• Fixed income and currency transactions
• Completing trades
• Local market knowledge
• Understanding clients’ business with on the ground presence

Ecobank’s in-country Treasury teams undertake fixed income and currency transactions via a one-stop-shop facility to provide a seamless service. Thanks to our thorough knowledge of Middle African markets, economies, and policies, Ecobank is able to meet any requests, be they local, regional, or global, from initial enquiries to completing trades for a wide range of products. We understand local business customs, regulations and country-specific risks better than any other bank in Africa because we operate ‘on the ground’ each and every day. This enables us to support our clients in developing their businesses across Middle Africa

Clients access Ecobank’s wide range of corporate and investment banking services via our team of in-house corporate advisory specialists and key platforms:

• Our Pan-African platform
• Our network of leading global correspondent banks
• Our international sales platform - gateway to African currency markets
• Our research capability

The combination of our broad pan-African platform, local knowledge and relationships, assists our clients in achieving their pan-African ambitions. Via our one-stop shop platform in Paris, Ecobank is able to deliver all the major local currencies in Middle Africa, quoted against any G-10 currency, to your chosen parties.

Ecobank owns key relationships and agreements which forms a formidable network of leading global correspondent banks.

Through the Ecobank Research platform and a seamless Corporate and Investment Bank presence across Middle Africa, along with the collaboration of our partner, Nedbank, we believe that we have the ability to gather local knowledge – that is often difficult to access – and present it in a clear and concise manner.

Ecobank operates 36 bank licences with representative offices in 3 other countries.

• This broad footprint provides Ecobank with a deep level of economic and financial market information that is analysed on behalf of our clients who are looking for solid returns in these interesting markets.
• Our ability to trade such a diverse range of currencies, fixed income securities, and commodities reflects our strong relations that have been developed over years with regulators, market participants, and investors.
• Ecobank understands local business customs, regulations and country-specific risks across Middle Africa, which underpins our efforts to help our clients develop their businesses via a range of analytical reports and market commentary

Ecobank’s research team has a wealth of experience in Middle African markets, with analysts drawn from all corners of the African continent. The research team is made up of eight analysts, based in the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Kenya, who focus on the Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities (FICC) space in Middle Africa.

The team is divided into four desks:

• Macroeconomics: covering GDP, fixed income and currencies
• Financials and banking: covering the banking and financial sector
• Energy: covering oil, gas and power
• Soft commodities: covering the region’s key cash crops (e.g. cocoa, coffee and cotton).

The team also has expertise in trade flows, trade finance, mobile payments, mining and Francophone and Lusophone Africa.

The research team produces regular reports for public consumption, including:

• Weekly Middle Africa currency and equity market updates
• Monthly Middle Africa energy and soft commodity market updates
• Quarterly Economic Strategic Reviews of the largest economies in Middle Africa (currently Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire)
• Ad hoc speednotes and briefng notes on key developments affecting Middle African markets.

LocalKnowledgeAfrica™

Ecobank’s research team also runs a bespoke advisory service for clients: LocalKnowledgeAfrica™. It recognises the difficulties businesses and investors face in designing and executing their investment and expansion strategy into and within Africa. Success in Africa can only be achieved with a well-planned and executed strategy based on local knowledge. We also know that success in Africa relies upon the relationships that our clients have with governments, regulators and their customers. Our local network enables us to access these critical relationships for our clients. Our pan-African platform keeps our finger on the pulse of local markets so that we can advise our clients on how best to manage their investment in Africa and tease out the opportunities for investment.

If you would like to receive our reports, please send an email to ecobankresearch@ecobank.com requesting to be added to our distribution list. You can visit our online portal using this link: http://ecobank.com/corporate-investment-banking/investment-banking/research-centre. Click on the blue box to request a free log-in. The portal has a full archive of our reports, profiles of our analysts, background material, as well as information about our bespoke advisory service, LocalKnowledgeAfrica™.

Follow our Twitter account @EcobankResearch for the latest news and reports on Middle Africa.

Our clients receive a dedicated service which, based on a thorough understanding of their business, provides tailored options and solutions. Our International Sales Platform in Paris supports our country-based client service team with our global treasury business and our team of economic, financial, and commodity specialists.

It offers the best liquidity in major currencies and a range of hedging solutions. In addition, this one-stop shop platform is your gateway to all the major local currencies in Middle Africa, quoted against any G-10 currency, to your chosen parties.

Finally, our international team will help investors in sourcing African and international assets that match their targets. For any enquiries, please contact our International Sales team on allefr-tsu@ecobank.com