Rhobank shares ‘take-over bid’

The Herald, December 16, 1980

THE world’s largest commercial bank, the Bank of America, is negotiating to buy Nedbank of South Africa’s 61 percent stake in its Zimbabwe subsidiary, Rhobank, says a report in the current issue of The Banker.

According to the influential magazine, Nedbank is keen to sell its slice of Rhobank, which, with 61 percent of deposits, is Zimbabwe’s third largest bank.

The Banker comments that as Zimbabwe’s Government is no longer a potential buyer of the Nedbank interest in Rhobank – having linked instead with Arab-controlled Bank of Credit and Commerce International – the Bank of America is the likely candidate.

“We understand deliberations are very much under way,” it says.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Rhobank has evolved to Zimbank or ZB Financial Holding Limited or just ZB. It is one of the largest banks in Zimbabwe.
Shareholding of business entities is very interesting, and also affected by a number of factors: takeovers, mergers, liquidations and acquisitions.
Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), founded in 1972, had a branch in Zimbabwe (BCCZ), which was liquidated a decade after Zimbabwe’s independence.
In 1991, the Zimbabwe Government, “saved the BCCZ from collapse by acquiring total shareholding in the Bank. BCCZ acquired a new identity as Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ)”.
Despite the American interest in Rhobank, the US government placed ZB on its illegal sanctions in 2008, and only removed them on October 4, 2016.
Despite its interest to sell off 66 percent of its shareholding, Nedbank Zimbabwe Limited remains very much a part of Zimbabwe’s banking sector, showing that no man is an island. The Zimbabwean/South African economies are intertwined, an issue that many people in both countries are not fully aware of.
The emergence of ICTs has forced the banking sector to diversify and move away from traditional banking practices.
Econet Wireless with their Ecocash services have pulled down the walls in the banking sector, indirectly offering different services. This innovation has given traditional banks a run for their money.