I&M is largely owned by one person...very risky.

Wasn't the deal to buy Oriental Bank hatched long before Magufuli became president? I think M Bank [as a private bank] is more adventurous than most TZ banks where GoT has a large stake.

I was also told that M Bank is "innovative" in terms of service. I have experienced customer service in TZ. They are polite but very slow. Apparently M Bank was quite the sensation in the staid TZ market with their menu of services including a service to collect cheques from the customer's premises.

Now to an EAC agenda

At least 5 KE banks are in TZ: KCB, Equity, NIC, I&M and CBA. Kenya remains EAC's largest economy. Why wouldn't a TZ bank look at KE? I would like more such deals so the Tanzanians don't feel insecure plus it also gives them a reason not be so anti-Kenyan.

Finally, the KE (M-Oriental) bank is accountable to CBK not BoT/GoT so the loan portfolio will be better scrutinized by CBK and the auditors especially post-Imperial and post-Chase.

We should encourage competition in the banking sector. UG's 2nd (or 3rd) largest bank is DFCU which should look at merging with a KE bank to provide better services to EAC businesses from Kenya to Rwanda.

TPS/Serena has merged its TZ lodges/hotels under TPSEA. I hope Serena Uganda and Serena Rwanda are merged into TPSEA as well.

A larger pan-EAC business can better absorb shocks as well as provide a unified service to customers. I know TZ doesn't like to play ball but it remains EAC's largest country [size/population] and endowed with lots of natural resources. A "unified" EAC (KE, TZ, UG, RW, BU, SS. Also add ET & DRC] can become a powerhouse to challenge South Africa (SADDC), Nigeria/ECOWAS and Egypt. [BTW, TZ is also part of SADDC]