News

The victims of cyclone Gombe and tropical storm Ana, which recently affected the province of Nampula, have continued to receive support to minimise the suffering to which they are currently subjected.

On Monday, Moza Banco delivered food products consisting of cooking oil and butter beans to the Secretary of State in Nampula province. This act is part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, which has one of its main focuses on developing activities that contribute to the economic and social progress of the communities where the bank operates.

The CEO of Moza Banco, Manuel Soares, says that “We decided to implement this initiative because we want to contribute to alleviating the suffering of the families affected. Our commitment is to the well-being of Mozambicans and to the continuous improvement of people's quality of life. We are aware that our gesture, in itself, will not effectively resolve the problem, but we believe it is a significant contribution to this great struggle for continuous improvement in their quality of life.” 

The Secretary of State for Nampula Mety Gondola, welcomed Moza Banco's initiative, saying that, “We express our deep gratitude and satisfaction on behalf of the people of Nampula. This support is important because it comes in response to the problems of those families affected by tropical cyclone Gombe and tropical storm Ana, and who at this time are still getting back on their feet. The help from Moza Banco will be very useful and we will reach the families who are currently facing difficulties.”

The donated goods have already been delivered to the National Institute of Natural Disaster Management (INGD), to be immediately forwarded to the affected families.

In Nampula province. Cyclone Gombe and tropical storm Ana affected over 642,000 people, mostly in coastal districts and caused around 53 deaths.

Moza Banco on Monday delivered medicines and surgical equipment to the provincial hospital of Chimoio, Manica province, comprising several types of medicines that will benefit over 600 patients.

This act fits in with Moza Banco's Social Responsibility Policy, which has one of its main focuses on developing activities that contribute to the economic and social progress of the communities where the Bank operates, thereby fostering sustainable relationships with its stakeholders.

During his speech, the CEO of Moza Banco, Manuel Soares, said that, “It is with great satisfaction that we are here today, to make the formal delivery of medicines and medical material for surgery such as syringes, serum systems, devices for the diagnosis of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, psychiatric disorders and newborn prophylaxis. This material will benefit over 600 patients at this Hospital. By granting this support, the Bank expects to improve Manica Provincial Hospital’s response capacity, thereby increasing the availability and accessibility of these medications to more people. On the other hand, we hope to contribute to strengthening the means for the diagnosis of chronic diseases. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal for a rational and sustainable use of the resources made available here, so that they benefit the largest number of people”.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State for Manica, Edson Macuacua, welcomed the initiative from Moza Banco, saying, “We would like to express our sincere thanks for the kind and important donation made by Moza Banco to the Provincial Hospital of Chimoio, which will be applied in the pursuit of our institutional objectives, as we know that for a country like ours, the participation from everyone remains key“.

Moza Banco’s CEO concluded his speech by stating that “we are aware that these simple contributions will not solve all the hospital's problems, but we believe that it is an important step in the direction we want: to give health back to patients and improve the quality of life of Mozambicans in general”.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development through the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Moza Banco have just signed an Agreement for the Management of a Rural Enterprise Finance Project Fund (REFP) to September 2024.

This is a project whose objective is to contribute to the improvement of household livelihoods in rural areas, as well as to increase the availability of access and adaptive use - accessible, innovative and appropriate - of sustainable and inclusive financial services as well as technical support services.

To achieve the outlined objectives the project will be implemented through three technical components, with emphasis on the component of improved access to adaptable financial services for rural entrepreneurs, consisting of a Programme for Graduation, Innovation and Expansion Promotion, an Investment Mobilisation Fund and a Credit Line, all to be under Moza’s management.

Following the signing of the contract, Avelino Jeque, the Director of International Investment Banking at Moza Banco, assured Rigour, Transparency, Integrity and Ethics in the management of the funds received, “and prudential management in line with best practices, principles and values, underlying the way Moza Banco is and operates. It is our objective, as a Bank of and for Mozambicans, with a profound knowledge of the local reality, to play an active role in the country's development, collaborating with various entities, and in particular with the Mozambican Government at all levels to achieve this goal,” Jeque concluded.

Meanwhile, the coordinator of the Rural Venture Finance Project, Rufino Duvane, said that the signing of the contract with Moza Banco as the fund manager for the Rural Venture Finance Project (REFP), is a big step towards the materialisation of the project objectives, which will allow the achievement of the main goal which is the access to financial services by rural entrepreneurs, "therefore, we would like to congratulate the REFP team, the management of MADER and Moza Banco. We hope that in the short term the results of this agreement can be achieved with the conviction and the certainty that Moza Banco will know how to lead this to a successful outcome".

The representative of Moza Banco likewise congratulated the Government and other partners for their commitment and for their vision reflected by the strong investment in this component, that has already been presenting concrete and encouraging results, "we expect the Rural Enterprises Financing Project to be an irreversible gain in this area".

The Fernando Leite Couto Foundation and Moza Banco announced on Monday, the winners of the literary award that in this edition was dedicated to prose (novel, novella, short story and chronicles). These are the authors Maya Ângela Macuácua, author of a novel entitled “Diamantes pretos em meio a cristais” (“Black Diamonds amid Crystals”), and Geremias José Mendoso, with the collection of short stories “Quando os mochos piam” (“When the owls hoot“).

Both winners were chosen ahead of candidates such as: Fernanda Vitorino do Rosário Mualeia João, with the novel "Amor em tempos incertos" (“Love in uncertain times”); Wasquete Jasse Fernando, with the novel "Noites de desassossego" (“Restless nights”) and Adelino Albano Luís, with the short story book "Estórias trazidas pela ventania" (Stories brought by the wind”), who were the remaining three finalists of the Fernando Leite Couto Literary Prize.

The jury, composed of Conceição Siopa, Conceição Ciueia, Albino Macuácua and José dos Remédios under the leadership of the author Francisco Noa, decided to attribute the prize to the aforementioned authors as “besides having fulfilled the defined criteria, the novel "Diamantes pretos em meio a cristais" presents an innovative perspective by the way it distributes the stories in different temporal and spatial dimensions, with different characters, but with a common denominator that is related to human suffering. As for the collection of short stories "Quando os mochos piam", a strong ironic tone prevails, making the stories oscillate between the tragic and the hilarious, with a marked inspiration from oral tradition and everyday events,” the jury chairperson, Francisco Noa, said.

On the occasion, representing Moza Banco, Executive Committee member Sérgio Ribeiro, said that the award, besides honouring and exalting the legacy of the Foundation's patron, a figure whose career and work history is saddled with elevating, also boosts the emergence of young talent, rewarding young people who stand out in the area of creative writing.

“Our words at this moment are of joy and congratulation to the young authors Maya Angela Macuacua and Geremias Mendoso who, with the quality of content they presented, have overcome the strong competition and become the big winners of this edition. We hope that they continue on a successful path and that, inspired by the great names of Mozambican literature, they can give us more literary works.”

The big winners of the literary prize received a monetary award, offered by Moza Banco, which also sponsors the printing of the works submitted in the competition.

Since its creation, the Fernando Leite Couto Prize has already had two winners, namely, Macvildo Pedro Bonde, with the poetry collection “Descrição das Sombras” ("Description of Shadows"), in 2017, and Otildo Justino Guido, with the work “O Silêncio da Pele” ("Silence of the Skin"), in 2019.

In 2018, the jury decided not to award the prize, as none of the candidates met the quality requirements demanded by the award criteria.

Despite the markedly challenging context, Moza Banco continued to focus in 2021 on the improvement and consolidation of key economic and financial indicators.  This is the understanding of the Moza Banco’s Shareholders following the Session of the Ordinary General Meeting, which took place this Thursday 31^st March, a meeting in which the Management Report and the Financial Statements for 2021 were reviewed and approved.

The growth recorded in indicators such as Solidity and Liquidity in its Gross Operating Results and in the Provisions and Non-Performing Loans Coverage denote the commitment assumed by the Bank in the continuous improvement of its management mechanisms, with a view to achieving continued effective stability.

Without losses in the recent past, Moza Banco continued, in the financial year 2021, committed to the consolidation process initiated in recent years.

“The financial year just ended was adverse and once again we had to reinvent ourselves. It served to reaffirm our commitment to consolidating key economic and financial indicators. Notwithstanding the adversities, we have witnessed notable achievements mirrored above all by the growth recorded in indicators such as solidity and liquidity, in gross operating income and in the coverage of Non-Performing Loans.  The recovery and clean-up process is moving in the right direction, so there should be no doubt as to the intended objectives” João Figueiredo, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Moza Banco, said.  

In the year under review, the Bank focused on permanently regaining the trust of the market and its customers, in order to build a stable and continuously growing deposit portfolio; rebuilding the loan portfolio, fine-tuning risk management policy with regard to new operations, but also making a major effort to recover and manage non-performing loans or those showing signs of fragility; and finally, maintaining a strong containment and rationalisation of operating costs.

Moza Banco was also committed to modernising and implementing technological systems that ensure better monitoring of risk management in all aspects of banking operations, a differentiating factor in the supply of products and services, embodying the slogan of "greater proximity" to customers, ease of communication and transactions.  There was also an increase in cross-selling, with greater penetration in customer assets by providing a range of products and services adapted to the needs of each segment and resulting in an increase in loyalty.

“In terms of credit risk management, the Bank has made a great effort in the recovery and management of non-performing loans, within the framework of its strategic guidelines and which has resulted in an improvement in the levels of non-performing loans, with a reduction of 16%", Moza Banco’s Board Chairman added.

Despite the challenging context, the Bank maintained its record growth, as a result of the trust deposited by its customers, partners and stakeholders in general. At transactional level, the Bank recorded significant growth in digital channels, having registered increases of 117% and 62% in Moza Já (USSD) and Moza Net (eBanking), respectively. The Bank has maintained its trend to innovate within the digital transformation framework, having released the new WhatsApp Banking channel, AZAPP, to its customers in 2021.

Also in 2021, Moza Banco continued to hold a significant standing in terms of market share - assets 5.62%, deposits 5.67% and credit 8.49% - thus consolidating its position as a leading Bank in the financial system.

In view of the rates of delinquency in granted loans, the Bank conducted a process to optimise its balance sheet which resulted in the annual reduction of the net loan portfolio by 10%, setting it at MZN 22 billion, compared to the MZN 24.4 billion recorded in 2020.

The optimisation of this balance sheet resulted in an improvement of the cost-to-income ratio by 4 percentage points (pp), to 75%, an amount considered acceptable within the national financial system.

In relation to the strategy of greater financial involvement with its Customers, the Bank closed 2021 with a liquidity ratio of 44.55%, well above the regularly established ratio of 25%. On the other hand, the strategies implemented also allowed Moza to close 2021 with a solvency ratio of 23.21%, exceeding the minimum of 12% defined by the Central Bank of Mozambique.

João Figueiredo also noted that the strategic trajectory defined by the Bank in recent years had been maintained, which is reflected in the operating profit achieved, which grew by 285% over the previous year.  This performance is reflected in the improvement of the cost-to-income ratio which reduced from 100.5% recorded in 2020 to levels of 67.2% in 2021. This efficiency achieved is the result of a greater capacity to generate revenue combined with strict control and rationalisation of costs, “The negative net income is calculated at around MZN 1,381 million resulting from the need to reinforce impairments to cover the risk associated to a large overdue operation whose expected recoverability is in the long term. If this effect were isolated, the Bank would record a positive net income of around MZN 105 million, which demonstrates the consistency achieved in line with the objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan in force”, Moza Banco’s Board Chairman added.

The Bank's solidity was strengthened with the completion of another share capital increase operation by our shareholders, to the amount of MZN 1.953 Million, thus signalling their confidence in the Bank.