The Bank of Mozambique (BoM) announced on Thursday 13 February that it has withdrawn the resident inspector who had been appointed to work at Standard Bank, as it considers that the banking institution has made significant progress in the culture of risk, governance and internal control.
‘This decision stems from the effective collaboration of Standard Bank, SA and its shareholder, as well as the significant progress made in the institution’s risk culture, governance and internal controls,’ said the institution in a statement consulted by Diário Económico.
However, despite the positive results, the BoM clarified that Standard Bank remains subject to supervision in accordance with the procedures applied to other banking institutions in Mozambique.
In October last year, the central bank appointed Cláudio Júlio Mangue, a senior member of its staff, to the position of resident inspector at Standard Bank with the aim of ensuring its monitoring.
At the time, the BoM justified the appointment with the need to ‘ensure continuous, objective and impartial monitoring of the activities of credit institutions and financial companies, preserving the interests of customers and ensuring the stability of the financial system.’
Standard Bank Moçambique is a private bank set up in 1967 and headquartered in Maputo. Its parent company and majority shareholder is Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited, an investment bank incorporated in the United Kingdom which holds a stake equivalent to 98.15 per cent of the share capital and wholly owned by Standard Bank Group. The remaining 1.85 per cent of the Mozambique branch’s capital is held by minority shareholders.
The Bank of Mozambique had previously appointed resident inspectors for Banco Comercial e de Investimentos, S.A (BCI), Millennium bim and Absa Bank Mozambique, SA.
In 2024, the central bank considered BCI, Millennium bim and Standard Bank to be the country’s three systemic banks, similar to the 2023 classification. Moza and Absa were classified as the two quasi-systemic banks in the national financial system.
In the first half of last year, the profits of the five largest Mozambican banks grew 9.5 per cent to 12.4 billion meticals (192.4 million dollars), with Standard Bank leading the way, as its profits had risen 3 per cent to 3.9 billion meticals (60 million dollars).
Text: Cleusia Chirindza
