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Banco Caboverdiano
de Negocios (BCN) is the first 100% Cape
Verdean-owned financial institution and
intends to boost private sector growth.
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A strong monetary policy and a currency
pegged to the euro, along with a tradition of
stability and good governance, provide the security
needed to reassure foreign investors of this
modern safe haven.
Cape Verde’s financial sector is today
enjoying the benefits of more than a decade
of restructuring that began in 1991. The country’s
two largest banks have been privatized, the
Central Bank Act has been updated, financial
sector regulations and supervision have been
strengthened, and a stock exchange is now being
formed. The creation of an agency to monitor
electronic transactions has led to a surge in
electronic payments and the installation of
30 automated teller machines on five of the
islands in the archipelago. The result of these
efforts is a streamlined sector that is comprised
of four commercial banks and an offshore bank,
as well as a small group of specialized financial
institutions, including two insurance companies,
a venture capital company, a foreign exchange
agency and a credit card company.
Consequently, the government of Cape Verde
has now identified its financial sector, along
with tourism, as one of the most promising segments
of its economy. The archipelago’s geographic
position in the middle of the Atlantic between
the potent economies of Europe, Africa, and
the Americas supports its viability as a global
financial center. Recent legislation to this
end has been established while talks on setting
up more offshore banking institutions are under
way. The country’s political stability
and tradition of good governance, as well as
its strong monetary policy and the stability
of its currency pegged to the euro, provide
the security needed to reassure foreign clients
and guarantee their deposits. The archipelago’s
growing image as a safe haven for foreign investment
is evidenced by the influx of funds currently
entering the country from Cape Verdeans who
reside abroad.
“There is a strong desire from the government
to establish a financial hub,” says Manuel
Chantre (INTERVIEW),
President of Banco Caboverdiano de Negocios
(Cape Verdean Bank of Commerce – BCN).
“We know that we have some possibilities
resulting from the positioning of the islands
between Africa, the Americas and Europe. We
have a modern telecommunications system and
the infrastructure that we need in transport
is on the way. We also have a series of legislation
to encourage investors to consider Cape Verde
as a financial hub. I believe that the process
is already in progress.”
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“There is a strong desire
from the government to establish a financial
hub, backed by legislation that encourages
investors”
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Established just this year with the funding
of ten local shareholders and 10 shareholders
drawn from the diaspora, BCN is the first 100%
Cape Verdean-owned financial institution. The
bank intends to use its homegrown advantage
to win over clients from the diaspora, whose
remittances now account for nearly a third of
the country’s revenue, while working to
draw investment into the country and boosting
private sector growth.
“Previously, the decision center in Cape
Verde’s financial institutions was based
outside the country. We are the first bank where
the decision center is based inside the country
and we want to represent the Cape Verdean people
through this structure. Many Cape Verdeans abroad
now have some savings and they are willing to
find ways to invest back into the country,”
comments Mr. Chantre, who adds that the growth
of per capita income within the country was
also a deciding factor in establishing the bank
now. “The fact that we have become a middle-income
country is very important. We feel a different
stage is starting and we think that the strategy
of the bank to promote Cape Verdean entrepreneurship
will contribute a great deal to this.”
Operating from new offices in the center of
the nation’s capital, Praia, BCN is currently
focusing on bringing a new level of service
to investors from Cape Verde and abroad, from
the facilitation of local institution contacts
to the elaboration of investment portfolios.
Additionally, the bank has already become a
sector leader through producing some of the
country’s most innovative new products
tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises.
