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one (See page 80). The overall outcome is up and, a few highly
specific blips apart, it is hard to find a conspicuous weakness
in any service area. That is quite an achievement in a declining
stock market which has cost investors money for the last five
years.
Standard Bank
In 2018 Stanbic had the consolation of outscoring the newcom-
er here. A year on, its rate of response and its scores are both
down. Though it is hard to draw robust conclusions from a small
response pool, the details speak of room for improvement in
on-boarding, account opening and closing, settlement, asset ser-
vicing, risk mitigation, pricing and client service. It does, how-
ever, exceed the market average score for relationship manage-
ment, and records a score of 6.0 (Very Good) for its technology.
SWAZILAND
There are just six equities listed on the main board at the SSX.
The economy, which is dependent on pulp, sugar and cotton
exports, relies on South Africa for two thirds of its exports
and four fifths of its imports. It is further tied to South Africa
through a currency link and a customs union, creating a concen-
tration risk that renders the country highly vulnerable to any
adverse developments. The economy actually shrank last year.
The recovery of agricultural output, which was badly affected by
a drought three years ago, has been hampered by European bans
on the import of Swazi produce on health grounds. With trade
tariffs shrinking in line with declining trade, the public finances
are deteriorating as well.
Standard Bank
Anyone wishing to invest in the stocks listed on the Swaziland
Stock Exchange (SSX) has only one choice as custodian, but
responses for Standard Bank are too few for a robust assessment
of its services.
TANZANIA
The Tanzanian economy has grown robustly at 6 to 7% a year
for a dozen years. The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, which
opened for business in 1998 but did not stretch much beyond
bonds until the economy began to grow rapidly ten years ago,
now lists 28 equities. One reason the economy took off is that
Tanzania is open to foreign capital but, despite the fact net
portfolio flows have increased, there is little inbound investment
activity by investment managers using global custodians. This
has the virtue of protecting the Tanzanian shilling from any
volatility in international investing at a time when imports are
growing and exports – from an economy dependent on gold and
cashew nuts – are not, but it makes it hard for a sub-custodian
to make a living. The all-share index has trended gently down-
wards since 2015.
Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered Bank has had a presence here since it ac-
quired the sub-Saharan Africa custody network of Barclays Bank
in 2010, which a retail branch network and a corporate bank-
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M A R K E T S ]
ing business in the country make it easier to sustain. Available
data is insufficient for a rating, though services are apparently
regarded as adequate.
TUNISIA
On the Bourse de Tunisie, 86 listed stocks account for a tenth of
investment and its market capitalisation is equivalent to perhaps
a fifth of the national income. Most of the larger businesses re-
main state-owned. But there are reasons to be hopeful. Investors
have made money in Tunis over the last three years. Prices on the
bourse may have fallen back from the all-time high they reached
in August 2018, but the market is still well ahead of where it be-
gan 2016. And, if the country is unlucky in its neighbours, its po-
litical system has remained relatively stable since the disturbanc-
es of 2011 and the economy continues to grow at a healthy 2-2.5%
a year. Tunisie Clearing, the 25-year-old local central securities
depository (CSD) formerly known as STICODEVAM, settles all
transactions in Tunisian securities. A for-profit entity, but one
controlled by the brokers and banks that are the sole authorised
gatekeepers to its services, Tunisie Clearing has yet to develop its
services much beyond settlement and safekeeping.
Société Générale Securities Services (Union Internationale de
Banques (UIB)
Société Générale first acquired a majority stake in UIB when the
bank was privatised in 2002. It has given the French bank both
a retail (139 branches) and a corporate presence in the country
and enabled it to secure the bulk of the inbound custody and
clearing business here. Responses are insufficient for a rating,
though the bank appears to be well regarded for its approach to
regulation and compliance.
Banque Internationale Arabe de Tunisie (BIAT)
The largest private bank in the country retains its longstanding
status as the indigenous alternative. There is not enough data
to assess the bank formally, but the overall score is higher than
it was a year ago and in some areas the scores are more than re-
spectable. The bank is a shareholder as both a bank and a broker
in Tunisie Clearing.
QNB Alahli
The expanding Qatari bank, now the biggest in the Middle East,
has developed a sizeable inbound custody franchise in nearby
Egypt. The Tunis exchange cannot yet match the size and turn-
over of its counterpart in Egypt, but QNB is well-placed here as
it grows. The bank incorporated in Tunis in 2013 and has built a
34-branch retail network in the country.
UGANDA
The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) Exchange, which was
demutualised two years ago, currently lists just 19 equities
with a market capitalisation of around $6.5 billion, alongside
42 Uganda government bonds, multiple issues of government
treasury bills and two corporate bonds. The USE does what it
can to enhance liquidity – it pioneered cross-listings with the
Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) – but, like most sub-Saharan