Africa’s best bank transformation 2018: First Merchant Bank

Awards for Excellence 2018

This year’s winner of Africa’s best bank transformation is a bank that, although small, has made big changes so that it is ready for growth and a more international future.

That bank is Malawi’s First Merchant Bank. Although its profit before tax only amounted to $14 million in 2017, its purchases of Barclays Zimbabwe and Opportunity Bank in Malawi in October last year point to a daring willingness to expand into new markets, while further securing its dominant status in its home market.