MANAGING DIRECTOR WA NBC AREJESHWA KAZINI

On 19^th July 2012, the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Commerce announced that Mr Lawrence Mafuru, the Managing Director of National Bank of Commerce had been requested and accepted to go on leave in order to allow investigations into irregularities allegedly perpetrated at the Bank.

The allegations which originated from a whistleblower report raised issues around irregular governance practices, fraud and corruption against the NBC Executive Management team. Driven by the values of the Bank and need to maintain high standards of good corporate governance the Board of Directors of National Bank of Commerce initiated thorough investigations into all the issues raised by the whistleblower with a view of establishing the validity of the allegations for appropriate actions to be taken.

Speaking about the investigation, the Chairman of the NBC Board of Directors Dr Mussa Juma Assad said, I am pleased to say that the Board has resolved appropriately all the matters arising out of the investigation and that Mr Mafuru will be returning to work immediately.’’

Dr Assad further said that, “it was a necessary process for all the stakeholders in our business, be they customers, employees, shareholders, regulators and the public at large, that a thorough investigation take place to ensure that our executive management is indeed running the bank in accordance with the best corporate governance processes.’’

Mr Mafuru, who has returned to work after a two month leave said, ‘’I am very happy that we have reached this point. As I pointed out previously, after investigations, our customers, employees, shareholders, regulators and the public will have a lot more confidence in NBC. Although this was a difficult period of my career, I remain very positive that this process was necessary for the interest of an organisation that embraces good governance practices. We will put all this behind us now and focus on what we do best and that is serving our customers through our conveniently placed delivery channels across the country.’’