Tetrad Bank gets foreign investor

Published: 28 April 2014

Tetrad Investment Bank could finally have got the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe off its back after completing a deal to bring in an investor.

Tetrad was one of the seven banks that were being monitored by the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe after failing to meet initial benchmarks of the central bank's staggered minimum capital requirements for commercial banks.

The bank was also suffering from a high level of non-performing loans.

According to a 2012 directive, commercial banks should have minimum capitalisation of $100 million by 2014, which was however extended to 2020.

Tetrad Holdings Ltd today confirmed that it had sold its controlling stake in Tetrad Investment Bank to an unnamed investor.

Market sources however maintain that the investor is a Russian-based financial services company who have acquired the controlling stake to the tune of $50 million.

In a cautionary to shareholders today, the group said: "The board of Tetrad Holdings Ltd is pleased to advise that an agreement of sale for a controlling stake in its subsidiary company, Tetrad Investment Bank Limited, has been reached.

"The investor will inject new capital into Tetrad Investment Bank Limited, creating a strong foundation for the institution going forward."

The bank has in recent times faced liquidity challenges with some of its clients claiming to having failed to access their deposits.

In view of the concluded deal, the group said a meeting of shareholders will be convened in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Association and the Companies Act.

With Tetrad Bank now majority-owned by a foreign company, indigenisation compliance will not be an issue as Government has said it will allow foreign-owned banks to maintain their shareholding for the foreseeable future.

"I am quite comfortable with foreign ownership in the banks because at this time our people have no capacity to buy equity," Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told Reuters last week.
- BH24

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