NMB Bank's pledge to its shareholders after record dividend

Dar es Salaam. After a successful year in 2021 that saw shareholders sharing a record Sh96.7 billion in dividend, the management of NMB Plc has pledged to do even better this year and deliver lucrative returns on the investment.

“My promise to shareholders and clients is that we will maintain a high level of discipline in the execution of the bank’s strategic plan. I am certain, we will meet and surpass the targets that we have set for this year,” the NMB Bank Plc’s chief executive officer, Ms Ruth Zaipuna, said in Dar es Salaam at the weekend.

Ms Zaipuna was speaking shortly after the bank’s shareholders – who met at the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) - approved a total dividend of Sh96.7 billion from the banking outfit’s 2021 record net profit of Sh290 billion.

Ms Zaipuna banks her hope for a splendid show this year on the bank’s investment in a number of innovative products as anchored in the lender’s three key solutions which, she said, have already started bearing fruit.

During the first quarter of 2022, NMB Bank Plc registered a net profit of Sh101.2 billion which was 36 percent more than what the lender went home with during a similar period last year.

“From what has been witnessed during the first quarter, what I can promise is that chances of our performance improving further are high and this is what I can say for now. We have set our strategies right and we remain confident that this performance will be maintained,” Ms Zaipuna said at the weekend.

Driving the bank’s performance will be a systemized approach to service delivery, including digital loans which are codenamed ‘Mshiko Fasta’ and which allow a client to get a loan of up to Sh500,000 using a mobile phone and without visiting a bank branch.

The bank has also enhanced its agent banking proposition codenamed ‘NMB Pesa Wakala’ in an effort to boost its banking agents to 100,000 in five years.

In its digital banking approach, NMB is also promoting the use of QR and other alternative banking channels which, together, account for 94 percent of transactions, Ms Zaipuna told shareholders at the AGM. During the 22nd AGM, the NMB Bank Plc’s shareholders unanimously approved the Sh96.7 billion dividend, which translates into a dividend per share of Sh193 and commended the bank’s board, management team and employees for the registered achievements.

The Sh96.7 billion dividend payout is a 41 percent increase compared to the dividend payout of Sh68.5 billion that was paid last from the 2020 net profit.

This marks the fourth consecutive annual increase in the company’s dividend. The dividend will be paid on or about 13th June 2022.