ABSA Bank and BoE Bank have entered into a business venture called MultiBank Processing where Absa Bank will in future maintain all the cheque processing functions of BoE Bank. It is the first time in South Africa that such an agreement has been reached between two banks. Absa Bank approached BoE Bank for a business venture in terms of which Absa could supply the total cheque processing function in a cost effective and efficient manner. BoE Bank used two branches in their pilot phase and entered into a formal agreement to implement the balance of their branches. To date, the first two phases have successfully been implemented in all the BoE branches. The development enables Absa to take full advantage of its cheque processing capacity, after the number of cheques processed in Absa decreased by about 20% during the past financial year.
SUEZ CANAL REVENUE UP IN FIRST QUARTER
SUEZ canal revenues for the first quarter of 2001 reached $470,3-million, up $12,1-million on the same period last year, official figures published on Tuesday said. A total of 3_474 ships transporting 112,8-million tons of cargo passed through the canal in the three months, a report published by the cabinet said. Last December the Suez canal authority said it had netted record revenue in 2001 of some two billion dollars, the most since the waterway was opened in 1879. Fees for using the canal account for one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency. – AFP
INTERNATIONAL
The latest business news updates from around the world.