FT社評 國際組織須關注非洲金融業

Eighteen months after resigning in the aftermath of the Libor rate-rigging scandal, Bob Diamond is plotting his comeback. This week, the former Barclays chief executive raised $325m from investors. He is now looking for an African financial services acquisition on which to spend the cash.

在因倫敦銀行間同業拆借利率(Libor)操縱醜聞辭職18個月後，巴克萊銀行(Barclays)前首席執行官鮑勃•戴蒙德(Bob Diamond)正準備重出江湖。本週，他從投資者那裏籌資3.25億美元，準備在非洲金融服務業尋求收購機會。

Yet if this fallen titan has not after all been condemned to the underworld, he appears at first sight to be heading for a relative backwater. Banking services are poorly developed in Africa. About 60 per cent of Kenyan adults are without a bank account, for example, compared to just 3 per cent in the UK.

然而，如果這個倒下的巨人沒有被判下地獄，那麼乍一看，他似乎正走向一個相對落後的領域。非洲銀行服務業極不發達。例如，肯尼亞約60%的成年人沒有銀行賬戶，而英國僅爲3%。

Banks concentrate on serving parts of Africa that are home to most of its wealth but few of its people. Much of the continent is too poor to sustain costly branches and infrastructure. Dysfunctional institutions can also be a hindrance, although these have been improving lately. Property registration costs are falling, and 70 per cent of African countries now have a national system of credit records. But enforcing contracts remains difficult; legal fees amount to roughly half of the average claim.

在非洲，銀行主要爲那些聚集着大部分財富但人口占比很低的部分地區服務。非洲大陸很多國家非常貧窮，承擔不起昂貴的銀行分支機構和基礎設施。制度運轉不暢也可能是一種阻礙，但最近情況有所好轉。財產登記成本正在下降，70%的非洲國家現在建立了全國信用記錄體系。但合同的執行仍很困難；法律訴訟費約佔平均索賠金額的一半。

The result is that millions must rely on cash alone, or fall back on informal arrangements for making payments and raising credit. This stunts economic activity and adds to the precariousness of many people’s livelihoods.

結果是，數百萬人必須只依賴現金，或者求助於非正式資金安排來付款和籌款。這會阻礙經濟活動，並會使很多人生活更不穩定。

The pent-up demand for financial services is evident in the ingenious improvisations that Africans are devising to meet it. In many places, mobile phone airtime balances have assumed the status of unofficial currency, after customers realised they could settle personal debts by transferring credit from one phone to another. Safaricom, the Kenyan network operator, has formalised the service, in effect turning its army of phone card hawkers into a network of roving bank tellers. It now collaborates with Commercial Bank of Africa to offer interest-bearing accounts and small loans.

非洲人對金融服務的需求被壓抑已久，他們爲滿足需求而即興設計出的新穎產品，明顯體現了這一點。在很多地區，手機話費餘額承擔起了非官方貨幣的角色，此前客戶發現，他們可以通過將話費餘額從一部手機轉移到另一部手機來清償個人債務。肯尼亞網絡運營商Safaricom將這一服務合法化，實際上把兜售電話卡的人羣變成了一個流動的銀行櫃員機網絡。該公司現在正與非洲商業銀行(Commercial Bank of Africa)合作，提供計息賬戶和小額貸款。

New technology is bringing down costs just as an era of economic growth seems finally to be dawning on Africa. Mr Diamond is not the only banker to spy opportunity in what is now the second-fastest growing region in the world. Hedge funds and private equity companies, too, have been racing to do deals.

新技術正在降低成本，非洲似乎終於迎來了經濟增長時期。戴蒙德並非唯一一位在經濟增速全球第二的地區發現機會的銀行家。對衝基金和私人股本公司也在競相達成交易。

This is an occasion on which bankers’ commercial ambitions coincide with the broader social good. But policy makers should nonetheless be alert to possible dangers. Recent history shows that a booming financial services industry can garner undue influence, even in advanced countries with robust institutions. It would be a tragedy if Africa’s rise were cut short by similar mistakes. While governments bear primary responsibility for regulating financial conduct, international organisations such as the World Bank should issue vocal warnings if they have grounds for concern.

這是一個把銀行家的商業抱負與社會公益結合起來的機會。但政策制定者應警惕可能的危險。近期歷史表明，蓬勃發展的金融服務業可能會獲得過大的影響力，甚至在制度健全的發達國家也是如此。如果非洲的崛起因爲類似的錯誤而被打斷，那麼這將是一場悲劇。政府在監管金融行爲方面負有主要責任，但世界銀行(World Bank)等國際組織應在有理由擔心時發出有力警告。

Banking is a maligned industry but an indispensable one. It will be a mark of progress if foreign investment means that fewer Africans live beyond its reach.

銀行業正揹負罵名，但這個行業不可或缺。如果更多非洲人可以利用到外資的話，那麼這將是一個進步的標誌。