The Reserve Bank of Malawi has granted Centenary Group a license to carry out banking operations in Malawi.
This development makes Centenary the first locally established financial institution to push its brand outside the borders of East Africa.
In a statement, Centenary said the new bank will carry the name; Centenary Bank Limited. Centenary Group will hold majority stake and the Catholic Church Archdiocese of Lilongwe in Malawi keeping a minority stake in the bank’s shares.
The value of the transaction was not revealed. However, reports show that MyBucks Banking Corporation assets were worth about 122 billion Malawi Kwacha (about $120m or sh444b).
With a total asset base of nearly $30m (sh111b), the Catholic Archdiocese owns several institutions in Malawi, including education institutions, hospitals and companies, in addition to owning several commercial properties.
Currently, the Archdiocese covers seven districts of Malawi’s Central Region with seven ecclesiastical deaneries, 46 parishes and 620 outstations.
In Uganda Centenary Group owns; Centenary Rural Development Bank, Centenary Technology Services Limited, and Centenary Foundation with total assets worth about sh5.5 trillion.
“We are excited that we have been granted a license to commence banking operations. We thank the Reserve Bank of Malawi for all the support it has extended to us. Centenary Bank will from the onset adopt an agile approach to operations, scaling customer-centric propositions that will allow the Bank to create highly personalized solutions and regain their position within the Malawi market,” Prof Ddumba-Ssentamu, Centenary Group Chairperson, said.
The Group also has plans to for further expansion to South Sudan and the DRC within the East African Community.
Source: New Vision