Maputo, July 29, 2024 (Lusa) - The profits of Mozambican bank Millennium BIM, the country's second-largest, led by Portugal's BCP, fell by more than 4% in the first half of the year, compared to the same period in 2023, to 3.225 billion meticais (€46.6 million).
According to the interim report and accounts, which Lusa saw on Monday, this performance contrasts with the net profit of almost 3.367 billion meticais in the first half of 2023.
Millennium BIM's total assets grew by 4.6 % by the end of June, to just under 200 billion meticais (€2.88 billion), but in this case compared to the end of 2023, while total liabilities grew by 7.5 %, to 165 billion meticais (€2.387 billion).
On 9 May, the Bank of Mozambique approved the proposal by Millennium BIM's shareholders to appoint new governing bodies, with Moisés Jorge now chairing the board of directors.
In a statement, Millennium Banco Internacional de Moçambique (BIM) announced the decision at the time and recalled that Moisés Jorge is a senior member of the institution, having been part of the team that launched the bank the following year in 1994, and that this appointment "reflects the commitment" to a "culture of merit and valorisation of its staff".
Millennium BIM then announced João Cunha Martins' resignation as chairman of the executive committee "for personal reasons".
"His commitment to excellence and his leadership skills have been invaluable to the bank at a crucial time in the development and growth of the Mozambican economy," reads the same statement. It adds that BIM has “already begun the selection process” for a new chairman of the executive committee and is “committed to ensuring that the transition will be smooth and efficient.”
During the "transition period", the current chief financial officer (CFO), Rui Maximino, "will assume the responsibilities of chairman of the government committee on an interim basis".
As of 30 June 2024, the bank had a share capital of 4.5 billion meticais (€65.7 million), the majority of which was held by BCP Africa (Millennium BCP group), with 66.69%. The State of Mozambique (17.12%), the Mozambican National Social Security Institute (4.95%), and Empresa Moçambicana de Seguros (4.15%), among others, also contributed to the bank's share capital.
The changes to the management structure, which took effect in May, came seven days after the central bank appointed its own resident inspector at BIM to monitor the payment system and the business model.
In a statement, the central bank said that the resident inspector, Hélder Manuel Chachuaio Muianga, began his duties on 2 May. This decision falls within the field of "supervision", but says that the bank "remains solid and stable".
According to the statement, "The resident inspector will, among other tasks, monitor the bank's payment system, business model, and strategy, monitor and analyse developments in the bank's management and internal control system, and participate in relevant meetings of the collegiate bodies. '
In May, Millennium BIM published an apology to customers for the various anomalies in the use of cards, ATMs, and POS in recent days.
These problems apparently involved the new interbank network in Mozambique and have affected several other banks, prompting widespread complaints from customers and businesspeople about payment difficulties.
"Our teams have been working intensively to resolve these problems. At the moment, the situation has been normalised, and services have been restored. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure their availability," reads the same message from Millennium BIM.
According to the report and accounts Lusa reported earlier, BIM's profits increased by 8.2% in 2023 compared to the previous year to 7.211 billion meticais (€104.3 million).
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
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