AfricaPress-Tanzania: AKIBA Commercial Bank (ACB) has pledged major and positive changes in services delivery after a takeover by National Bank of Malawi (NBM).
NBM, one of the Malawi leading bank and listed on Malawi Stock Exchange, has injected some 17bn/- to boost ACB capital thus warranting better service delivery.
ACB’s Acting Managing Director Juliana Swai said the merger aimed at strengthening the bank’s capital as required by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT).
“The investment will create an enabling environment of doing business for countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC),” Ms Swai told journalists.
ACB has been looking on market demands as well as a strategic investor or shareholder in order to strengthen the bank and improve its services as well as starting more other services required in the country’s market.
“We understand the bilateral relations between the two countries in various areas including trade and creating an enabling environment for trade prosperity through easy access of financial services (in SADC region),” Ms Swai said.
The merge between ACB and NBM was concluded last month after getting an approval from Bank of Tanzania (BoT) for operations of commercial banks in the country.
Malawi’s media outlets reported that NBM, the country’s largest lender by market capitalization and assets, acquired a 51 per cent stake ACB in a deal worth 7.31 million US dollars.
Established in 1997, ACB has strong roots in small and medium size businesses, and operates 18 branches across Tanzania, whose port city Dar es Salaam is a major source of imports bound for Malawi.
ACB that has been providing loans to Micro, Small and Medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) has successfully reached 200,000 Tanzanians in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro, and Dodoma by providing them with entrepreneurial loans and savings deposits through the Junior, Youth, Adults, Business and Company accounts
