The IMF’s latest Financial Access Survey (FAS) highlights how the access gap in Sub-Saharan Africa is fast narrowing when compared to other areas. One notable statistic is that commercial bank depositors leapt to 295 per 1,000 adults in 2012, up from 70 per 1,000 adults in 2004. This is an encouraging rise although some differences in institutions and countries included from each of the years do not make this a scientifically precise comparison. Globally, low-income countries had 332 per 1,000 adults and so Sub-Saharan Africa is nearly at par with countries at similar income levels. The promising trends in Africa are likely to gain momentum as mass market institutions like Equity Bank expand and pan-African banks such as Ecobank serve a broader segment of the population. Indeed, access to finance is keeping pace, or even outpacing, economic growth in various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.
