TANZANIA – NMB Bank, the leading commercial bank in Tanzania, has announced the appointment of Ruth Zaipuna as its Chief Executive Officer.

In a statement the bank said Ms Zaipuna has made a significant contribution in its strategy, governance, cost efficiency and overall leadership of the bank.

Ruth becomes the first Tanzanian CEO to head Tanzania’s most profitable and leading bank in the country, having served as the Acting CEO for a year.

“Ruth has been instrumental during the transition period and a key player in the growth realisation of NMB. Now, with full responsibility of the leadership of the bank, she will continue to drive the strong performance agenda of NMB towards a sustainable delivery of its strategic objectives,” wrote the Bank’s Board Chairman, Dr. Edwin Mhede.

Ruth started her career in 2002 at Price water house Coopers (PwC) where for a decade she specialized in the audit of banks and other financial institutions.

At PwC, Ruth rose through the ranks to the level of Associate Director. Ruth demonstrated great professionalism and technical ability in her work and she was entrusted to lead some of the most complex assignments of the firm.

She left the firm in August 2011, to take up the position of the Executive Director Finance and Chief Financial Officer at Standard Chartered Bank.

In July 2017, Ruth took on additional responsibilities combining her role in Tanzania with that of Business Finance Lead for the East African cluster, overseeing and leading the Bank’s business finance activities in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

“Ruth has been instrumental during the transition period and a key player in the growth realisation of NMB. Now, with full responsibility of the leadership of the bank, she will continue to drive the strong performance agenda of NMB towards a sustainable delivery of its strategic objectives.”

Dr Edwin Mhede, NMB Bank Chairman

Ruth joined NMB Bank from Standard Chartered Bank as Chief Financial Officer, towards the end of June 2018.

Besides her current role, Ruth has been leading the Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA) Tax Group.

Ruth is also an Independent Non-Executive Director for Tanzania Portland Cement Company Limited (TPCC) and an AGM member at Legal Services Facility, an independent basket fund, non-profit organization that strives to increase access to justice for all, in particular for women, through a legal empowerment approach.

She is an Associate Certified Public Accountant (ACPA (T)) and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and a Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com) degree in Accounting both from the University of Dar es Salaam.

NMB Bank Plc has also handed-over TSh15.2 Billion (US$6.55m) dividend to the government. Ms Ruth Zaipuna said the dividend channelled to the government is part of the 31.8% shares it holds in NMB.

In June this year, at the Annual General Meeting held in Dar es Salaam, shareholders approved TSh 48 Billion dividend to be distributed to shareholders. In addition to the dividend, NMB Bank paid over TSh170.8 Billion (US$73.62m) to the government as taxes ranging from PAYE, Corporate Tax, Skills and Development Levy, Excise Duty and VAT on services.

“We are a reliable and stable bank focusing on innovation and technology with a strong balance sheet,” said Ms Zaipuna, adding that the current country’s business environment provides enormous opportunities of which NMB with the largest network and invested digital banking solutions is ideally positioned to support the citizens and business community in reaching their goals.

Receiving the dividend, the Minister for Finance and Planning, Hon. Dr. Philip Mpango said he was happy to continuously receive a growing dividend from NMB, calling other companies in which the government has shares to emulate the practice shown by the bank.

“NMB is leading by example, they have been a leading profitable bank in the Banking Sector in Tanzania. NMB is capitalizing on opportunities available in the country to do sound and profitable business,” said Dr Mpango.

NMB is one of the government’s privatized companies that has been making profits consistently for the past 11 years. NMB Bank, in this time frame has paid over TSh134Billion (US$57.76m) in dividend to the Government.

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