Port Louis, Mauritius, 5 December 2024: 

It’s a first for Mauritius, and for the Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd (MCB Ltd). For the first time ever, a Mauritian bank has been voted The Banker’s African Bank of The Year. MCB’s CEO, Thierry Hebraud, in company of Dipak Chummun, Chief Finance Officer, MCB Group, and Ashvin Deena, Head of Global and International Corporates  received the coveted award at The Bank of The Year Awards 2024, organised by The Banker Magazine, a publication of the Financial Times, on Wednesday 4th December in London. Through this award, MCB confirmed its position as one of the leading financial institutions on the African continent, and the strength of the Mauritius International Financial Centre (MIFC). MCB also scooped the Best Bank in Mauritius Award, a recognition it received for the third time in the last five years.

A leading financial institution

This award underscores MCB’s position as a leading financial institution on the African continent and highlights the strength of the Mauritius International Financial Centre (MIFC). "This achievement is the result of years of hard work by all our teams, both in Mauritius and across our international operations. It is truly an honour to receive such a prestigious recognition, which not only acknowledges our efforts but also serves as a testament to our unwavering commitment to contributing to the socio-economic progress of the continent. This award reflects the positive impact we seek to make (…) This recognition is both an honour and a testament to our strong business model and brand. It underscores the effectiveness of our strategy and dedication to our clients. As one of the few investment-grade banks in Africa, we aim to play an increasingly significant role to support its socio-economic progress,” Thierry Hebraud said.

Continued success and growth

Commenting on the results officially, The Banker stated: “MCB continues to post success and growth within its core trade finance business, which has seen both digital upgrades and international expansion during the award review period. Such achievements, especially within the sustainable finance field, along with significant digital upgrades, make MCB this year’s Bank of the Year for Africa, too.”

Trade finance as one key contributor

The Banker also pointed out that trade finance was one of the key contributors to MCB’s 11.3 per cent increase in revenues for the year ending June 2024. In 2023, the bank launched its Global Trade Portal, in collaboration with French fintech Eexpand. The platform is designed to facilitate connections, improve clients’ networks, and provide market intelligence regarding importers, exporters, quantities and insights into different markets, encompassing more than 1 million importers, 10,000 trade shows and 25,000 market reports. MCB set up a new entity in Luxembourg in November 2023 to facilitate its trade finance activities — mainly credit protection services — for international and local clients, deepening the strong collaboration with historical EU-based partners, in line with their regulatory and compliance imperatives.”