Angolan banks have benefited handsomely from the country’s oil-fuelled economic boom since its 27-year civil war ended in 2002. At this point, they were tiny, with less than $3bn of assets between them. That figure had risen to $54bn by the end of 2011, making Angola's the largest banking sector in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa and Nigeria.
Yet despite this growth, Angola’s banking system was until recently unsophisticated, with lenders making the bulk of their earnings from government bonds rather than growing their loan books, e-payments being all too rare, and the regulatory framework far below international standards.
