National Bank of Malawi shareholders are mad about their Tanzanian operation losing money again. Akiba Commercial Bank keeps bleeding cash and investors want answers fast. The bank's annual meeting at the Leadership Centre in Blantyre turned heated when people demanded action. Joe Maere spoke for angry shareholders who like NBM's profits but hate Akiba's problems. Management promised a rescue plan to fix the struggling subsidiary.
Board chief Jimmy Lipunga admitted shareholders have good reason to worry about the mess. He blamed old bad loans for dragging down Akiba's numbers. The Tanzanian bank is still building up its business and hasn't launched new products. Lipunga thinks better days are coming for the troubled operation. He insists the business can make money once they clear out the garbage loans.
NBM made huge profits of K101.71 billion despite Akiba's disasters. Happy shareholders approved a fat dividend payout of K28.6 billion. Each share gets K61.25 from the final dividend payment. The total yearly payout reached K59 billion or K126.35 per share. Investors celebrated the massive returns from their main business.
Lipunga wrapped up his three years as chairman with mixed feelings about his time. He felt proud of NBM's historic K100.1 billion profit milestone. His biggest disappointment was failing to promote more women into top management roles. The outgoing chairman said the bank still needs to work harder on gender equality. He believes this issue deserves serious attention from future leaders.
Board chief Jimmy Lipunga admitted shareholders have good reason to worry about the mess. He blamed old bad loans for dragging down Akiba's numbers. The Tanzanian bank is still building up its business and hasn't launched new products. Lipunga thinks better days are coming for the troubled operation. He insists the business can make money once they clear out the garbage loans.
NBM made huge profits of K101.71 billion despite Akiba's disasters. Happy shareholders approved a fat dividend payout of K28.6 billion. Each share gets K61.25 from the final dividend payment. The total yearly payout reached K59 billion or K126.35 per share. Investors celebrated the massive returns from their main business.
Lipunga wrapped up his three years as chairman with mixed feelings about his time. He felt proud of NBM's historic K100.1 billion profit milestone. His biggest disappointment was failing to promote more women into top management roles. The outgoing chairman said the bank still needs to work harder on gender equality. He believes this issue deserves serious attention from future leaders.
