African Bank Named South Africa's 'Bank of the Year' - Ventures Africa

VENTURES AFRICA ? South Africa?s African Bank has been named South African Bank of the Year by the Banker magazine, the award citing the Bank?s complex business and risk models as helping steer businesses through the financial crisis.

Africa Bank is the biggest unsecured lender in South Africa ? a country widely considered to be relying too heavily on the use of unsecured loans, with this type of financing growing quickly across the country.? Unsecured lending currently accounts for 131 billion rand ($14.95 billion) of South Africa?s 1.36 trillion rand ($155 billion) outstanding receivables.

As such the decision to grant the award for Bank of the Year to an unsecured lender is somewhat surprising.

However, the Banker made the award ? which was handed over in a ceremony in London ? based on the Bank?s stability through-out the financial crisis, noting that its business and risk models are serving to increase credit responsibility across the South African financing sector.

?African Bank?s business model has been robust through the recent financial crisis and provided through the cycle profitability and attractive returns,? the Banker said in making the Award.

?The group has rolled out innovative products to make it easier for customers to access responsible credit and widened the bank?s distribution network through the establishment of kiosks and carve outs in its retail division which has helped drive the growth in loans,? the citation added.

Receiving the award on behalf of the company, Tami Sokutu, an executive director at African Bank Investments congratulated the Bank?s employees, and thanked customers for their continued loyalty to Africa Bank.? She went on to underline: ?We remain cognisant of our customers? requirements and needs as we assist to enhance their lives through the provision of responsible credit.?

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Gabriella

Gabriella Mulligan is a journalist with a special interest in business and legal issues, having come to journalism following a successful career in consultancy. After completing her legal education at the esteemed law school at Cambridge University, and prior to that at the University of Kent, Gabriella went on to work for a ?Big Four? financial and business services firm. She now enjoys writing on topical issues that affect businesses and the economy today. Gabriella is British and Hungarian. She has travelled widely, but harbours a passion for Africa and has made Nairobi, Kenya her home.

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Source: http://www.ventures-africa.com/2012/11/africa-bank-named-south-african-bank-of-the-year/

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Kuwait's rifts highlighted by election boycott

Kuwaiti supporters of one of the parliamentary election's candidates walks by a polling station in Salwa during election day in Kuwait on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The general election to appoint a new Parliament is the fifth since mid-2006, and the second this year.(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)

Kuwaiti supporters of one of the parliamentary election's candidates walks by a polling station in Salwa during election day in Kuwait on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The general election to appoint a new Parliament is the fifth since mid-2006, and the second this year.(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)

Kuwaiti citizens wait in line to cast their vote at a polling station in Rumaithiya, Kuwait on Saturday, Dec. 1st, 2012. The general election to appoint a new Parliament is the fifth since mid-2006, and the second this year.(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)

Islamist, nationalist and liberal opposition groups gather to protest the Kuwait government's amendment of the electoral law and support a boycott on the country's election on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 in Kuwait City. More than 15,000 protesters rallied in the first government-authorized demonstration in Kuwait since a ban on political gatherings earlier this month. The election to be held Saturday, Dec. 1 is the fifth since mid-2006, and the second this year.(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)

A Kuwaiti citizen casts her vote at a polling station in Saalwa, Kuwait on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. The general election to appoint a new Parliament is the fifth since mid-2006, and the second this year.(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)

KUWAIT CITY (AP) ? Kuwait's deep political rifts took center stage in parliamentary elections Saturday as backers of the ruling establishment cast ballots while a broad opposition alliance staged a boycott and vowed to reject the outcome.

The voting capped months of political upheavals and showdowns in the oil-rich Gulf state ? a strategic Western ally ? and the polarized atmosphere suggested more tensions ahead.

Kuwait has the Gulf's most politically powerful parliament and the election is certain to restore control to pro-government lawmakers. Yet that doesn't guarantee any extra breathing space for the ruling system amid claims it is overstepping its powers.

A wide-reaching coalition of opposition factions ? ranging from hard-line Islamists to Western-leaning liberals ? already has challenged the legitimacy of the new parliament because of the boycott and could increasingly take their grievances to the streets.

Kuwait has largely escaped the unrest sweeping the region, and any potential for greater unrest is closely watched by Washington, which has thousands of U.S. ground forces in Kuwait as part of the Pentagon's military counterweight to Iran in the Persian Gulf.

Islamists and tribal allies won control of the 50-seat parliament in February elections, but the chamber was later dissolved over a legal challenge by the ruling establishment over electoral districts. Kuwait has been left without an effective working parliament for more than five months.

Complaints against authorities include increasing efforts to muzzle free speech and failure to have Kuwait's economy and growth keep pace with other dynamic Gulf centers such as Qatar's capital Doha and the United Arab Emirates' hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Last month, four people were arrested on charges of insulting Kuwait's emir in Twitter posts.

Security forces watched over polling stations across Kuwait, but no disturbances were reported. The voting sites vividly displayed the country's divides with pro-government areas showing steady turnout, but areas loyal to the opposition were almost deserted. Boycott backers tied pieces of orange ribbon ? the adopted color of the opposition ? around tree branches near some polling sites.

Some opposition groups predicted turnout could be well below 50 percent, compared with near 60 percent for the last parliamentary elections in February that were won by Islamists and their allies.

"I'm certain that the boycott will have an effect on the turnout," said Information Minister Mohammad al-Abdullah Al Sabah, a member of the ruling family.

He appealed, however, for the opposition to confine their objections within the country's "legal framework."

The anti-government groups have bitterly denounced a decree in October by Kuwait's emir to end an unusual balloting system that allowed four choices per voter.

Critics claim the new one-vote-per-person rule will make it easier for state authorities to potentially influence the outcome. They also say the emir went beyond his authority by changing the voting rules without public debate.

On the eve of the election, more than 15,000 people joined a peaceful pro-boycott march in the first rally permitted by authorities since a ruling last month banning gatherings of more than 20 people.

Kuwait's parliament has the most powers of any among the Gulf Arab states. Opposition lawmakers have often fired off accusations of corruptions and abuses against government officials, including the prime minister and other members of the ruling family.

The country also has some of the widest political and media freedoms in the region, but key government posts and policies remain under the control of the ruling family.

Yet Islamists and their backers also worry many Kuwaitis for open support of stricter Muslim codes such as censoring artists and imposing death sentences for those convicted of denigrating Islam.

The concerns about the rising clout of Islamists also reflects wider battles across the Gulf as authorities crack down on groups suspected of ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has taken control of Egypt following elections in the past year. Gulf leaders view activists inspired by the Arab Spring as potential threats, but Kuwait's Islamist leaders claim they are a homegrown force that only seeks a greater say in the country's affairs.

A 29-year-old voter, Ali Boushehri, said he was frustrated with both sides.

"I hold the government accountable for many of our shortcomings in Kuwait, and that is why I am voting," he said. "I don't agree with the opposition. Boycotting is not a good thing to do ... I want to vote because I believe in democracy."

A businessman, Khaled al-Qahtani, 38, decided to join the boycott even though he also has misgivings about Islamists. Many liberals have joined the unusual alliance of convenience with Islamists over their shared anger against the ruling system, but remain far apart on ideology.

Islamists and their backers "aren't to be trusted with the future of Kuwait, so I don't support them," said al-Qahtani. "Although, sadly, the government lost the support of many others by failing the people repeatedly."

The region's popular uprisings have not spilled over to Kuwait in a major way as in nearby Bahrain, and it remains unlikely opposition groups would wage an all-out challenge to the current system and risk losing the generous cradle-to-grave benefits provided by the state.

But clashes last month between protesters and security forces displayed the potential for violence to escalate.

Kuwait also was hit by a wave of labor unrest and strikes earlier this year, including walkouts that grounded the state carrier, Kuwait Airways, and temporarily closed customs posts and left several hundred trucks stranded at the border.

Calls for better working conditions have grown louder in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings. Kuwaitis are used to well-paid government jobs and benefits that increasingly have become a burden on state finances despite the country's huge oil wealth.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-01-Kuwait/id-4b0175e4bffe4e54bc11e04446f9037c

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Yale Drops Dramatic Five-Setter to Bowling Green in NCAA First ...

November 30, 2012

Down 2-1 in Sets, Ivy League Champ Yale Forced Fifth Game

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Bulldogs dropped a heart-stopping fifth set to Bowling Green in their NCAA First Round match at Rec Hall on Friday evening.

The scores of the match were 16-25, 25-15, 25-21, 13-25 and 15-11.

In its fourth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, Yale came back from a 2-1 set deficit to force a deciding fifth. The loss snapped Yale's 15-match win streak, and the Bulldogs ended the season 18-6 overall and 14-0 in Ivy Play.

Mollie Rogers and Kelly Johnson led a balanced Yale attack with a team-high 12 kills each, while senior team captain Haley Wessels ended her Bulldog career with 11 kills, 6 block assists and five digs.

The fifth set was pulsating volleyball and featured eight ties and five lead changes.?

Yale recovered from a 7-5 deficit to score the next four points.? After three straight Bowling Green errors, Kendall Polan rifled an ace along the left side to give Yale a two-point edge.

After a Yale error, Lindsey Butterfield gave the Falcons back the lead with two straight kills.? McHaney Carter and Rogers teamed up for block assists on the next point to tie the set at 10.?

Carter finished with nine kills, hit. 391 and five block assists.? Rogers, a first-team All-Ivy selection, added 17 digs and four block assists.

Leah Shaw's kill put Bowling Green back in front, and the Falcons never trailed the rest of the way. ?

Bowling Green improved to 9-0 in five-set matches this season, while Yale was playing in its first five-setter of the year.?

Yale ended the season as the second team in Ivy League history to finish a conference season 14-0 and featured five All-Ivy selections.

Bowling Green will face the winner of Binghamton and Penn State tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. in a NCAA Second Round match.

Check back later for more details.

Report filed by Ernie Bertothy, Yale Sports Publicity

Source: http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/w-volley/2012-13/releases/20121130bwhke1

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