Bramer gets new lease of life
Isaac Pinielo | Tuesday June 30, 2015 18:04
BOP is a partnership between the Botswana Public Officers Pensions Fund (BPOPF) and Capital Management Botswana (CMB) with the mandate to invest in businesses in Botswana.
Currently, Bramer Life is under statutory management following a financial scandal at its Mauritian shareholder.
Briefing the media yesterday, statutory manager, Nigel Dixon-Warren of tax and consulting firm KPMG stated that all relevant stakeholders including the relevant board, the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) and Competition Authority, have approved the shareholder takeover transaction.
“The new shareholding structure is such that citizen shareholders control 82.5 percent while non-citizen shareholders have 17.5 percent. BOP will control a 40 percent stake while CMB gets 25 percent and staff scheme is 10 percent,” he said.
He also noted that the financial soundness of Bramer Life has been restored and that the transaction has met all the financial requirements set by NBFIRA.
He said the completion of the deal paves way for the statutory management to come to an end.
Bramer Life chief executive officer (CEO), Regina Sikalesele-Vaka said the transaction means a new beginning for the policyholders, noting that the company is now in new hands and financially stable.
“There is no risk of policyholders losing their investment at this point and that policyholders can look forward to new enhanced products supported by the new shareholder. It will be able to provide more relevant solutions to suit their needs. The company will now embark on a restructuring and rebranding exercise that will bring to the market an indigenous firm with a local identity,” she revealed.
She said so far they have not encountered many policy cancellations since the scandal broke out, saying that although they experienced several initial queries, the situation normalised very quickly.
According to Sikalesele-Vaka, the company will continue with its existing products, explaining that they (existing products) have been vetted and approved by NBFIRA so they are safe to sell to the market.
“They satisfy gaps that exist in the market and the company will continue to market these products to serve the public better,” she said.
Sikalesele-Vaka stated that the current events demonstrated that the presence of a life insurance parent is no guarantee for good governance, noting that what is required is the correct level of technical competence to run a life insurance business.
“The company is an established life insurance company having been licensed by NBFIRA in 2013 as a life insurance company and it has the technical expertise necessary for the business in the form of experienced key personnel,” she said.
In addition, she said the company would strengthen its reinsurance treaties and outsource actuarial support to supplement the management expertise.
Sikalesele-Vaka said CMB brings specialised technical skills acquired from managing the asset and liability profile within the Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL) Group. CMB was born out of BIFM Capital two years ago, when its promoters Timothy Marsland and Carr parted ways with former partners, BIHL.