Is UK lender jumping from frying pan into fire with Africa exit?

European banks are doing badly on account of banking in a region whose growth is anaemic. This would not have been a problem if Europe had vibrant trade links with other regions of the world enjoying robust growth.

Unfortunately, financing intra-European trade is the main driver of European banking. So they are all caught up in this self-reinforcing vortex that is spiralling downwards. More so, banking laws in many European countries prohibit lending against foreign assets, for instance, a UK bank cannot lend to a borrower in Kenya against a Kenya-registered security.