just got the sms news breaking that safaricom has lost the interconnect charges case to celtel. CCK has ruled in favor of celtel and capped phone charges at 30 /= . now the battle begins. but am sure safaricom can use its might (they control 70% ) to wipe celtel from the face of the earth (kenyan part of earth actually) however whichver way celtel has bloodied safaricom's nose!
were the BBK results good? no they warent considering the hype. they have also retained quite a substantial profit for expansion. but why expansion, why not improve the quality of the services on offer first. and will this expansion biashara hold when equity's bubble eventualy goes burst? i thot BBK would have concentrated more on new products eg mortgage, insurance, sme credit and so on as well as money trasfer.
Bankelele used to give us some very useful insights into the banking industry. dont know what happened that he lost steam unless he has also started liquidating his assets in order to 'stand'. i have been wondering whether we can have legal recourse against him since he didnt wean us of this. however , its interesting that banks were the sector that was expected to announce very good results due to the high liquidity experienced last year. but wait. i thought liquidity in the bank is a bad sign. i would love to hear the thots of fellow bloggers as far as the industry is concerned.
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ReplyDeleteOdegle, thanks for the 411 on CCK's ruling. Though its a plus for Celtel, they should be more aggressive in marketing, I've just never understood their adverts.
ReplyDeleteI think BBK can always do better, what has always turned me off them is the length of qeues at their ATMs, sometimes I wonder if they dispense free money to account holders!!
Sometime back I requested either you or Banks to blog on bank charges, what happened?
I dont thjink Banks is 'standing' many other bloggers are off blogs( Gathinga, Pesa tu et al) maybe they are powered by beef, and RFV is on!!!
jaks thats soo funny am still rolling on the floor. ... they are powered by beef and so with rvf ... hilarius
ReplyDeletei agree with u on the qs at BBK. even at their prestige center the qs are too long. i have never understood and thats why i hate to bank with BBK. as for the charges, well i think i need to do that blog now that bankelele is still out of power ...
lol
...talking of Banks, I've heard of many requesting on who to entrust their counters when it comes to brokers. How about banks? Who would you recomend people out their in the diaspora who would like to have their money 'home' to bank with? I'm with CBA due to their online access to my account, but their charges are high and their exchange rates almost the lowest in the market so I loose money when I tranfer my hard earned € to my account. By going by their homepage, Equity seems to ogffer the best exchange rates, but you are talking of bubbles so does this mean I should keep clear of Equity? With whom should I bank then?
ReplyDeleteRuheni, have you tried standard chartered? they probably have the best IS in place as far as am concerned. the other is citi bank. i always have a question or two about equity however celebrated they are. when u work hard for your money, you need to have that moeny work hard for u and i know Std even have an investment wing.
ReplyDeleteOd, tx for the update on Celtel/Safaricom. I am usually wary of rsuch intervention lakini I think CCK have called it right.
ReplyDeleteOn BBK-i tried have a discussion on the paucity of the numbers with fellow stockskenyans but it was like attempting to break thru a brickwall with my head. More on my blog...
I agree in kenya caution is a must and by the way there is no need being emotional about 'home' banks. whats important is to find a safe haven for your money.
ReplyDeleteI have not forgotten the banking industry. I did a review using their September 2006 numbers and am waiting for their year end results – which so far, only Barclays & Equity have released.
ReplyDeleteJakarumba: I have written on bank charges several times & am watching to see if banks cease charges on savings accounts since the new banking law was effected in January '07
Ruheni: I am not a broker, (BTW I use CFC) but I have not made any trades since Stanbic Uganda IPO last year
30/- cap is a start... should be lower. That is USc 50 per minute! I can make cheaper international calls!
ReplyDeleteThe interconnection fee needs to be capped at 3/- so there is real competition.
Banks are lending more to the private sector since govt paper yields less. This is good. The govt needs to borrow less from the public.
Equity's NPA ratio is very low. We will know the truth only after a downturn.
@Jakarumba:ha..ha..just recovered from RVF, am back.Seriously, have been blogging on a broader scale on other issues affecting the Economy/business.
ReplyDeleteHowever , i'll do a post on Equity+Barclays on Tuesday.
@ Ruheni: Equity is safe, with the current enhanced level of CBK supervision, Banks can no longer play some tricks.Part of the problem with the earlier Bank failures was lack of adequate bank Supervision.
But as Odegle says Stanchart/BBK have Wealth mgt. arms.But if u r just sending money back home Equity is OK.
@mainat:Barclays dissapointed and i dont think numbers will be much better next year.
@Coldtusker:Equity started growing in a recession(mid-90s) i think NPA's r well stated.Because:
-CBK checks banks' provision levels before results r released
-it uses 30days to measure NPA's Vs CBK regulations of 90 days
its very refreshing to see the trio of banks , coldi and pesa tu's very insightful comments once more. the main issue howver the aperent poverty of ideas from our local banks. am thinking about more products.
ReplyDeleteby the way there is always that thing they called processing fees payable for loans. why is paid. is it like paying the bank for buying a loan from them. where then is the customer service? and the processing fees is relative to the amount of the loan. i just dont get it. its like going to the shop and paying the shopkeeper for selling you a [acket of milk!
Odegle - A major impediment for loans are the fees involved esp lawyer fees then govt fees.
ReplyDelete