Mbabane – The Swaziland Building Society (SBS) Managing Director, Mbali Sibanyoni, has updated members and the public that they now within three months from being fully accredited and operating as a commercial bank.
In a media briefing at the Mountain View, Mbabane on Tuesday, Sibanyoni said the conversion of Swaziland Building Society (SBS) to a commercial bank known as SBS Bank Eswatini (SBE) has been in progress prior to the Central Bank of Eswatini granted them a provisional licence in October.
The provisional licence was approved by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), CBE and Ministry of Finance for a provisional medium-size commercial banking institution under Section 67 bis of the Building Societies Act.
Going ahead it would mean SBS Bank Eswatini would be registered as a Public Company, Sibanyoni said. She said this process is expected to be completed this month, marking the official conversion of the Swaziland Building Society to a company and that upon registration, as a company.
Sibanyoni said they expecte the FRSA to strike-out the SBS from the register of Societies which is a process expected to be completed early next year.
“We are almost at the tail end of our journey of converting or we are already converted but of getting a full banking licence,” she said.
“You will be aware that we have a provisional licence from the Central Bank which is a bank. The SBS will remain because the name of the bank remains SBS. But the SBS, I want to explain this, is a full name, SBS Bank.”
Sibanyoni assured members of the society that there would be no drastic changes to their shares. Infact, she unveiled choices of acquisition, voluntary redemption and or sale to sponsor.
She said on January 2, 2026, permanent shares will be converted to Ordinary Shares. The members’ special general meeting (SGM) resolved that decison on November 15 2024 through a vote.
“This would enable members who have not submitted forms to automatically receive their redeemable shares, which would exist for 90 days from 05 January 2026 to 04 April 2026,” she said.
Members who would not have decided on their redeemable shares by 04 April 2025 would have their shares automatically redeemed into a Term Deposit, the entity said.
CHOICES AVAILABLE FOR REDEEMABLE SHAREHOLDERS
Equitisation
- Convert Redeemable Shares to Ordinary Shares.
- Submit an Equitisation Notice (Yellow Form) at least seven (7) business days before the chosen date.
Voluntary Redemption
- Redeem Redeemable Shares for a Term Deposit
- Submit a Redemption Notice (Red Form) at least seven (7) business days before the chosen date.
Sale to Sponsor
- Offer shares to the sponsor at E1.00 per share
- Submit an Offer Notice (Orange Form) before the end of the initial period.
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