After a fairly harrowing transition period marked on bank failures and gross mismanagement.

After a fairly harrowing transition period marked on bank failures and gross mismanagement, African banking has now settl into a consolidation phase. Liberalisation of the sector has brought in foreign players and with them modern techniques and modern technology. The spread above the continent has not been level but the tide of innovation is spreading and the benefits of new banking are reaching more and more Africans. AFRICAN BUSINESS marks this watershed with a comprehensive review of banking in Africa today.

Over the past pair decades, Africa's banking industry has changed radically. The principally important factors driving this change include