By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –
THE Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) has been awarded an A+ rating by the Association of Africa Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) Finance Resources Centre (DFRC).
The bank was assessed with the AADFI prudential standards, guidelines and rating system (PSGRS) during the association’s 2015 peer review exercise.
DBZ managing director, Jacob Lushinga said the bank was awarded the A+ rating by AADFI and SADC Finance Resources Centre on April 15 last year.
Mr Lushinga said this was based on certified results of the assessments in the areas of governance, financial and operational standards.
The purpose of the assessment is to assist the institution to identify areas of weakness with a view to taking collective measures to addressing them.
The bank will also be presented with the best performing African Development Finance Institution (DFIs) award at the association’s 2016 general assembly meeting to be held in Lusaka.
This is contained in a letter addressed to the DBZ managing director and made available to the Times in Lusaka.
According to AADFI and SADC Finance Resource Centre, the rand rating obtained indicates the level of the institution’s compliance with best standards and practices in the areas assessed.
SADC-DFRC chief executive officer Stuart Kufeni commended DBZ for being among the top 32 DFIs that have scored above the 80 per cent mark in Africa.