
In the first weeks of South Africa’s lockdown to curb the Covid-19 outbreak, bankers saw activity jump as clients sought emergency facilities to secure their cash flows, Formby said. RMB’s customers are now looking further out and thinking about the mix and maturity profiles of their funding, he said.
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