Standard Bank appoints Harawa as board chair

Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE)-listed Standard Bank Limited has appointed Rex Harawa as its new chairperson, taking over from Alex Chitsime who chaired the bank’s board since 2004 and retired in May this year.

Harawa, who is the managing partner of AMG Globe certified public accounts and business advisors, was first appointed as the bank’s board member in October 2007.

“Apart from being a board member, Dr Harawa has over the years also served as a member of the bank’s board risk committee and the board audit committee,” said a statement from the bank.

He served as the chairperson of the bank’s board audit committee from May 27 2010 up to June 13 2014 when he was appointed as chairperson of the board.

Harawa is also chairperson of the Malawi Accountants Board and a board member for Kansai Plascon Malawi Limited and Real Insurance Company of Malawi Limited.

He previously served as chairperson of Malswitch Limited and a board member for Malawi College of Accountancy (MCA) and the MSE.

Harawa holds a PhD in Finance and Economics from the State University of New York, an MA in Finance and Economics from the same university and a Master of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and political science.

He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a Registered Practising accountant and auditor in Malawi, a Certified Public Accountant in Maryland, USA, a certified management accountant in the USA and also a certified financial manager in the USA.

Standard Bank is one of the best performing companies on MSE.

In the year ended December 2013, the bank posted a 52 percent growth to K12 from K7.9 billion the year before, and because of the “strong” performance, earnings per share (EPS)—a portion of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock—jumped to K56.66 from K37.39 the year before.