[2019-07-18] Commercial banks operating in Angola have liquidity for transactions on accounts in foreign currency

Source: Macauhub

Commercial banks operating in Angola have enough foreign currency for the rules allowing transactions of foreign currency accounts, said the governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA).

José de Lima Massano, speaking to Rádio Nacional de Angola, said that “the level of liquidity in foreign currency in commercial banks has been restored,” which allows holders to carry out transactions through their accounts more easily “as the rules in force have established.”

The governor said that the central bank had carried out a prior check on the banking system to check their suitability to comply with the decision, but admitted that in a few of the 1,500 bank branches, “difficulties might occur in the first few days after the measure announced on Friday.”

While authorising Angolan individual banking customers, to carry out transactions with their accounts in foreign currency, the BNA kept some restrictions, limiting these operations to the settlement of import transactions of invisible current goods such as travel and health expenses or salaries of expatriates, in addition to capital for the depositors themselves.

The central bank explained the decision was intended to respond to citizens’ difficulties in handling their accounts denominated in foreign currency, but domiciled in national banks, which operations were suspended in 2017 due to the economic crisis in Angola.