BBS ANTICIPATES MORE INVESTMENTS AS PENSION FUNDS RULE CHANGES

BBS Bank Limited (BBS) eyes more investments from local pension funds, following the recent policy changes on pension funds’ investments. Recently, Non-Banking Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) started an investment rule that requires pension funds to keep minimum of 50 percent of their assets in the country.

The bank stated in its published financial results that it anticipates more funds to be invested locally and in the bank itself because of this policy change on pension fund asset allocation.

During the year ended December 2023, the Bank recorded a loss before taxation of P28.2 million, compared to a restated loss of P21.6 million in 2022. Commenting on the results, BBS Managing Director, Pedzani Tafa said despite not achieving profitability yet, the

Board of Directors and Management expresses confidence in the business’ sustainability and its potential for growth.“Going forward the bank will improve its financial performance by improving its cost of funding, managing other costs and rolling out new products to bring in revenue and improve topline performance.”

During the year under review, the Group successfully executed its Pilediwa corporate strategy, and its implementation is advancing smoothly. The bank also revamped its Nomad Digital Banking platform which enables customers to bank from anywhere in the world, at any time. Further, the bank launched an unsecured loan product called Ipechetse. “We are pleased to inform you that the performance of this product has exceeded our expectations. By the end of December 2023, we had surpassed our target for the year. Other developments included renaming and enhancing the product features of our short-term loan, Ntshegetsa.”

BBS Bank is also on the VISA Card payment platform enabling its customers to use their cards globally.