Access Bank aims high
Having completed the transition from BancABC recently, Access Bank has hit the ground running, with an ambitious strategy to be the number 1 bank by 2027. The bank Managing Director, Kgotso Bannalotlhe shares with Botswana Guardian Business Editor, Koobonye Ramokopelwa, that the operation to increase the national footprint is on course, with immediate outputs anticipated within three months.
BOTSWANA GAURDIAN: The Bank has completed its rebranding exercise to Access Bank Botswana, how receptive have customers been to the new brand?
KGOTSO BANNALOTLHE: The reception we have received from our customers has been overwhelmingly positive. The continuous support reflects our customer- centric value proposition of putting the customer at the forefront of everything we do. We are excited to take them along on this journey.
BG: What does the Bank’s 5- year strategy entail?
BANNALOTLHE: The new chapter for us as Access Bank Botswana is exciting, and aims to be meaningful for our customers, employees, other stakeholders and Botswana at large. The Board has recently approved our new, refreshed five- year strategy that is anchored by among others, becoming the number 1 Bank in Botswana by 2027; ensuring that we bring services directly to within 1 km of the customer everywhere. Under the new strategy, we also plan to deploy 55 ATMs in the next three months, with 36 to be available for customer use by the end of April and the rest by the end of June. The Bank also aims to reach 100 ATMs within the next 12 months. Additionally, Access Bank will introduce Agency Banking with a partner who will give customers access to 1,000 cash in and out points within the next three months. Access Bank will also open 9 Sales and Service Centres in new areas in Botswana to service customers within their geography.
BG: Access Bank is investing heavily on Automated Teller Machines ( ATMs). In terms of geographical spread, where will these ATMs be located mostly?
BANNALOTLHE: Our ATM footprint expansion is well underway. In the coming months, we will have an ATM in every district in Botswana. Since January 2022, we have deployed brand new ATMs at Kagiso Mall, BBS; Gaborone CBD, Gaborone Station, Gaborone West, Mochudi and Mogoditshane, bringing the total at March 2022 to 21 ATMs. In addition, all our branches and Sales and Service Centres have been equipped with deposittaking ATMs. The next three months will see us deploy more ATMs across the country.
BG: The Bank has stated clearly its intention to be aggressive when it comes to offering services on digital platforms. Simultaneously, Access Bank Botswana intends to open more services centres across the country. Where is the logic here?
BANNALOTLHE: Digital innovation accelerates growth. That said, an increased footprint does not mean a fully- fledged branch; the model we have in mind, significantly reduces the investment in our footprint. Sales and Service Centres allow us to extend services across the country, while our digital platforms will enable us to leverage the speed to service, cost to serve, and best practices across the Group. The two co- exist and ultimately benefit our customers and create new employment opportunities in Botswana.
BG: Access Bank Botswana plans to be the number 1 bank in the country by 2027. Kindly elaborate how you will capture this spot, which has eluded some of your peers who have long been operating in Botswana before your existence?
BANNALOTLHE: Our growth strategy
will be accelerated by the significant investment in the key capabilities which will drive aggressive customer acquisition through targeting large customer pools, develop a complete banking ecosystem through innovative products and payment solutions, bringing the Bank to the people via omnipresent distribution and channels as well as growing new.
BG: Over the weekend ( Friday to Sunday), the Bank embarked on a core banking system upgrade. What is the importance of this exercise which temporarily halted digital banking platforms operations?
BANNALOTLHE: As part of our concerted effort to provide the best in services and enhanced customer experience, we successfully completed the upgrade of our core banking system. The system will support multiple deployment options and transformation strategies. As such, we are confident that the system will transform our approach to new products and service development, allowing us to be responsive and agile to our client’s needs as well as the broader market.
BG: The bank rate has been at record low for some time. How has this affected Access Bank’s profitability?
BANNALOTLHE: The Central Bank of Botswana has maintained the benchmark interest rate at a record low of 3.75percent in order to sustain an accommodative monetary policy stance as it saw the drivers of higher inflationary pressure to be mostly transitory. As a result, our net interest income reduced marginally by 2percent compared to the prior year despite our growth of 9percent in Loans and Advances. However, with our refreshed growth strategy, one of our focus areas will be to diversify our revenue by effectively leveraging existing partnerships, growing our transactional income, and driving growth from the Corporate and SME Banking as well as Alliance Banking.
BG: Bank of Botswana, the regulator has announced it is considering allowing commercial banks to set their own Prime Lending Rates. How important will the decision be to the domestic banking sector and how prepared is Access Bank to this impending change in monetary policy operation?
BANNALOTLHE: The Monetary Policy Reforms by the Bank of Botswana is intended to improve the transmission of monetary policy in Botswana. As Access Bank Botswana, we recognize our role as conduits of this monetary policy transmission to the general public and will ensure that we support these policy measures in order to properly contribute to the growth of the economy of Botswana as well as the efficiency of financial markets. We welcome the changes.
BG: To what level is Access Bank’s exposure to State Owned Enterprises, especially at a time when the finance minister has announced that government will start to curtail funding to SOEs?
BANNALOTLHE: State owned enterprises remain one of our key segments that we intend to continue to support with various services to allow them to transform their business models based on national policies and priorities. The Bank is growing its wholesale banking proposition especially to do more with this sector.
BG: How big is the bank corporate/ wholesale banking and where do you see opportunities that the unit will capture in the short to medium term?
BANNALOTLHE: As part of our growth strategy, we aim to immediately scale by the Wholesale Banking segment by leveraging the Group’s expertise and Corporate banking capabilities, which will enable us to become a full- service bank across all key sectors. The Bank will become a key solutions provider for both the Corporate and Business Banking clients through continued focus to provide clients with products and platforms that address all their transactional banking needs at an attractive pricing. Access Bank will continue to lead in support of SMEs in Botswana. Constant improvement in the Global Markets offering, leveraging existing Access Bank Group strength also falls within our broad strategy. We will also take deliberate steps in leveraging the support provided by the Group in banking clients across the Bank’s global footprint through an ecosystem- based approach.
BG: SMEs funding is a challenge in Botswana. How have you managed to continue funding SMEs despite a myriad of challenges affecting this subsector of the economy?
BANNALOTLHE: We have continued to support our SMEs in Botswana with various product offerings in addition to access to financing. We continue to especially support those who are in the supply chain or ecosystems of our larger client corporates through various offers such as purchase order financing among others. We have partnered with our client corporates on citizen economic empowerment programs in order to grow our SME businesses.
BG: With COVID - 19 still much part of our lives, what does the future look like for Access Bank which has an overly ambitious plan of becoming a bank of choice?
BANNALOTLHE: As we continue to co- exist with the global pandemic, our business imperative is to lead our strategy with investment whilst we unlock opportunities through our embedded culture of speed to service, innovation and customer- centricity. Access Bank Botswana is primed for sustainable growth, given the strengths and capabilities within our teams and operations. We will remain focused on delivering our strategic priorities whilst ensuring we create sustainable value for all our stakeholders.