NMB boss exits as top banks seek to realign
Dar es Salaam. NMB Bank managing director Ineke Bussemaker is leaving next month after four years of working in Tanzania.
The bank’s board of directors announced yesterday that Ms Bussemaker will be taking a new assignment at Rabobank in the Netherlands.
“During her four years, the bank has become by far the most profitable bank in the country, has developed a very successful digital strategy and has significantly contributed to growing financial inclusion to all Tanzanians,” the board said in a statement.
Ms Bussemaker said she was happy with the achievements at the bank in terms of growth and successful business.
“I will be leaving with a proud and humble feeling that together we have accomplished a lot in these four year,” stated Ms Bussemaker.
Her departure has come as a surprise considering the fact that no succession plan has been made public. The Board’s statement could not say whether Ms Bussemaker’s end of tenure was due to the expiry of her contract or not.
But in a message on her departure, the outgoing NMB CEO said: “In order to ensure an orderly handover and continuity in the strategy direction of the bank, the board of directors is in the process of identifying a successor and the effective date of the successor’s role will be subject to the Bank of Tanzania and other regulatory approvals.”
Analysts, on the other hand, see her departure as part of a larger trend of changes in leadership in the largest local banks. This could be part of the banks’ realignment in the face of new banking realities in the country.
In October, CRDB Bank PLC appointed Abdulmajid Nsekela as new chief executive officer, taking over from Dr Charles Kimei who went on retirement, after more than two decades at the helm of the bank.
Early this November, the National Bank of Commerce approved Mr Theobald Sabi as its managing director after acting in the position since June last year. And now, NMB, the largest bank in terms of assets (Sh5.4 trillion) joins the move with the departure of Ms Bussemaker.
“It’s just a coincidence because there are always inward and outward movements of people. What actually surprised me is the NMB’s succession space. The notice is too short. I’m also surprised to see the captain leaving when there is storm,” said economist Abel Kinyondo from Repoa – a research think tank in Tanzania referring to the challenges facing the banks in Tanzania.
Prof Delphin Rwegasira of the University of Dar es Salaam’s Economics Department says Tanzanian banks are now turning around from NPLs and credit crunch and that the future of the sector is bright.
“We are in a transition period during which banks are slowing their profitability due to changes in the economic administration but looking at what the regulator is doing, the sector’s future is good,” he said.
According to him, the change of individual bank management has nothing to do with structural challenges but rather a case-by-case issue. “CRDB, NBC and NMB change of bosses have different historical contexts and it’s just normal. After all, the banks are now turning around from a bad situation. So, generally speaking, I don’t see any crisis or any push for structural change,” said Prof Rwegasira.
The Tanzanian banking sector comes from upheavals that were reflected by high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) and a drop in profitability. Though some experts said the decrease in money in circulation (tight liquidity stance) was a major reason, other commentators said imprudent lending policies were also to blame for high NPLs.
“The banking sector is still in shock and this is the time experienced bankers are needed to rescue the lenders,” said Kinyondo.
NMB recorded a profit-after-tax of Sh95 billion for the year ending 31 December 2017, down from Sh154 billion reported for the same period in 2016.
The decrease reflected setbacks faced by the bank customers.
Ms Bussemaker who has over 30 years of experience in banking, joined NMB as chief executive in May 2015. She held various senior positions in corporate banking, transaction banking and e-Business in Citigroup, ABN AMRO and Rabobank. She had previously worked in the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK.
