CBZ opens Johannesburg office

CBZ Bank Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the diversified and listed financial services group CBZ Holdings (CBZH), has opened a new office in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa.

CBZH provides a wide range of financial services through various subsidiaries including banking, insurance, investments, asset management, wealth management, securities trading, property investments, agro-business finance, mortgages and retail finance.

Its subsidiaries are CBZ Bank, CBZ Capital, Datavest, CBZ Life, Risk Advisory Services, CBZ Insurance and Fred Sphere Finance.

CBZH is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. It has also established an offshore investment arm based in Mauritius as part of its regionalisation strategy.

The group has divided its business portfolio into four main clusters to ensure complementary businesses are grouped and their synergies exploited.

The four key business clusters are banking, investments, insurance and agriculture.

As a result, significant synergies have been unlocked both within each cluster of businesses and among the clusters themselves.

These synergies and efficiencies have been further enhanced by the CBZ group's digital strategy, which has seen significant investment in computer systems and connectivity throughout the group.

In addition, several client-facing platforms have been developed and launched, which have further improved business efficiency. It has also established an offshore asset management business as part of its strategy to expand into the region.

Consequently, this has created a one-stop shopping experience for financial services. The company has a vast branch network across Zimbabwe and offers its products and services through various digital platforms.

These platforms include CBZ internet banking, POS Machines and the company's award-winning App CBZ Touch. CBZ Touch, in particular, is an integrated app where banking, insurance and wealth management converge and transform financial services into a lifestyle.

CBZH says it is driven by a commitment to serve the broader interests of communities at large. It plays a prominent and catalytic role in furthering the country's socio-economic policies and development.

In its official profile, the bank adds that it seeks to play a role in transforming the Zimbabwean economy by encouraging economic participation of entrepreneurial businesses.

The group is currently pursuing an aggressive consolidation strategy and expanding into the region.

CBZH and First Mutual Holdings Limited (FMHL) have entered into a merger, with CBZ acquiring

a 36% stake in FMHL. This merger marks a significant milestone between the bank and insurance company, as banking and insurance are closely intertwined.

A proposal to merge six financial institutions into three big ones is also being considered in a different consolidation process from the CBZ Holdings, ZB Financial Holdings, FMHL and First Mutual Properties merger.

Government, in collaboration with local and international bankers, is working on an ambitious project to create the biggest financial services company in the country, with an asset base of over US$2.5 billion.

It will have five major divisions: banking, insurance, investment, property and agriculture.

The new mergers being considered, according to a government advisory, involve a merger of FBC Holdings Limited, in which the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) is the single largest shareholder and National Building Society (NBS), in which Nssa is the only shareholder.