Bank - Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has appointed Mr Kwanele Ngwenya, a South African national who was at the helm of the First National Bank's operations in Botswana, as the new chief executive officer of its recently acquired TN Bank Limited.
Econet Wireless had already made sweeping changes at the bank, after taking control a few months ago. Changes have already been made at board level, after the resignation of founding director Mr Tawanda Nyambirai in December last year.
A new team of international bankers has been brought onto the bank's board.
Several other former executives, including the bank's former CEO Mr George Nyashanu, who has been re-assigned within Econet Wireless Services, have also left the financial institution since its acquisition by Econet Wireless.
Mr Ngwenya, a veteran banker, was headhunted by an international agency after Econet Wireless decided that it wants to turn TN Bank into one of the leading banks in the country.
The mobile telecommunications operator says it wants to introduce a new model of banking in the country which uses the synergies of its telecoms business.
TN Bank delisted from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange on Monday after 96,3 percent of the bank's minority shareholders accepted an offer from Econet Wireless Zimbabwe to acquire their shareholding in the financial institution.
An overwhelming majority of the TN Bank shareholders accepted the offer by the telecomunications group to buy them out of TN Bank Limited.
According to preliminary returns, 96 percent of the minority shareholders accepted the Econet offer, while 99 percent of those shareholders who accepted the offer opted for shares rather than cash.
The acquisition of the bank will also enable the bank to meet the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's new minimum capital threshold of US$100 million without difficulty.
The Herald/13/02/2013