Financial institutions challenged to steer investment value addition
As part of celebrations marking 10th anniversary of operation for Continental Discount House (CDH) Investment Bank, Bankers Association of Malawi (BAM) has implored on financial institutions to help the country deal away with the current economic shocks that has engulfed the economy and crippled development investments.
BAM chairperson, Liness Mkungula made the call on Saturday at Bingu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe at gala dinner organised to mark celebrations of CDH Investment Bank’s 10 years of value contribution in capital investments, saying banks and other financial institutions have a role to play at a time Malawi is sailing through economic challenges by among other things, instilling a saving and investing culture to the public.
“CDH investment Bank has helped quite a lot in terms of development of this nation,” Mkungula said. “And its not the only bank, all the other banks are not resting — they’re working day and night, complimenting government efforts to ensure that the country has enough forex.
“Apart from working on forex scarcity, banks are working with the private sector to address different urgent development needs for this country.”
Mkungula added that financial institutions should turn into creative minds if the country is to sustain the current economic shocks.
“In these times of deep world economic difficulty, many governments and private companies look to the creative minds of investment bankers to provide advice and structure problem solving solutions that will help relieve economic challenges” she said.
CDH bank Chief Executive Officer, Kwame Ahadzi has admitted that banks are not doing enough in addressing economic challenges and developing the nation.
“We haven’t arrived there yet, they are certain pockets that haven’t felt our presence — that’s what we need to do in the next 10 years to make sure that we touch as many lives as possible.
“It is a question of identifying weakness areas and repositioning ourselves and help the nascent companies to grow as fast as possible,” he said.
CDH opened its doors in Malawi in 1998 before turning to an Investment Bank in 2012 and as part of the celebrations which are taking place across the country, CDH is awarding longest serving employees for taking a leading role in creating value.
