The Reform and Restructuring of Sudanese Banking Industry: an Empirical Investigation

Abstract

The banking industry in Sudan plays a vital role in the nation’s economic growth through the mobilization of natural and financial resources and utilization of these funds to the various domestic needs the banking system in Sudan composed of the central Bank of Sudan and 27 commercial and specialized banks with a total number of 657 branches and a total capital of SD 24464 million at the end of 1999. The total deposits were SD 149936 million and the total assets were SD 1166000 million ( 47.6 percent of GDP at current prices) as the end of 1999. Due to macroeconomic instability in the recent years, the positions of several banks become very weak, the profitability of banks has deteriorated and the non-performing loans had eroded banks’ capital and liquidity. During such a process of bank weakness, the Central Bank announced measures aimed at restructuring the banking system in Sudan and adopting it to international standards. The research objectives will investigate, analysis and discuss the underlying causes of the problems of banking system; emphasize the announced comprehensive Banking Policies (1999-2003) and try to find an appropriate measures and instruments for planning the banking industry structure in Sudan. In order to study the problem of the banking industry and to verify the hypotheses, the research adopted a deductive method in discussing some evidence concerning monetary and credit policies. Also the research adopted statistical analysis (benefited from Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) ) to test whether macroeconomic instability affects bank performance or not. Then a case study method is adopted regarding the Sudan experience in bank restructuring. The research reached the conclusion that the performance of the banking system was atteeted by macroeconomic instability during the period 1979-1999, the viii inflation rate significantly affected bank solvency and the rate of change in the exchange rate had no significant effect on banks solvency. It was found that government borrowing from the banking system usually exceeded the banks lending to the private sector and the banks profitability has deteriorated accompanied by high ratios of non-performing loans. It is also found that the banking industry structure in Sudan is unotpimal and the Banking Adjustment scheme did not succeed in creating sound banks solvency. By controlling the inflation rate to a low level, reforming the credit policy and improving assets quality, a successful bank-restructuring could be achieved. The research, therefore, proposed liberalization of the credit policy, establishing asset management companies and a systemic bank restructuring as an appropriate approach to plan for an optimal banking industry structure and to achieve banking soundness as well as sustainable economic growth.