Stanbic Bank pays sh2.8b dividend

Jul 30, 2006

STANBIC Bank has handed over a sh2.8b cheque to the Government as dividend payment for its 10% shareholding in the bank.

By Sylvia Juuko

STANBIC Bank has handed over a sh2.8b cheque to the Government as dividend payment for its 10% shareholding in the bank.

The bank also announced it would list on the bourse before the end of the year.
Kitili Mbathi, the managing director, handed over the dummy cheque to Dr Ezra Suruma, the finance minister at the finance ministry’s boardroom over the weekend.

Flanked by board chairman Dr. Martin Aliker, Mbathi said as part of the purchase agreement, the Government would list 10% while Stanbic would list an additional 10% on the stock exchange.

“We have commenced the process and hopefully we will list shares before end of the year. We got authority of the board to set up a listing committee comprising of the Privatisation Unit, a representative of Standard Bank Group and myself.

“We will sit in August to review proposed timetable and announce the dates,” said Mbathi.

He said the bank was looking towards providing a loan scheme for customers to acquire shares the bank plans to list.
Other products in the pipeline include the launch of debit cards, Mbathi said.

Suruma said the dividend payment reflected the bank’s profitability and said the listing would enable the public participate in the ownership of the bank.

He appealed to the bank to provide long-term funding to small and medium enterprises and pledged incentives for the initiative.

“I appeal to Stanbic to come up with new products to assist SMEs to capitalize.
“With Stanbic being the largest bank, if you take the initiative, other institutions will follow suit.

“We will be happy whatever incentives are needed to stimulate the economy,” Suruma said.

Stanbic took over the former Uganda Commercial Bank in February 2002 and has upgraded and computerised all the 66-branch network countrywide.

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