FirstRand Books 57% Loss on Ghana Bonds Amid Debt Revamp
- Impairment is ‘on the conservative side,’ CEO Pullinger says
- South African bank looking to grow market share of Ghana unit
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FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market capitalization, has written off more than half the value of its holdings of Ghanaian bonds as the country grapples with a restructuring of its sovereign debt.
The Johannesburg-based lender said in a statement on Thursday it had impaired 496 million rand ($27.3 million) to cover potential losses from Ghana’s debt revamp and reduced income from associates. The write-down includes domestic and foreign-currency bonds held as of December.