Finances Across the Major Metropolitan Municipalities Appear to be Holding Firm but Not All are Benefitting

South Africa

UploadedOct 2021

Financial year-end 2019/20 corresponded to the weakest point of the COVID-19 pandemic. Municipalities were faced with hard lockdown for most of the...

Proposed Changes to the Zambia Insurance Sector Credit Positive

Zambia

UploadedAug 2021

The Zambia insurance sector is plagued by low premium collection rates, which weigh down the credit profiles of insurers, especially reinsurers who...

RMBS and Property Market Update: August 2021

South Africa

UploadedAug 2021

The property market currently shows the average residential housing price is increasing, this correlates with an increase in total residential mort...

Changes in Kenyan Insurers investment allocations expected to improve stability in capital and earnings

Kenya

UploadedAug 2021

The core business of insurance companies is providing risk cover in exchange for premiums, with investment income (generated by shareholder and pol...

Credit Spotlight: West African Economic Monetary Union Country Risk Scores

Senegal

UploadedAug 2021

GCRs first and only regional score is the West African Economic and Monetary Union (“WAEMU”) region. It is created by weighting the cou...

Agriculture insurance in the CIMA zone: An economic solution for the region but a threat to the insurance sector’s financial stability

Cote d'Ivoire

UploadedJul 2021

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in Conference Interafricaine des Marchés d’Assurance (“CIMA”) Zone econom...

Hyperinflation has played havoc with Zimbabwe’s Insurance sector; however, sustained policy consistency could allow for gradual recovery

Zimbabwe

UploadedMay 2021

Protracted economic challenges, which culminated in the change of Zimbabwe’s functional currency (from USD to ZWL) and the subsequent onset o...

Rwandan banking sector on sound financial footing, despite rising asset quality pressures emanating from the impact of COVID-19

Rwanda

UploadedMay 2021

The Rwandan Financial Institutions Sector Risk Score of '3.75' balances the weakening government fiscal position (government debt to GDP ra...

Profit in the Policies: Ugandan Insurance Sector’s regulatory changes set to improve market fundamentals, spur consolidation and longer-term penetration

Uganda

UploadedMay 2021

Uganda’s insurance sector is amongst the most profitable markets in the sub-Saharan Africa region, notwithstanding its relatively small size...

Structured Finance Trends: 2020 Review and 2021 Outlook

South Africa

UploadedApr 2021

The year 2020 witnessed a one-of-a-kind event in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire country went into a lockdown that severely restricte...

Ghana’s 5% Financial Sector clean-up levy set to moderate bank profitability

Ghana

UploadedApr 2021

The Ghanaian financial sector entered the coronavirus crisis with a relatively assured balance sheet, strengthened by the 2017-2018 financial secto...

A Moderately Less Bleak House; GCR’s 2021outlook for South African REITs

South Africa

UploadedApr 2021

GCR believes that South African REITs’ performance fundamentals will remain under pressure in 2021. However, if less restrictive COVID-19 loc...

Low insurance penetration hamstrings East Africa’s short term insurance sector despite progressive regulatory initiatives

Kenya

UploadedMar 2021

This introduces the tenth East Africa Short-Term Insurance Statistical Bulletin from GCR Ratings (“GCR”). The statistical analysis pres...

The Kenyan Banking Sector: Resilient in the Face of Increasing Challenges

Kenya

UploadedMar 2021

Going into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenyan banking sector was already experiencing challenges from deteriorating asset quality and moderating gro...

Insurance Interrupted, South African Short-Term Insurance Industry Remains Resilient but Downside Risks Prevail

South Africa

UploadedMar 2021

The short-term insurance industry outperformed the broader economy, reflecting resilient demand for insurance. Sample gross written premium (&ldquo...

After catching COVID-19, the South African Private Healthcare Sector has one foot in the recovery room

South Africa

UploadedMar 2021

The underperformance of the South African (SA) private healthcare sector during 2020 was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacer...

South African Medical Schemes During COVID-19: Short-term Gains with Longer-term Pain

South Africa

UploadedMar 2021

Over the near term, no major rating movements are expected within the GCR portfolio, amidst economic challenges emanating from the COVID-19 pandemi...

GCR expects a relatively stable Kenyan insurance sector in 2021, despite covid-19 uncertainty

Kenya

UploadedFeb 2021

GCR rates 21 insurers in the Kenyan insurance industry out of the 67 insurers and reinsurers licensed and regulated by the Insurance Regulatory Aut...

New insurance law likely to have a positive impact on the Ghanaian insurance industry

Ghana

UploadedFeb 2021

In February 2021 the Ghanaian president signed the Insurance Bill 2020 into law, replacing the Insurance Act of 2006. The new law includes the addi...

How does the somewhat inconsistent approach to Government support impact South African State-Owned Enterprise creditworthiness?

South Africa

UploadedFeb 2021

GCR believes that the Government of South Africa (GoSA) continues to show a strong willingness to support State Owned Entities (SOEs) in most insta...

South African Funds Peer Comparison

South Africa

UploadedJan 2021

The South African Interest-bearing (“SAIB”) fund market amounted to ZAR793.5 bln (c. USD52 bln) at September 30^th 2020

FAQ: Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act Nigeria (BOFIA 2020)

Nigeria

UploadedJan 2021

In November 2020, the ‘Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act’ (“BOFIA”) was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buh...

2020 HY Review for Kenyan Banks: Pressure starting to show, but the systemic risk is low

Kenya

UploadedSep 2020

GCR expects the combined impact of the COVID-19 inspired global and domestic slowdown, alongside the locust swarm in Q120, to reduce Kenya’s...

HY20, Domestic Risks Appear Well Controlled So Far, External Exposure May be the Key Differentiator in FY Banks Performance

Mauritius

UploadedSep 2020

The open economy of Mauritius is particularly susceptible to the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic corporate debt is also consider...

South African Banks top tier interims reveal the first of the COVID-19 fallout but in-line with rating expectations

South Africa

UploadedSep 2020

Based on the recent interim results, key credit metrics are, so far, broadly in line with GCR’s expectations for the top tier South African b...

GCR places South African commercial property on Negative Trend as fragile economy continues to drive high asset, liquidity and funding risk

South Africa

UploadedAug 2020

The Negative Trend reflects GCR’s view that commercial real estate will face persistent funding and liquidity risks over the outlook period,...

Namibian banks expected to rely on solid capital and oligopolistic market characteristics to weather the COVID-19 storm

Namibia

UploadedAug 2020

The strong capitalisation and oligopolistic characteristics of the Namibian banking sector is expected to enable them to cope with rising asset ris...

Credit Spotlight: Issuer Credit Ratings, Issue Credit Ratings and Expected Loss (‘EL’) Ratings

South Africa

UploadedJun 2020

Key highlights of the research are:

• GCR definitions for issue(r) and expected loss ratings, together with a synopsis of when a particula...
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South African Banking sector under pressure, with key credit quality indicators expected to follow a negative trend through 2020.

South Africa

UploadedJun 2020

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has compounded an already strained operating environment and will have a negative impact on asset quality for th...

African Banking Sectors and the Covid-19 crisis: First in, First out?

South Africa

UploadedJun 2020

GCR takes three African banking hubs, from the South, East and West of the continent and provides an opinion on how the banking sectors will cope w...

Assurances CIMA

UploadedJun 2020

Bien que l'article 13 du code de la Conférence Interafricaine des Marchés d'Assurance (« CIMA ») devrait ré...

Namibia’s insurance industry likely to remain resilient over the near term supported by strong sector dynamics in the face of persistent sluggish local economic performance compounded by COVID-19 pandemic risks

Namibia

UploadedApr 2020

Despite persistent sluggish local economic growth, compounded by COVID-19 pandemic risks, GCR expects the Namibian insurance sector to remain resil...

COVID-19 risks and oil price shocks likely to curb near term gains from regulatory reforms in the Ghanaian short term insurance industry.

Ghana

UploadedApr 2020

GCR sees potential for higher capital and cash balances and enhanced earnings capacity to strengthen the financial profile, given developing risk-b...

‘Cash is King’ in supporting SA Equipment Lease ABS ratings amid COVID-19 Payment Holidays

South Africa

UploadedApr 2020

GCR Ratings believes the performance of securitisation transactions may be impacted by the relief solutions offered by the South African Financial...

High levels of premium receivables: a key rating restraint for short-term insurers and reinsurers in the CIMA zone

Cote d'Ivoire

UploadedApr 2020

Impairments of accumulated aged premium receivables undermine otherwise sound profitability. Although article 13 of the Conference Interafricaine d...

Kenyan Corporate Sector Performance Negatively Impacted by COVID-19

Kenya

UploadedApr 2020

GCR expects the disruptions due to COVID-19 to have a broad negative impact across the Kenyan economy, albeit that the severity will differ from se...

COVID-19 pandemic risks likely to delay positive developments in Botswana's short-term insurance industry

Botswana

UploadedApr 2020

The country risk score for Botswana is materially higher than that of regional peers, reflecting the balance of relatively high per capita wealth l...

External Risks Set to Challenge Kenyan Banks in 2020

Kenya

UploadedApr 2020

GCR expects the combined impact of the COVID-19 inspired global and domestic slowdown in Q2’20, alongside the locust swarm in Q1’20, to...

Kenyan insurance industry to be positively impacted by successful enforcement of the cash and carry regulation

Kenya

UploadedApr 2020

Significant reduction in credit exposure coupled with improvements in risk adjusted capitalisation metrics is expected following strict enforcement...

Zimbabwean Banks to face asset quality and liquidity pressures stemming from the impact of COVID-19

Zimbabwe

UploadedMar 2020

COVID-19 imposed global restrictions may stem foreign currency inflows and GCR expects foreign currency liquidity to decrease. As such, GCR anticip...