NMB signs US$15m trade finance guarantee

LISTED financial services institution, NMB Zimbabwe, has secured a US$15 million trade finance transaction guarantee facility to unlock trade finance opportunities for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and other key sectors of the economy.

NMB Bank is working closely with the Government and international financial institutions to boost key sectors of the economy through credit facilitation.

The financing facility was signed during the first quarter ended 31 March 2024.

In a statement accompanying the company’s first quarter trade update, NMB company secretary, Ms Violet Mutandwa, said the group will continue to focus on its core business and expand its footprint in all identified growth sectors of the economy.

During the 2023-24 summer cropping season, NMB said it financed 7 100 hectares of maize and soya beans through primary producers, agro-dealers and seed houses.

“The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the group’s banking subsidiary NMB Bank Limited, signed a US$15 million Trade Finance Transaction Guarantee Facility to unlock trade finance opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises and those in the agri-business and trade distribution value chains,” said Ms Mutandwa.

“NMB Bank Limited successfully migrated to its new core banking system on the 2nd of April 2024. This was a landmark development as the bank continues to push for digital transformation on both its front and backend systems,” she added.

“The bank reviewed and revamped its policies and procedures to embed sustainability standards. We have adopted a number of standards, including the IFC performance standards and on reporting, the GRI framework.”

In June 2022, NMB launched a US$13,4 million European Investment Bank (EIB) facility to assist Bulawayo businesses that are involved in exports and expressed eagerness to scale up funding to capacitate their ventures.

The EIB extended the loan to NMB Bank as part of its private-sector lending initiative for Zimbabwe. The loan facility, which has a tenure of seven years, is available in United States dollars through the existing NMB branch network and it is in the form of short, medium, or long-term.

The bank is working on supporting the private sector, including exporters in key areas of the economy with the right type of funding and the focus of the funding facility is to support agriculture, horticulture and manufacturing exporting clients.

Ms Mutandwa said they were publishing as part of their 2023 annual report, a fully-fledged sustainability report.

Meanwhile, NMB said in inflation-adjusted terms, the group recorded an operating income growth of 203 percent during the period under review as compared to the same period last year.

Ms Mutandwa said the strong performance was anchored on increased transaction volumes, diversified product offerings and a strong balance sheet composed of United States dollar-denominated assets that drive foreign currency earnings. —@SikhulekelaniM1