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MTN wants banking profits. Credit risk comes too

MTN office
MTN office

Brandon Orion Mensah

Brandon Mensah tracks Africa’s markets, uncovering the forces shaping investment, policy, and financial trends.
  • MTN is exploring banking licences to capture more income from lending.
  • Kenya’s digital-credit defaults show the risks of putting loans on balance sheet.

 

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — MTN wants to push one of Africa’s biggest mobile-money businesses deeper into banking. Owning the loans could transform its risk as well.

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