NMB scoops best bank award

weekly.

It is held in partnership with the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)-listed financial services powerhouse, First Capital Bank.

CBZ Bank, the flagship unit of ZSE-quoted financial services giant, CBZ Holdings Limited, was voted first runner up, with Ecobank walking away with the second runner-up award.

It was a good year for NMB Bank which also picked the financial inclusion runner-up accolade. e bank impressed adjudicators after rolling out innovations that boosted its footprint in line with the event’s theme “Ramping up Financial Inclusion, Casting the Net Wider”.

“Anchored on a strong digital footprint, cost discipline and aggressive efficient lending, NMB managed to surpass other banks in key deliverables like profitability, efficiency and shareholder value creation,” the adjudication panel said.

e panel said NMB’s innovative products and services ensured growth in its corporate and institutional depositors.

“e bank remains focused on addressing customer and staff pain points through introduction of innovative digital capabilities,” the panel said.

“Key product innovations include automated card application process, an electronic query handling platform, and numerous enhancements on the NMBConnect platform. e bank received a foreign currency line of credit from the European Investment Bank to the tune of €12,5 million, which will continue to anchor lending aggression in 2022 Q2 and first half of 2023. NMB continues to partner strategic partners in insurance, remittances, digitalisation enhancing seamless service delivery.”

Commenting on CBZ Bank, the panel said Zimbabwe’s biggest bank had also made significant inroads into digitalisation, while its bigger bias towards the country’s agricultural sector had become a cornerstone of the sector’s recovery.

e panel said on the backdrop of impressive financial intermediation, CBZ Bank had remained resilient.

“e bank has revamped its mobile banking application to provide an all-inclusive virtual banking experience comprising all digital banking services under one roof,” the panel said.

“e digitalisation thrust has immensely contributed to non-funded income, positioning the bank as a top performer for the first half of 2022. Business model diversification in various financial services lingers to provide 360-degree service provision to clients on one platform. e bank has also remained critical in ensuring increased agricultural production, championing government led agricultural finance programmes.”

“During the period, foreign exchange income for Ecobank grew by 1,16 times representing market leadership in international payments and trade finance market spaces,” the panel said.

“Ecobank, through its strong foreign footprint continues to dominate the foreign payments space in the local banking industry. e leading Pan-African Banking Group, Ecobank Group, has simplified collections across Africa through RapidCollect.

“RapidCollect enables Ecobank’s business customers to receive payments from clients in their home country and across Ecobank’s network of 33 affiliates, instantly and at a lower cost than any other current cross-border solution,” it added.

2022 bank survey winners

Financial Inclusion Award — POSB Bank Runner-up — NMB Bank

Best Digital Innovation Award — ZB Bank Runner-up — Nedbank

Social Responsibility & Sustainability Award — FBC Bank

Runner-up — POSB

Overall Corporate Governance Award—Stanbic Bank

Bank CEO of the Year — Blessing Mudavanhu.