TN Bank re-brandings to 'purple' Steward Bank

Econet Wireless Limited has change the name of its banking subsidiary, TN Bank Limited, to Steward Bank Limited, sealing the transformation of the commercial bank expected to capitalise on Econet's growing mobile money services unit, Eco-Cash.

The bank's main colour moves to purple from blue and gold, which the Bank's CEO said represents wealth, wisdom, dignity, royalty, independence, creativity and trustworthiness.

Speaking at the launch of the re-branding campaign following the change of name to Steward Bank, The bank Chief Executive Officer who was appointed in February 2013, Kwanele Ngwenya, said the group was committed to transforming the bank to an innovative, stable and dependable institution and this had been shown by the position of exceeding the RBZ minimum capital requirements ahead of time.

He said Steward Bank will, in the next few months launch a series of innovative product and services.

Ngwenya also said; "We are working on a seamless transition and have set up a call centre to provide an interactive platform to our customers."

The rebranding exercise follows the acquisition of TN Bank by Econet Wireless in January this year. The group said the name as chosen because it reflects the 'bank's' values and commitment to its customers. A steward denotes a custodian who grows and protests customer's resources, hence the promise "Your money, Our Commitment."

Ngwenya spoke proudly of the relationship with Econet saying that it was unique globally and that they would use that connection to distribute innovative products to the market.

"We are very excited to take advantage of the telecoms systems and our relationship with Econet. We are the first bank to have such a tight a relationship with (a telecoms operator) Econet," said Ngwenya.

Econet also reshuffled TN Bank's top management.

Ngwenya said the bank had invested significantly in its human resources with a new board and management team consisting of highly experienced professionals from diverse backgrounds having been put in place.

The shake-up - involving the appointment of new executives, including United Kingdom-based financial analyst Lance Mambondiani, to the bank's key positions - comes as Econet increased its shareholding to 98,6 percent in TN Bank following a cash and share swap deal in February.

Ngwenya said the top management shuffle is targeted at "maintaining momentum and ensure that the bank has the right organisational leadership in place to direct the success of its business."

"Developing an executive team with experience that spans the length and breadth of our business is an important part of managing our journey to long-term success," he said in the Bank's internal newsletter, adding that "in our current environment where technological changes require increasing flexibility and speed to market, it's even more critical that our leaders possess a broad understanding of our business and the customers we serve."