Fitch forecasts favorable conditions for sub-Saharan banks

The rating agency expects strong demand in infrastructure financing.

The future is bright for sub-Saharan banks, according to ratings agency Fitch Ratings.
Economic growth in the region should provide favorable conditions for banks in 2015, despite lower commodity prices, it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, strong demand for infrastructure financing and a buoyant private sector should support credit growth, while offsetting the low prices of raw materials and mitigating political risk.

Even banks in oil-exporting countries, where falling oil prices could trigger a contraction in lending, face continued demand for credit, Fitch said.

In Nigeria, loan growth reached 25 percent in 2014 and in Angola, public sector investment remains a priority and the banks should find new takers for loans through government entities.

South Africa is a notable exception for loan growth. Fitch forecast that the country's banks will expand credit only modestly, reflecting a weakened economy, infrastructure investment delays and the overhang from 2014's mining strikes.