Barclays Africa Group Limited has signed a 2-year agreement to provide financial support to the Frontclear Technical Assistance Programme (FTAP) through the latter’s Partnership Facility.
The programme will be rolled-out in in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Ghana. The two entities also concluded a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation of the TradeClear interbank guarantee facility in Kenya and other leading African financial markets.
The partnership allows BAGL to implement the findings of the Barclays Africa Financial Markets Index. Released in late 2017, the Index ranks the maturity, openness and accessibility of 17 financial markets in Africa, based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria. Development of local investor capacity and ability to attract foreign capital are also key points of focus.
The FTAP Partnership Facility is a unique initiative, in that it teams-up international donors with regional and global banks, in a highly targeted effort to build inclusive interbank markets in frontier economies. Its trainings, advisory and research activities combine to remove the barriers to well-functioning capital markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The TradeClear interbank guarantee facility aims to establish secured trading interbank trading environments in Africa. Under the program, Frontclear guarantees financial losses for all participants incurred due to counterparty failure, thereby stabilizing the interbank market and improving liquidity. It is expected that TradeClear will be implemented in Kenya in Q1 of 2018.
