NMB Bank gets new shareholder

Dar es Salaam. NMB Bank has a new shareholder. This comes after the bank’s shares that were held by Rabobank - a Dutch multinational banking and financial services provider - were transferred to an investment consortium.

Rabobank was the largest single investor in NMB, with 174,500,000 shares (34.9 percent) which were transferred to Arise.

Rabobank partnered with the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the Norwegian State-owned development fund (Norfund) to form the sub-Saharan Africa-focused investment company, Arise.

The investment firm aims to support the growth and advancement of financial institutions by proactively providing - among other things - technical assistance and managerial services in the fields of governance, management, marketing, innovation, compliance and risk management.

Rabobank - which will still be in NMB through the investment consortium - had lodged a request to transfer its stake in NMB Bank Plc for regulatory procedures. The requestwas approved on Monday, the bank said in a statement.

CMSA confirmed to have approved the transfer of shares. But it did not give more details.

Speaking on the shares transfer, NMB chief executive Ruth Zaipuna said “successful completion of the shares transfer is a testament of investors’ confidence in the institution - and the country at large.”

NMB is currently the most profitable bank in Tanzania after recording Sh145 billion as cumulative net profit in the quarter that ended on September 30, 2020.

“The collaborative partnership between Arise and NMB is envisaged to deliver substantial operational, commercial, organizational and financial benefits with long-term market returns that go beyond stakeholders’ expectations,’’ she oozed confidence.

“Undoubtedly this long-term investment by Arise will support NMB’s future growth aspirations, and spur economic growth and the prosperity of Tanzanians through increased financial inclusion - and also the growth of retail, SMEs and agriculture sectors. NMB would like to thank all its shareholders, strategic partners, customers and staff for continued faith and dedication to the organization.”

The NMB trading counter at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) closed at Sh2,340 per share on Tuesday after trading flat, compared to the previous day.

Apart from Arise - which is now taking over the 34.9 percent shareholding of the Rabobank - the Tanzania government owns 31.8 percent of the equity as listed at the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.

This year, the government received Sh15.2 billion as dividend from NMB Bank Plc after the lender recorded Sh149 billion profit in 2019.