FNB Zambia Officially Launches Makeni Branch

FNB Zambia successfully launched their Makeni Branch earlier this morning at the Makeni Mall. In attendance was the bank of Zambia Deputy Governor, Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu.

Below the FNB CEO’s Speech,a press releaseSPEECH BY SAREL VAN ZYL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF FNB ZAMBIA
LAUNCH OF THE FNB ZAMBIA MAKENI BRANCH
MAKENI MALL
THURSDAY, 29 MARCH 2012

THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR-OPERATIONS AT THE BANK OF ZAMBIA, DR. BWALYA NG’ANDU
BOARD DIRECTORS OF FNB ZAMBIA
MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF FNB ZAMBIA
INVITED GUESTS
MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I welcome you all to yet another event where we forge ahead with our expansion programme of steadily opening new branches and launching innovative products on the Zambian financial market. On behalf of the FNB Board of Directors, Management and Staff, allow me to express our sincere appreciation to you all for gracing this occasion with your presence. As we officially open our newest branch today, Makeni Branch, we have in mind the many needs of our customers, which to us are very important, and we are already busy with our next 2 branches as well.
Our goal is to provide customer centric services and solutions to the Zambian public. FNB Makeni branch is no exception as it provides convenient banking services in an area where there are very few other banks operating, and will go a long way in creating a better world for our customers in this part of Lusaka. Meanwhile, our people are on the ground sensitising the community on our many products and services such as Vehicle and Asset Finance, cellphone banking and e-wallet.
As you may know, FNB will mark three years since it opened its doors in Zambia on the 1st of April 2009. In our short time in this country, FNB Zambia has established a solid business with 7 branches and a network of over 30 ATMs. At the time of our entry, we were ranked 18th however, in just three years; we have risen to be the 8th biggest financial institution in Zambia based on the size of our balance sheet, while we employ 234 employees. This is a great accomplishment for us and we thank the people of Zambia for their support and trust in our products and services.
We obviously could not have done this without the full cooperation of a great team, and I wish to use this opportunity to thank all our staff for their very hard work, dedication and commitment towards FNB. Thank you colleagues – you are doing a fantastic job!
At FNB, we believe in taking business and banking to the doorsteps of our customers thus our meeting here today. As we launch the Makeni branch we also have plans to open two more branches in the near future; one in Ndola at the Jacaranda Mall within the next 2 weeks and another in Mkushi by June 2012. Besides this, we also intend to launch 15 more ATMs during 2012.
We will work closely with the government of the day and respect the statutes of the land. Testimony to this is our focus on affordable and accessible banking. Not only is our actual lending interest rates significantly lower than the average actual lending rate of the market, but we also have a range of services and products that makes banking accessible enabling them to bank anywhere, anytime without visiting a branch by using our electronic products: bank-in-a-bag, cellphone banking, e-wallet, in-contact and online banking.
Bank-in-a-bag enables us to open bank accounts anywhere outside a branch and issue you with an ATM card in the comfort of your home or your office at the same time. With FNB eWallet, you can send and withdraw cash without a bank account or ATM card. With cellphone banking you can view balances, transfer money and pay airtime wherever you are whenever you want, and with in-contact, you are made aware of every customer initiated transaction real-time as and when it happens. Our intent is to create a pleasant banking scenario free of unnecessary queues.
We have also realized that business in Lusaka has moved away from the central business district and that there is need to bridge the gap between the banked and unbanked individuals, especially in the rural areas. We have responded by taking banking to the people by opening branches where people need them, by offering innovative electronic based products that do not require one to have a bank account to transact and by taking the services to the people.
As we have said before, FNB is a bank that cares passionately about serving its customers and together we aim to unlock opportunities to create sustainable wealth for all our stakeholders through innovation, rewarding and enduring relationships underpinned by service excellence.
FNB will continue to scan the Zambian landscape and ask the question ‘how can we help you?’
Once again I thank you all for taking time off your busy schedules to be with us on the launch of our Makeni branch.

Thank you.

Posted by Editor on March 29, 2012. Filed under BUSINESS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry