Bank fined for violating consumer protection rules

The Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA) will pay a fine of 48m kwanzas (€46 000) for violating financial consumer protection rules, according to a decision by the National Bank of Angola. The Club of Mozambique reports that the Angolan central bank sanctioned BFA for the violation of rules and procedures applicable to the ‘protection of consumers of financial products and services’. At issue are non-compliance with the regulatory deadline for executing transfers in national currency through the Real-Time Gross Settlement System and the Credit Transfer Subsystem, non-compliance with regulatory limits on charging fees for opening import letters of credit and the opening of these letters of credit, as well as on charging notification, processing, and communication expenses. In addition to the fine, BFA was ordered to publicise the decision. The bank was notified of the decision and did not appeal it. BFA is one of the largest Angolan banks and has as its main shareholders the telecommunications operator Unitel, controlled by the Angolan State, with 36.9% of the capital, and the Portuguese BPI, owned by the Spanish group CaixaBank, with 33.35%. The remaining 29.75% is dispersed among more than 8 400 investors following the public offering concluded in September 2025, the largest operation ever on the Angolan stock exchange.

Full Club of Mozambique report