PTA BANK

The Eastern and Southern Africa Development Bank (PTA Bank), a financial arm of COMESA, has continued making profits. The President of the Bank, Dr. Michael Gondwe revealed this at the 26th Annual Meeting of the PTA Bank held in Mahe, Seychelles, on July 23, 2010. The bank he noted, made a profit of over USD18 million in 2009 up from USD12.5 million in 2008.

While officially opening the meeting, His Excellency the President of the Republic of Seychelles, James Michel commended the Bank for its’ good performance despite the harsh operating conditions. The Head of State added that the Bank’s support for Seychelles, especially in the petroleum sector, was greatly appreciated by the country.

The President called on Member States to enhance support to the Bank to enable it continue being supportive of business growth. “It is important for us to enhance capacity of regional institutions such as the PTA Bank if they are to continue playing a catalytic growth in our economies,” said the Head of State.

During the meeting, the Vice President and Minister of Finance for the Republic of Seychelles, Hon. Danny Faure was elected the new chairman of the PTA Bank Board of Governors for the next financial year. Hon. Faure takes over the Chairmanship of the Bank’s topmost policy organ from Hon. Sufian Ahmed, the Minister of Finance of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Speaking at the occasion, the Hon. Faure called on his fellow Governors to continue contributing to the Bank’s programme “as we build a strong institution that will make a positive impact on our development agenda.”

Governors, comprised of shareholder representatives, deliberated on the business of the Bank. Top among them was adopting the Bank’s 2009 Annual Report. The Governors also adopted resolutions giving policy directions to the Board and management of the Bank. A new steering committee composed of Zambia, Sudan and the African Development Bank (ADB) was elected by the Governors.

The shareholders of the Bank are: The African Development Bank, Burundi, The People’s Republic of China, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.