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David Fuller and Eoin Treacy's Comment of the Day
Category - Global Middle Class

    How fintech companies are wrestling with commercial banks in Nigeria

    This article from Nairametrics may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    Nevertheless, while banks have the customer base and staff numbers to tackle the disruptive potentials of fintech startups, their responses have been quite passive.

    Fintech companies like Paystack, PiggyVest, Kuda Bank and others are innovating past traditional institutions by making digital financial services like lending, savings, or investing readily available to people. They have been able to recognize the pain points for users, which have not been addressed by commercial banks.

    Other fintech startups have fueled the growth of alternative lenders which offer both higher yields to investors and faster, cheaper, more convenient loans for borrowers compared to traditional banks. Startups like Carbon and Branch offer lower loan rates than commercial banks and this is mostly because fintech companies are not subject to the operational costs involved in running a traditional bank with multiple branches.

    In an exclusive interview with Nairametrics, Femi Oshinlaja, the COO of Cassava Fintech, a pan-African Fintech Group that enables digital financial services for Africa’s mobile consumers, explained why digital solutions are fast spreading across the African continent by stating;

    “With the growth in smartphone penetration and greater pervasiveness of the internet, we see the convergence of the online channels with more consumers opting to use digital channels to send money home as they see the convenience of doing so from the comfort of their homes and not having to queue to make the transaction in addition to the affordability of the online option.”

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    U.S. Infrastructure Plan May Lift These Three Brazilian Stocks

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section: 

    Two weeks ago, Biden unveiled a $2.25 trillion plan to overhaul the country’s physical and technological infrastructure. He has said the plan needs to go far beyond bridges and roads and has called for investment in electric vehicles, renewable power and the electric grid.

    Shares of Gerdau and Tupy are up 27% and 15% this year, respectively, while the benchmark Ibovespa index is down 0.6% and Weg is little changed.

    “Limited geographical diversification puts a cap on Brazilian companies seizing this moment, but we can see some clear winners,” the analysts said. “Although we believe they have not gone unnoticed by the market, recent performance indicates that the impact is likely larger than what is currently priced in.”

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    S. Africa Central Bank Governor Sees Room to Keep Rates Low

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:  

    South Africa’s central bank is likely to maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance to support the economy for as long as it has room to do so, according to Governor Lesetja Kganyago.

    “As long as inflation is remaining contained, the central bank would have no reason to remove the accommodation that we are currently providing,” Kganyago said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

    The monetary policy committee has cut the benchmark interest rate by three percentage points since the start of 2020, of which 275 basis points of easing was in response to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy. That’s taken the rate to a record-low 3.5%. Last month’s decision was the first time since the 2020 rate cuts in which no member voted for a reduction and expectations have now shifted to when the first hike will come.

    While the implied policy rate of the central bank’s quarterly projection model, which the MPC uses as a guide, indicates two rate increases this year of 25 basis points each -- next month and in the fourth quarter -- policy makers see risks to the inflation outlook as balanced and feel that they can continue to offer support to the economy, Kganyago said.

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    ECB's Lagarde: Economic Support Needed "Well Into the Recovery"

    Here are a couple of soundbites from Christine Lagarde’s statements today.

    “We consider that both fiscal and monetary support are needed and will be needed until the pandemic crisis is over” and “will be needed well into the recovery,” ECB President Christine Lagarde says at Reuters event.

    Preserving favorable financing conditions is a condition for the economy to recover -- “they go hand in hand”

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    Russia Scores New Bond Record as Yields Drop on Summit Hopes

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    Russia sold a record volume of ruble bonds as state banks continued to prop up demand and sanctions jitters faded after U.S. President Joe Biden proposed a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

    The Finance Ministry sold 213 billion rubles ($2.8 billion) of fixed-coupon debt due in March 2031 in its second auction of the day, beating a record set two weeks earlier. The yield on Russia’s 10-year bonds fell the most since November as Tuesday’s phone call between the leaders appeared to reduce the possibility of penalties targeting the nation’s local OFZ debt.

    “We’re seeing considerable demand once again, with big local players buying about 70% of both offerings today,” said Stanislav Ponomarev, a money manager at Transfingroup JSC in Moscow. “There’s been demand from foreigners since the morning, but it looked more like they were closing short positions rather than increasing their Russia allocations.”

    The prospect of fresh sanctions has been mounting for the best part of a month and the recent troop buildup on the border with Ukraine has added to the tensions. State banks have stepped in to backstop the recent auctions as foreigners stay clear.

    “The market was extremely negative on Russia,” said Sergei Strigo at Amundi Ltd. “Now there is a pullback on renewed hope of some sort of normalization in relationships, even if it’s short-term. Levels on the ruble and OFZs look much more attractive.”

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    Biden Plans $2.25 Trillion Spending, Corporate Tax Hikes

    This article from Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    A major undercurrent through the infrastructure plan is addressing inequality and expanding help for segments of society that the administration judges have been left out in the past. For example, in addition to fixing the “ten most economically significant bridges in the country in need of reconstruction,” there’s $20 billion for a new program that will “reconnect” neighborhoods that were cut off by past investments, such as the I-81 highway in Syracuse, New York. And all lead pipes will be replaced, to address water-quality issues.

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    Dutch Stock Benchmark AEX Set to Close at Record High

    This article by Jan-Patrick Barnert for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    After more than 20 years, the main Dutch equity benchmark is set to reconquer its record high. The AEX Index gained 0.6% on Tuesday to 702.44, surpassing a peak reached in September 2000 during the dotcom bubble era.

    And just like back then, the technology sector has driven the advance. Chip stocks ASM International NV, BE Semiconductor Industries and ASML Holding NV have all more than doubled in price over the past 12 months, in addition to the online payments firm Adyen NV. But the old economy has also helped the index. Steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA is the best-performing stock over the period, as basic material shares climb on the prospect of China’s recovery and its hunger for commodities. The gains in Royal Dutch Shell Plc and ING Groep NV have also been major contributors.

    Meanwhile, Amsterdam’s initial public offering market is on track for its best-ever first quarter with $5.7 billion of proceeds after hosting the 2.8 billion-euro ($3.3 billion) listing on InPost SA, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    Since dislodging London as the continent’s top place to buy and sell shares following Brexit, the Dutch city has emerged as a strong contender as the venue of choice for new listings. Amsterdam has also become the premier destination for SPACs in Europe. The Dutch capital has hosted three of the six blank- check listings in the region over the past year. The latest of the cohort, EFIC1, which is backed by a former chief executive officer of Commerzbank AG Martin Blessing, fell as much as 1.5% in its debut session on Friday after raising 415 million euros.

    “The AEX index is definitely a rare combination of good European tech companies with the addition of other top-of-the- class names in their relative industries,” said Alberto Tocchio, a portfolio manager at Kairos Partners, adding that the benchmark gauge is “a bit the Nasdaq of Europe, with the benefit of also having an exposure to some value sectors.”

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    A Tiger Cub's Huge Margin Call Means More Pain Ahead

    This article by Shuli Ren for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

    A market optimist might brush off Friday’s massive liquidation as a one-off event — a huge stumble by a fabled player now in decline. But this is no time to be optimistic. Hwang is representative of, not distinct from, the rest of the hedge fund crowd. His bets are also their bets. He may have gotten margin calls faster because he was more leveraged. But his positioning is by no means unique — and that commonality is where trouble may lie. 


    Take the trades involved. Media companies such as ViacomCBS and Discovery have net exposures that are the “highest level we have seen since 2016,” according to a recent note from the prime brokerage unit at Morgan Stanley, which, alongside Goldman, managed some of the block trades on Friday. Last week, when ViacomCBS was using the steep run-up in its stock to sell new shares and bolster its balance sheet, the pressure on leveraged hedge funds must have been intense. 

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