Tanzania, July 27 -- Dar es Salaam. The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) says it has no objection to the proposed merger between Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce (NBC), but says the South African banking group has not engaged the regulator on the matter for more than two years.

The clarification comes days after Bloomberg reported that Absa Group was nearing a deal to consolidate its banking operations in Tanzania by combining the two lenders into an institution with assets of nearly $3 billion.

According to the report, NBC is expected to acquire the assets of Absa Bank Tanzania Ltd. Absa Group wholly owns Absa Bank Tanzania and holds a 55 percent stake in NBC. The Government of Tanzania, through the Treasury Registrar, owns 30 pe...