Pelaelo implores Stanbic to list on BSE
Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday March 28, 2017 18:00
Speaking at the bank’s 25th anniversary celebrations held recently, Pelaelo applauded Stanbic for the role it played in the development of the local banking industry and thus contributing to the economy, but said ‘there was one missing part of this good story’.
“Unlike its peers, Stanbic is not listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange. The non-existence of the bank on the domestic bourse could be misinterpreted to mean lack of long-term commitment and willingness to have the Botswana public participate in the ownership of the bank.
“This point assumes particular significance in the context of a country where all the 10 licensed commercial banks are subsidiaries of foreign-owned entities,” he said. Pelaelo was, however, quick to state that, as consistent with accepted best governance norms, the central bank does not prescribe that the shares of banks operating in Botswana be listed on the domestic stock exchange. Among the country’s top four banks, with assets over P10 billion, Stanbic is the only one that is not listed on the local bourse.
Stanbic is owned by JSE-listed Standard Bank, which is Africa’s largest bank by assets.
Standard Bank’s other subsidiaries in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda are listed on domestic bourses while a few in countries such as Zimbabwe are not.
Stanbic Botswana’s asset base has grown significantly from P138 million in 1998 to P12 billion as at December 2016 and in the same period the bank has consistently made profits with its net income after tax increasing from P2.2 million in 1993 to P192 million in 2016.
According to Pelaelo, the bank is regarded as one of the systematically important domestic banks operating in the country with a 15% market share of total banking industry assets and deposits, adding that the bank is now ranked fourth among the 10 commercial banks operating in the country in terms of staffing, branch network, capital and deposit liabilities.
“From a modest beginning with only 24 employees in 1993, Stanbic Bank currently employs over 600 staff members across 10 branches and serves in excess of 80,000 retail and business customers,” he said.
The governor further applauded the bank for localising main positions like that of the CEO, which was done in 2008 by the appointment of Leina Gabaraane while the majority of the bank’s board members, about six out of 10 of them are locals as well as 80% of the senior management positions being occupied by citizens.
Stanbic Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Standard Bank Group, the largest Pan African banking group by assets amounting to P1.6 trillion. According to the governor, this places the group in an advantageous position to fill the gap that may be left by some global banks as they decide to move out from certain markets, a process referred to as regulatory deconsolidation or global de-risking.
“In contrast to such disengagement, we recently witnessed Stanbic Bank playing a leading role in the syndicated facility for the financing of the Morupule Power Station project,” he said.