ECONET Wireless yesterday officially rebranded TN Bank to Steward Bank following its acquisition in January.
Tarisai Mandizha
Speaking at the official launch of the bank in Harare, chief executive officer Kwanele Ngwenya said Steward had exceeded the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) minimum capital requirements.
“The bank’s capital base now sits in excess of $75 million, ranking it among the country’s top five banks in terms of capitalisation,” Ngwenya said.
Under the phased recapitalisation strategy, banks were required to have raised at least $50 million by June 30 2013.
Ngwenya said the name change was the first step of the rebranding journey and the name Steward was chosen because it reflected the bank’s values and commitment to its customers.
“A steward denotes a custodian who grows and protects customers, resources, hence our promise, ‘your money, our commitment’,” Ngwenya said.
He said the bank’s main colour — purple — represents wealth, wisdom, dignity, royalty independence, creativity and trustworthiness. “We are committed to transform Steward Bank into an innovative, stable and dependable institution. We invite all Zimbabweans to join us in this journey to excellence.”
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The rebranding, Ngwenya said, was focused on creating and fostering a culture of excellence and innovation to guarantee an exceptional customer experience.
“The bank will, over the next few months, launch a series of innovative products and services. We are working on a seamless transition and have set up a call centre to provide an interactive platform for our customers,” Ngwenya said. He said Steward Bank was investing significantly in its human resource, adding that a new board and management team consisting of highly experienced professionals from diverse backgrounds had been put in place.
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EWZ) assumed total control of TN Bank after TN founder Tawanda Nyambirai exchanged his stake for an equivalent value of Econet shares.
EZW previously held a 45% stake in the bank, with the rest belonging to Nyambirai.
Following EWZ acquisition of TN Bank in January, Econet Wireless founder Strive Masiyiwa said on the EWZ website, TN Bank would be rebranded and repositioned in the next 12 months. It would implement a new concept of banking based on a vision that Masiyiwa has held for a long time.
Without elaborating, the entrepreneur said the bank would mobilise savings on a scale never seen before in Africa and direct money towards helping young people start businesses.
“Those are the twin pillars on which we must build the future of Africa: Savings and entrepreneurship by our young people,” Masiyiwa said.
He said there was a very methodical programme being laid out and it would emerge over the next few months, with EcoCash the mobile money service, being the centre-piece of the strategy.
