KWANELE Ngwenya, the Chief Executive Officer of Econet Wireless owned Steward Bank is leaving the bank after two years at the helm.
The experienced South African career banker, who has previously worked for Old Mutual, Nedbank and Saambou in South Africa, was headhunted by Telecoms giant Econet from FNB Botswana where he was director of commercial segments on a two year contract.
Ngwenya elected not to renew his contract with the institution and is believed to be considering other regional opportunities closer to his family.
In a statement Thursday, Steward Bank chairman Tomisin Fashina confirmed Ngwenya’s exit.
“The Board of Directors of Steward Bank announced today (Thursday) that Mr Kwanele Ngwenya has indicated his desire not to renew his contract as Chief Executive Officer. Mr Ngwenya will step down from his position at the expiry of his contract on January 31, 2015,” Fashina said.
“We are grateful for Kwanele’ s leadership during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, during which he oversaw Steward Bank’s successful rebranding and transformation into one of the country’s leading banks.
“We wish him all the best in the next phase of his career. The Board will appoint an executive in an acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive chief executive officer.”
In a farewell communication circulated to Steward Bank staff on Thursday, Ngwenya said: “On the 1st of February 2013, I exuberantly joined Steward Bank Limited (then TN Bank Limited) and since the beginning of this journey we have collectively accomplished great achievements in an incredibly short space of time.
“We have been instrumental in the development of the financial inclusion agenda by introducing innovative products such as EcoCash$ave and EcoCashLoan$.”
He added: “Just recently, Steward Bank introduced Agent Banking, another first-in-the-market service channel and this development served as a reemphasis of the commitment to ensure that as many Zimbabweans as possible are able to access formal banking services.
“I am sincerely grateful for your support and all that we accomplished during my two year tenure. Steward Bank has and continues to transform into one of the country’s leading banks.”
Despite struggling with huge levels of non-performing loans, since takeover from TN Bank, in its half year results, Steward Bank narrowed its six-month after tax loss to $3,8 million from $22 million the previous year.Advertisement