By Sizwe Dlamini
The Swaziland Building Society (SBS) Managing Director Mbali Sibanyoni has assured their over 11,000 members that their investments are safe.
The Society has stated that it will convert to a fully-fledged bank by April 2025, meaning that it will cease being a Society and become a public company.
Sibanyoni reiterated this during a Q&A session at a media briefing held at the Open House Hotel in Mbabane.
The Nation Magazine Editor, Bheki Makubu, was the first to question the SBS Executive, asking, “How can we, as EmaSwati, be confident that the initial investments of SBS members are secure, given the current state of corruption in the kingdom, particularly in the financial services sector?
In response to these concerns, Sibanyoni emphasized that the transition will not disrupt the day-to-day operations of the building society.
“We will keep our members informed every step of the way and continue operating normally until the transformation is complete. The financial sector is heavily regulated, and to transition into a bank, we must meet stringent requirements. This regulatory oversight helps us manage risks and ensures that all member investments remain safe from start to finish,” she said.
Sibanyoni continued “Three key institutions in the country are involved in the conversion process, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Eswatini, and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. All these institutions do thorough checks to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met. This minimizes any possibility of investors losing their money. If there are loopholes then we will simply not be granted the banking license.”
SBS Legal Affairs Manager, Velaphi Dlamini, added that the society’s operations will remain unchanged until the transition to a commercial bank is finalized.
“Drawing on 62 years of experience, we are committed to transparency and ensuring that members’ investments remain secure throughout this process. Our experience in the financial sector reinforces our assurance that investments will be protected even after the transition is complete,” he stated.
The Chief Risk Officer at SBS, Mlandvo Sikhondze, also assured the media that members’ investments will remain secure even after the transition, due to the building society’s established presence in the financial sector highlighting that the society has been steadily building capacity from the commercial banking sector over recent years.
Additionally, Inside Biz Magazine Managing Editor, Ntokozo Nkambule, asked how the ownership structure of SBS will change as it shifts away from operating as a building society to a commercial bank.
Addressing Nkambule’s question, Dlamini explained that in the future the ownership model will shift to allow public share purchases, but existing members’ investments will remain safe during the transition due to protective regulations.
He noted that while building societies are member-owned and operate on a mutual model, banks are shareholder-owned and focus on maximizing shareholder value. This transition will be managed carefully to ensure continued security and stability.