BSB MULLS EXPANSION INTO REMOTE AREAS
Botswana Savings Bank (BSB) has announced intentions to grow its loan book and servicing clients in under-banked areas of the country.
“This will be achieved through the continuous roll-out of our agency banking channels,” said BSB Chief Executive Officer, Nixon Marumoloa in the bank’s interim abridged unaudited financial statements for the six months ended September 30 2023.
The ambition comes on the backdrop of significant investments in new products and channels made by the bank.
Marumoloa said through partnerships, the bank’s target is to have 200 active agent banking sites, offering everyday banking solutions to the larger population including those in remote areas by end of year.
BSB has also incurred an increase in costs through the bank’s digitisation journey with focus on opening 200 new agency branches and launching a digital banking solution.
He highlighted that the bank’s total expenses were five percent higher, year on year, during the six months under review.
“Further included in the expenses is the investment in various IT solutions intended to safeguard the bank’s cyber security framework,” said Marumoloa.
Meanwhile, the bank continues to maintain a resilient liquidity position over the period with a strategic focus on short term money market placements over fixed deposits.
Despite a challenging business environment, BSB’s profit after tax for the period under review is up by 145 percent to P3.3m when compared to
September 2022.
“This was achieved through fee and commission income performance, which grew by 105 percent year on year with the growth coming from improving savings accounts performance.
Interest income was P162.5m, up nine percent annually, reflecting the benefits of the increases in the Monetary Policy Rate by the Bank of Botswana in May, June and August 2022,” said Marumoloa.