FIRST CAPITAL BANK OPENS MAUN BRANCH

In an exciting new milestone for the company, First Capital Bank (FCB) Botswana extended its footprint to Maun on Wednesday 6 April 2022 with the official opening of a brand new branch in the tourist town.

Located in Boseja Industrial, the Maun addition means FCB now have five branches in the country, with two in Gaborone and one each in Francistown and Mogoditshane, as well as five loan centres. Reflecting on the bank’s impressive recent strides, FCB Botswana Chief Executive Officer, Reinette Van Der Merwe revealed the organisation has come a long way since opening its first local branch back in 2008. “While our business has grown over the last 13-and-a-half years at a steady pace, our holding company, FCB capital Holdings is listed on the Malawi Stock Exchange and has grown exponentially with banking operations in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe with a centralised IT and operations hub in Mauritius.” Van Der Merwe noted FCB is now very much a Southern African regional bank, boasting branches and assets in excess of US$1.375 billion. “This has resulted in our customers benefiting from first class banking services in their home country and in the region. Indeed, many of our clients now have banking relationships with us in multiple countries,” she said, adding a number of businesses with headquarters in Botswana have also started banking with FCB in neighbouring countries. Van Der Merwe attributed the bank’s success to the fast and efficient customer service which it prides itself on, as well as its ethos of ensuring clients’ needs are at the heart of the business. Officially opening the Maun branch, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Honourable Peggy O. Serame praised FCB for its excellent financial management. She noted FCB is the only bank in Botswana that has not declared a loss since its inception, which she said speaks for its sound banking and management. “Opening a new branch is in consonant with the national financial inclusion roadmap and strategy, which aims at improving inclusive growth of the economy accompanied with improved livelihoods of citizens,” stated Honourable Serame. The Minister explained the strategy includes five priorities, namely: improving the payments ecosystem; facilitation of low cost, accessible savings products; development of accessible risk mitigation products; improvement of the credit market as well as consumer empowerment and protection. “These overarching objectives are issues that we all agree are paramount to our economic development and affect each and every one of us as members of the community,” she said. Honourable Serame was also quick to applaud the bank for its continuous show of corporate social responsibilities through charitable work, including donations to orphans and vulnerable children and needy families among other groups. FCB employs approximately 200 staff members, of which 27 percent are youth under the age of 30. The workforce is also dominated by females, who make up 73 percent.