By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –
ATLAS Mara Limited has acquired Finance Bank Zambia (FBZ), to merge with Banc ABC Zambia and create one of the largest banks in the country.
Atlas Mara Limited chief executive officer John Vitalo announced the completion of its acquisition of FBZ on June 30, 2016.
Atlas Mara said that it would start the process of integrating FBZ and Atlas Mara’s existing Zambian subsidiary BancABC Zambia.
According to a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday, the company appointed Benjamin Dabrah, as the new FBZ managing director, with immediate effect.
“The acquisition of FBZ is another important step in the execution of Atlas Mara’s strategy to build sub-Saharan Africa’s premier financial institution, in part, by becoming a scale participant in our countries of operation, which this transaction will achieve for us in Zambia,” Mr Vitalo said.
Mr Vitalo  said the bank was delighted that Benjamin Dabrah, a highly accomplished banking executive had  joined as managing director of FBZ to lead the  exciting new chapter in the bank’s  history.
“We would also like to take the opportunity to thank Barkat Ali, for his leadership of FBZ over the last 35 years and for his commitment to continue to support the FBZ  leadership on an advisory basis,” he said.
Mr Vitalo said they were enthusiastic about Zambia’s long-term prospects and ability to play a leading role in the development of financial services in the country.
“While there is much to be done to fully implement our operational integration plans, we are excited about the opportunity afforded by a larger footprint in this important market for us,” he said.
The acquisition positions the combined banks as the fifth largest bank in Zambia by asset value with pro forma combined assets as at December 31, 2015 of approximately US$567 million.
The merged bank will be one of the largest banks in terms of branch footprint in Zambia with the physical presence increasing from 23 branches to 65 branches, a total of 176 ATMs and 23 agencies.
The two distinct Zambian banks will eventually be unified, enabling the group to optimise its client offering, leveraging off the effective use of innovative technologies and products.