MyBucks, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany, has bought 50 percent shares in New Finance Bank (NFB) Malawi, officials from the two companies have confirmed.
The deal was unveiled yesterday in Lilongwe at a joint press conference addressed by officials from NFB and MyBucks.
This means NFB shareholders and MyBucks, which also owns 100 percent of GetBucks Malawi, are now partners in NFB Malawi Limited with each owning 50 percent stake.
NFB chairperson Francis Pelekamoyo said the partnership will not lead to any job losses as has been the trend when companies merge.
“We are not planning to retrench people because that is not the aim of the partnership. Employees from both sides remain safe and maybe with new innovations that are coming, we may need to hire more,” he said.
In his remarks, MyBucks deputy chief executive officer Tim Nuy said the acquisition of NFB shares will bring new technologies in the bank’s operations
and spread its services to every corner of the country.
“The combination of NFB’s traditional banking expertise with MyBucks’ proprietary technology will position NFB as a strong digital bank within Malawi,” he said.
Rajan Mahtani, chairperson of Finsbury Investments Limited, which owns 50 percent stake in NFB, said he hopes the partnership will increase the advantages of the bank by offering financial solutions at an affordable cost.
“We are excited about the efficiencies that MyBucks will bring to NFB through their modern technology. Combined with the ability of NFB to raise competitively priced funding, we believe that advantages will lie in providing simple financial solutions for all our clients in an easily accessible manner than our competitors,” he said.
NFB has six branches in the country, 11 automated teller machines (ATMs), 95 employees and by June 30 2017, the bank had grown its assets to K12 billion, according to bank officials.
MyBucks is a Fintech company based in Germany that embraces technology as a means of providing financial products and services to low and middle-income customer segment. n
