A professor of finance, Joshua Yindenaba Abor has asked banks to strengthen their regulations and tighten their risk assessment regimes to be able to withstand pressures from the market.

According to him, this will allow them to control and monitor loans disbursed to distressed companies.

Speaking at the launch of a book titled ‘The Economic of Banking and Finance in Africa’, Professor Abor also called for the strengthening of regulation.

“Within the banking space, a very important intervention has to do with regulation. What we need to do post the pandemic [Covid-19] is to strengthen regulation and make sure that the regulation is quite tight to be able to withstand the pressures of the market”, he said.

Professor Abor further stressed that though interest rates are soaring, many companies are still suffering from both external and internal shocks on the economy, making it difficult for them to service their loans.

The book “The Economic of Banking and Finance in Africa” provides theoretical underpinnings and recent empirical findings on critical issues in banking and finance in Africa and provides useful guide for those interested in understanding Africa’s financial systems.

The book evaluates the characteristics and developments in Africa’s financial systems, including monetary policy, structured finance, sustainable finance and banking, Fintech, RegTech, Suptech, inclusive finance, the role of regulation in dealing with banking crises, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa’s financial systems and how to reform the post-COVID-19 financial systems.

It is also made up of contributions from scholars in finance and economics as well as financial market practitioners. 

The book also focuses on banking crises experienced by some financial intermediaries as well as fiscal and monetary policies that are needed to manage shocks emerging from the markets.