Bloomberg National Bank of Kenya Ltd. placed Managing Director Munir Ahmed on compulsory leave pending an internal audit, a day after dismissing speculation on social media that he’d been fired. Five top managers were also sent on leave, the Nairobi-based lender said in an e-mailed statement. The board appointed Wilfred Musau as acting-chief executive officer, it said. “The aforementioned actions …

JOHANNESBURG / Reuters South African lender Capitec Bank Holdings reported a 26 percent rise in full-year profit on Wednesday, in line with forecast, as growth in client numbers boosted both interest and transaction fee income. Capitec, which grants loans not supported by assets, said it gained 1 million active clients, to total 7.3 million customers, over the past year as …

Frankfurt / Reuters The European Central Bank (ECB) will not move interest rates into absurdly negative territory and negative rates are not the bank’s main policy instrument even if further cuts cannot be ruled out, Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure told a political magazine. Although negative rates could reduce banks’ profitability, lenders actually increased their interest margins last year when …