J.P. Morgan becomes the first US bank to resume dollar clearing in Angola

A country which ranks persistently among the world’s most corrupt has recently seen a boost to its international standing. J.P. Morgan has recently announced that it will resume dollar clearing in Angola, a significant development as they are the first US bank to do so.

Dollar clearing is the process by which payments in US dollars are settled through a US bank’s accounts (typically at the Federal Reserve) via a correspondent relationship. For Angolan banks, this usually means holding a correspondent account with a large international bank that can route and settle USD payments on their behalf.

Standard Bank Angola has already expressed that it will begin establishing correspondent banking relationships with J.P. Morgan in both US dollars and euros, which should lubricate cross-border payments and enhance liquidity between Africa and international partners. Angolan businesses are set to enjoy new opportunities for growth and global integration.

A World Bank Country Economic Memorandum (CEM) has highlighted that Angola’s domestic strategy has focused in recent years on diversifying and implementing more stringent regulations surrounding anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT). Oil, for Angola, accounts for approximately 25% of GDP, 65% of revenues, and more than 95% of goods exports, leaving the domestic economy exposed to price shocks; this has translated to a fiscal crisis. Negative growth rates, a high population and high unemployment, and high economic inequality (with a Gini index of approximately 0.51) led to aversion from international investment in Angola.

J.P. Morgan cautiously re-entered the country late last year, when Angola pledged $2 billion in bonds as collateral for a $1 billion loan from the bank. In April 2025, Angola had to inject nearly $200 million as additional collateral to meet a margin call on the loan, as a result of volatile oil and debt markets, according to the Financial Times.

Before the nine-year drought

Angola has operated without dollar clearing services from major US banks since 2016 – a nine-year gap that ended with J.P. Morgan’s return in 2025.

Correspondent banking has held eminence in Angola since around 2009, following a series of regulatory reforms, for two key reasons. Firstly, unstable local currencies have created a healthy foreign exchange (FX) market, as Angolans often hedge foreign currencies against local ones in consumer sectors. Additionally, because Angolan banks don’t have many overseas branches, cross-border payments can only be provided through correspondent banks.

However, major providers began to withdraw from Angola, culminating in Deutsche Bank, which left the country in 2016. Oil dependence since the 2002 Civil War and FX controls in Angola reduced banking stability, but insufficient AML/ CFT regulation was cited (Citibank pulled out of Angola in 2003, and HSBC followed suit in 2010, both over concerns regarding AML/ CFT enforcement measures, which went unaddressed).

Angola’s regulatory environment also deterred international banks. The country was slow to adopt the Basel banking standards, which set international benchmarks for capital requirements and risk management. For a resource-rich economy heavily reliant on trade financing, laggardly adoption signalled to international banks that Angola was unprepared to meet global compliance standards.

The domestic banking sector and non-performing loans presented additional red flags. Angola’s highly politicised banking system routinely extended loans without adequate collateral, while bank licenses were issued based on personal connections rather than rigorous criteria. This environment created what has been described as a landscape of ‘mock compliance’. Finally, Angola was a microcosm of a broader global trend toward de-risking, as banks worldwide became more cautious about correspondent relationships – but for such an export-reliant economy, severing of international ties was a significant blow.

Reforms since 2016

Since 2016, Angola has embarked on a broad programme of domestic economic reform, moving beyond its historical dependence on oil revenues and addressing structural imbalances. It enacted a new VAT in July 2019, liberalised its currency, engaged in a multi-year IMF Extended Fund Facility from 2018, and launched the PROPRIV privatisation initiative in 2019 to offload state assets across sectors. At the same time, it began phasing out fuel subsidies in 2023–25 and scaled up efforts to modernise trade policy and integrate into regional frameworks like the Commonwealth of Independent States. 

On the AML/CFT front, Angola passed Law 5/20 on 27 January 2020 to overhaul its regulatory regime and set up implementing rules through the national bank and other supervisory bodies. In June 2023, a mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force region (ESAAMLG) found Angola largely compliant or better on 22 of the 40 technical recommendations, marking important progress in aligning with the international financial crime regulatory framework: which was, as forementioned, the primary concern which banks cited when withdrawing from the region.

Acknowledging the danger of its high dependence on oil, Angola has also pursued an agenda focused on diversification and modernisation of its infrastructure since 2016. Major investment has gone into the Lobito Corridor; the government has also supported downstream industrialisation through the construction of refineries in Cabinda, Lobito, and Soyo, aiming to end dependence on imported fuel and strengthen local value chains. 

Agricultural revitalisation, improvements in the business environment, and accession to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are also attractive to international investors who value cooperation.

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With this context, J.P. Morgan’s reentry is more compelling. Based on the logic which dominated the ‘Great Withdrawal’ of 2016, periods of global uncertainty should lead to a more precautionary approach to correspondent banking. Given the nearshoring of commodity supply chains, J.P. Morgan’s entering into a country which Allianz Trade have rated D3 (sensitive risk) indicates that multinational banks are not behaving with the risk-aversion expected. 

It also signals the responsiveness of US banks, even in a protectionist climate, to the progress made as developing economies seek to internationalise, particularly for developing economies in Africa, which has been getting a renewed focus in recent months.
“This achievement represents much more than the opening of correspondent accounts,” Luis Teles, chief executive officer of Standard Bank Angola, said in a statement. “It marks Angola’s reintegration into the global financial system.”