This book presents a holistic exploration of the banking systems in Africa. Considering the central role that banks play in most developing countries and the vastly different trends and challenges they face, the book provides a crucial understanding of the specific environments in which banks operate. It addresses specific banking issues relevant to developing countries in general and Africa in particular, and explores the various dynamics of money and banking that separate Africa from the rest of the world. The authors build upon extensive Africa-based research and university teaching, and illustrate each topic with examples and cases from the continent. Written in an accessible style while retaining its practicality and relevance, it is an essential read for professionals, students, and other readers interested in policies affecting the banking sector’s development in Africa.

The study of money, banking and financial markets is a required or very popular elective in most undergraduate and graduate programs in economics and finance in Africa. However, the textbooks used are those written primarily for the developed world such as the United States or the U.K. The result is that students graduate with excellent theoretical knowledge about the subject matter as it pertains to the developed economies, but lack the ability to apply the same knowledge to less developed economies. Although the subject matter of money and banking can be treated at a theoretical level, it is best done with institutions in mind. As an application oriented course, references and applications should, as much as possible, be to the conditions and institutions present in the environment where the subject is being studied and where the knowledge will be used, rather than to institutions that exist elsewhere in developed economies. The primary purpose of Essentials of Money, Banking and Financial Institutions is to provide a text in money, banking, and financial institutions in the context of the developing economies, especially Africa. Throughout the book, a deliberate effort will be made to focus the students’ attention on the need to develop the existing institutions so they can help to accelerate economic development.

This book comprehensively analyses financial technology law and regulation in Africa and provides domestic and regional perspectives on regulating FinTech in Africa. It studies policy considerations that can assist African policymakers in facilitating a balanced regulatory approach that does not stifle financial innovation. The growth of financial technology in Africa presents huge opportunities for inclusive growth on the African continent. Digital finance, which sits at the heart of financial technology, could be key to placing Africa back on the economic recovery trajectory after the COVID-19 crisis, facilitating its speed in achieving the UNSDG 2030 goals and setting the continent on course to meet its African Union Agenda 2063. This book: - Examines mobile financial services, crowdfunding, crypto-assets, digital currencies including central bank digital currencies, decentralised finance and open banking and finance, all from an African perspective; - Explores the status of regulation in these areas in Africa, highlighting areas where regulation is lacking, inadequate and in need of reform; - Highlights pragmatic approaches to regulation such as including the adoption of regulatory sandboxes and regulatory technology and discusses requirements for the adoption of supervisory technology in Africa; - Scrutinises the implications of developments in the FinTech space in Africa for international security and economic and financial stability. Placing Africa in the global context, the book argues for an international effort to understand the global dimensions of FinTech developments so that robust and applicable global regulatory frameworks can be applied in developing parts of the world. It will provide useful insights to investors, policy makers and entrepreneurs. It will also be essential reading for students and researchers in the field of technology, public policy, regulatory policy, financial policy, banking, and finance law.

This 14-volume set collects together a series of key titles that provide a wide-ranging analysis of money (A Survey of Primitive Money), banking (Bank Behavior, Regulation and Economic Development) and finance (The Money Market). Other titles expand on these topics, giving both a wider overview and a more detailed snapshot of the subjects covered.

Despite the financial liberalization agenda of the mid-1980s, a system of bank oligopolies has developed in both large and small, open developing economies. Mainstream monetary theory tends to assume a capital markets structure and is therefore not wel