Stanbic named 'Bank of the Year'

Daily News; Monday,December 22, 2008

The Stanbic Bank (Tanzania) Limited has been named as the 'Bank of the Year' for Tanzania at the Banker Awards of 2008 ceremony held in London recently, the bank's Managing Director, Mr Bashir Awale, has said.

Mr Awale said in a statement issued in Dar es Salaam yesterday that Standard Bank, the parent company of Stanbic Bank (T), also saw further recognition for its excellence in emerging markets winning ten awards, including the prestigious African Bank of the Year.

He said Standard Bank, whose operations extend to 38 countries and with total assists of 174 billion US dollars was also named Bank of the Year for Botswana, Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, reinforcing its position as Africa's leading bank.

The statement quoted Mr Clive Tasker, the Standard Bank Chief Executive for Africa as saying that 2008 has been a milestone year for Standard Bank and such awards reflect the bank's position not only as the bank of choice in Africa, but also as one of the world's leading emerging market banks.

Each year 'The banker', the pre-eminent publication on the banking sector, acknowledges banks for the best overall performance by country and region, with the winners chosen based on analysis of their financial results, as well as their strategic development and overall achievements in the year.

Stanbic Bank Tanzania Limited is a full commercial services bank with a well defined emphasis on providing facilities and services to the public and private sector corporations, airlines, diplomatic mission, pension funds and non governmental organizations. On the other hand, Standard Bank is currently the largest African banking groups in terms of assets, geographic spread and market capitalization. It employs more than 44,301 people worldwide and has an asset based of over 174 million US dollars.

The bank further operates in 18 countries in 18 African countries and over 20 countries around the globe. With more than a century of experience of African business, the bank is the continent's dominant banking institution. Mr Awale said that since its establishment in Tanzania in 1994 after buying out Meridian Biao Bank, Stanbic Bank (T), has been at the forefront in the development of the country's financial markets.