Jamal Al Kishi is the CEO of Middle East and Africa Deutsche Bank AG. In this interview, he talks on the changes the bank is bringing to the African financial market, especially with the current economic slow-down.
Please tell us about Deutsche bank’s focus areas in West Africa
Deutsche Bank is Germany’s leading bank with a wide international footprint. We maintain close relationships with our clients and partners in West Africa, where we provide corporate & investment banking, capital markets & risk management as well as wealth management and institutional asset management services.
We are recognised as a market leader in arranging sovereign bond issuances and have lead-managed many inaugural and repeat bond offerings for sovereigns across the African continent, including Nigeria’s debut bond issue in 2011 and return to the markets in 2013.
With the contraction in the African economy, what is the Deutsche bank’s strategy? Are you pulling back or expanding?
Deutsche Bank has had a presence in Nigeria since the 1970s, when we opened a representative office in Lagos. With continuous presence over a 40-year period, we remain deeply committed to our local and important client partnerships here.
How has the current economic slow-down affected your strategy on the continent?
We remain constructive about the long-term prospects of Nigeria and the broader African continent. We are aware of the significant challenges Nigeria and the continent face in the short-to-medium term but we remain confident that Nigeria will ultimately take the steps necessary to address these challenges. In the interim we are committed to developing and nurturing our long-standing client relationships in the country.
How much involved is Deutsche Bank in the Nigerian Economy?
The representative office in Lagos supports and assists Deutsche Bank’s correspondent banking activities, which we offer to many Nigerian banks. As such, we have partnered with local banks to provide training and empowerment of staff, introducing leading international banking practices which have been beneficial to the local banking sector here.
Deutsche Bank has also played key roles in various financial advisory and restructuring projects and in helping Nigerian clients raise capital.
In 2009/2010, Deutsche Bank was the only international bank to act as a lead financial adviser to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to develop options for the recapitalisation of eight distressed local banks.
Throughout that process, we worked with the CBN to develop strategies which ultimately led to the stabilization of the eight distressed banks and the establishment of the Asset Management Company (AMCON). Furthermore in 2011, Deutsche Bank was appointed Joint Lead Manager of Nigeria’s inaugural sovereign bond offering for USD 500 million and in 2013 for USD 1 billion.
Our Asset and Wealth Management divisions support and provide funding to the private sector.
Is the currency situation in Nigeria impacting on the businesses you do in Nigeria and in what way?
Along with our international banking peers, we believe that a strong, sustainable financial system with good levels of liquidity and appropriate regulation is beneficial to the entire economy. We certainly would like to see an improvement in the current situation with the availability and value of FX. It was gratifying to observe the CBN’s actions of last year and the situation will improve further with the development and implementation of various market-friendly policies. The solutions are not going to be easy or straightforward and have to be comprehensive and involving fiscal as well as monetary authorities. Diversification of the economy with investments into agriculture, refining and capturing value of the respective value chains onshore will be key.
What are your clients asking you about Nigeria?
Our clients continue to have a keen and genuine interest to engage and invest in various businesses in Nigeria and globally.
What are you telling your clients about Nigeria?
We are bullish about Nigeria’s long-term economic potential. We are heartened by the authority’s attempts to confront various domestic issues which when solved will ultimately lead to a stronger Nigerian economy. We are convinced that in the medium term this market is an attractive one for international investors and we look forward to continuing to work with the authorities to tell that story to the world.
What changes will you like to see happen in the Nigerian financial market that will make your clients happy to bring their money?
The financial industry is one of the most highly regulated and sophisticated sectors in Nigeria – for very good reasons. We hope the confidence building among various stakeholders, led by the Central Bank, will continue.
What sectors of the Nigerian economy are your clients most interested in and why?
As a global bank with a broad and diverse client base we are interested in various sectors of the economy, such as Oil and Gas, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG’s), Agriculture, Manufacturing, Telecoms and Construction.