Absa Bank Tanzania Limited
Absa Bank Tanzania Limited is part of Absa Group Limited, an African financial services group that aims to be the pride of the continent. Absa Group Limited is listed on the JSE in South Africa and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups with a presence in 12 countries across the continent and around 42, 000 employees.
We’re committed to finding local solutions to uniquely local challenges and everything we do is focused on adding value. To this end, we offer our clients a range of retail, business, corporate and investment, and wealth management solutions. We also ensure a positive impact in all the countries where we operate.
We’re part of a truly African brand, inspired by the people we serve and determined to make our continent proud.
The Absa Group Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI), which is in accordance with the Companies Act 2008, regulates the rights, duties and responsibilities of shareholders, directors and others within the Group.

Absa Group MOI and Registration Certificates

The foundation for our governance principles and practices. Our Board Charter sets out how the corporate governance provisions in the Companies Act No. 71 of 2008 of South Africa; the Banks Act No. 94 of 1990 as amended, the Financial Sector Regulations Act No. 9 of 2017, the JSE Listings Requirements and the King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa, 2016™ will be put into practice.  Further, it acknowledges that there are applicable regulations and codes in our presence countries outside of South Africa.

The Charter:

• Outlines our Board and committees’ mandates and specifies which matters are reserved for the Board.
• Defines separate roles for the Group Chairman and Group Chief Executive.
• Outlines a formal process for director appointment, induction and training.
• Dictates the Board’s expectations of the directors, the chairmen of our Board committees and the Lead Independent Director.
• Sets criteria for director independence and the assessment of such independence.
• Requires that non-executive Board members attest to their independence, capacity, fitness and propriety on at least an annual basis.
• Details how to deal with matters of conflict of interest, including disclosures and recusals where relevant.
• Describes the assessment methodology for Board and Committee activities.
• Sets out how the corporate governance provisions in King IV, the South African Companies Act, the Banks Act (including South African Reserve Bank Directive 4/2008) and the JSE Listings Requirements will be put into practice.
• Is further supported by the Group Governance Framework in these areas, and more recently, an Engagement Protocols Document which covers, inter alia, the way in which the directors and executives engage with each other; and a group fit and proper policy which deals with the requirement for fitness and propriety of directors at the stage of appointment and on an ongoing basis.
• Acknowledges that there are applicable regulations and codes in our presence countries outside of South Africa.

The MOI, Board Charter and various policies inform the Board’s responsibilities. The two policies and the register below are published in terms of the JSE’s Debt Listings Requirements:

• Absa Group Board of Directors Policy on Conflict of Interest
• Absa Group Director Nomination Policy

The Board Conflict of interest Register:

• Absa Group Directors Conflicts Register 2023 - 2024

An active force for good in everything we do

We want to drive measurable, material change in our communities in a way that brings our purpose to life, differentiates us and strengthens our business. To do this, we have identified three specific ESG focus areas where we will invest to deliver a truly ambitious agenda: financial inclusion, diversity and inclusion, and climate. We selected these areas by considering the importance of the different ESG topics for our stakeholders, the potential impact on our business, and our strengths and assets. We will continue to deliver on our broader ESG agenda in line with our robust risk management processes.

We have selected strategic focus areas with actions to accelerate our journey with purpose:

Financial inclusion

As a universal bank, we are uniquely positioned to make a substantive difference in extending financial inclusion to underserved groups and desire to make inter-generational wealth creation accessible to all. We have been active in this space, with examples including the expansion of our affordable housing mortgage portfolio enabled through an International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) loan, our Sernick Developing Farmers programme, and our inclusive, entry-level banking propositions. We aim to scale our efforts going forward.

Making inter-generational wealth creation accessible to all:

• Equitable access for underbanked communities – both individuals and SMEs, and with a particular focus on youth and women
• Ability to meet the full set of financial needs across transactional banking, credit, insurance, and wealth accumulation
• Products and services that are affordable and responsibly delivered.

Diversity and inclusion

Internal and external stakeholders cite diversity and inclusion as critical topics and enablers in unleashing our talent and delivering outperformance. We aspire to enable all our people to bring their true selves to work and aim to be a beacon of inclusion across the continent. We have set clear targets for transformation and diversity and want to address inclusion more explicitly.

Enabling all our people to bring their true selves to work, and be a beacon of inclusion externally across the continent. This means not only unleashing our talent internally to outperform, but also supporting and enabling diversity and inclusion with our suppliers, clients, and communities we operate in:

• Disadvantaged demographics (gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disabilities etc.) are fairly represented at each level of the organisation
• High share of employees that perceive they are accepted members of the workforce. Perceptions are not skewed to specific demographics.

Climate

It is critical to investors, regulators and other stakeholders that the irreversible impact of climate change risk is incorporated into decision-making and planning, and that compelling business opportunities, such as green product offerings, be incorporated into our core business.

Our climate strategy has four components: financed emissions targets; green business opportunities; climate risk processes and governance; and external engagement. We have set our net-zero ambition in line with our goal of becoming Africa’s leader in sustainable finance.

Reaching net zero by 2050 and becoming Africa’s leader in sustainable finance:

• Raise the bar on external engagement on our ambition and progress
• Develop sector-specific pathways with a thorough analysis of the trade-offs involved.