NCBA Group announces expansion plans

NAIROBI, Kenya March 26-NCBA Group PLC has announced plans to open 12 new branches in the country this year as part of its expansion plans.

The bank currently operates 84 branches following the opening of 13 new branches across Mombasa, Nyeri, Karatina, Ruiru, Bungoma, Embu, Kakamega, Kericho, Ngong, Naivasha and Kiambu in 2021.

The Group is also looking at regional opportunities, especially in emerging markets of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia

“NCBA has successfully adjusted to a new normal in this Covid-era. Our business is more resilient than ever before and is on a strong path for growth. I am very excited that our branch expansion and digitization plans are making us more relevant to a wider base of customers and enabling us to serve them better,” said Group Managing Director John Gachora during the release of the Groups 2021 full-year results.

Gachora noted that despite the major shift to digital banking, most customers still prefer to have a bank branch within their vicinity in case of any issues.

The Group registered a full-year net profit of Sh10.22 billion representing 124 per cent growth up from Sh4.57 billion reported in 2020.

During the year, NCBA finalized the post-merger consolidation of its mobile banking channels under the NCBA Now mobile app.

This exercise was intended to deliver merger cost synergies and to provide a unified platform from which to elevate customer experiences.

All NCBA customers now have the ability to pay directly to M- Pesa tills, the ability to borrow up to Sh70,000 in unsecured digital loans and the ability to make FX trades digitally.