Tag Archives: NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya

Business

NBS Bank blows own trumpet on women empowerment

Maravi Post Reporter

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Listed commercial institution NBS Bank has blown its own trumpet on women empowerment saying it has made remarkable progress in promoting women into leadership positions.

People across the globe commemorated the International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023  under the theme “Embrace Equity”.

Reflecting on the day, NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kwanele Ngwenya said in an interview that the Bank recognizes the role women play in the development of the country and therefore it is imperative that they be given an equal chance in leadership positions.

Ngwenya’s remarks compliment the recognition by the Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAMA) annual awards in December 2022 where NBS Bank emerged top in the gender equity category.

“We used to have 30% women and 70% men in terms of employees; and in leadership, only one out of 13 were women in leadership positions. In 2017, a new strategy was developed which among other things, focused on women empowerment through the total number of employees and those in leadership positions.”

“Fast forward to 2023, there are 48% of females and 52% of males that make up the employee headcount at NBS Bank and in the executive and senior management, eight are women and ten are men, translating to 44% and 53% respectively.”

“Additionally, these appointments are based on merit and one can appreciate the extensive experience and expertise in their respective fields.  This goes to prove how seriously NBS Bank takes issues of gender equity,” said Ngwenya.

Ngwenya also said NBS Bank also acknowledges the importance of developing the upcoming generations through various initiatives it has undertaken namely the scholarship and mentorship programme with secondary school girls, championed by Shaping Our Future Foundation.

“Through this initiative, young girls are paired with female managers as their mentors to ensure they are equipped with the necessary tools to realize their full potential. The Bank is therefore saying let us all embrace equity today for a balanced tomorrow,” explained Ngwenya.

Business

NBS Bank expands agency footprint in financial inclusion drive

Maravi Post Reporter

By Ernest Mwale, Contributor

NBS Bank has grown its agency banking footprint from 345 agents in 2019 to over 1000 agents currently. This is one of the initiatives the Bank has implemented to enhance financial inclusion in Malawi.

NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya said in an exclusive interview recently that the Bankhas in the last two years intensified its agency banking section known as ‘Bank Pafupi’ through its partnership with Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprises (FARMSE).

This project is aimed at enhancing financial inclusion in the country.

In this respect, NBS Bank has partnered corporate organisations such as AGORA, Malawi Post Corporation, Farmers World and Post Dot Net as Bank Pafupi agents.

As a result, the number of NBS Bank agencies have more than doubled in just under two years, with the numbers set to rise as the initiative intensifies.

“With this expansion, financial services are now available in almost every part of Malawi, thus fulfilling the Bank’s quest to significantly contribute to the reduction of the unbanked population in Malawi,” said Ngwenya.

The Bank also introduced the Tidalilane Group Transactional Account where village banks, another growing financial sector in Malawi, can safely save their group’s money and conveniently transact at an agent.

Ngwenya said the Bank Pafupi initiative has meant that customers no longer have to travel long distances, especially in remote areas of the country, to access banking services.

The agents are present in people’s neighbourhoods, offering a wide range of our services.

Those who were previously unbanked can open accounts through the agents, and customers can securely deposit or withdraw funds from their accounts.

A recent study conducted by the University of Malawi’s Department of Economics in conjunction with the Reserve Bank of Malawi shows that only 31 percent of the surveyed population use bank and semi-formal financial institutions.

Of these, 26.1 percent used credit while 17.5 percent used saving products.

It is this gap that NBS Bank intends to leverage on.

Business

NBS Bank takes pride in Area 18 Interchange landmark

Maravi Post Reporter
Area 18 Interchange

By Ernest Mwale, Contributor

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-NBS Bank says it is delighted to have been a part of the history-making Area 18 Interchange in Lilongwe, the first landmark of its kind in Malawi.

In an exclusive interview, NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya said as a Malawian Bank, NBS Bank is passionate about the development of the nation.

“And we love to see the country taking positive strides to achieve this. We always endeavour to align our business model to complement the goals of the nation so that the Bank contributes to the sustainable economic development of this country,” he said.

For the interchange, NBS Bank assisted in the financing of the project through a bid bond worth MK14 billion offered to the Roads Fund Administration (RFA).

“For NBS Bank to emerge the financier for this project, we submitted our bid, together with other banks, and the institution with the competitive bid emerged successful.

“The bond was offered at competitive rates to ensure that RFA minimises its funding costs while the bank covers its operating margin,” he said.

Ngwenya said the Bank is looking forward to more participation in infrastructure and development generally in Malawi.

He said NBS Bank values its role in enabling  access to financial services. This, Ngwenya said, is key to promote growth opportunities, such as industrialisation, social welfare, entrepreneurship and diversification in sectors agriculture.

“We, therefore, have a unique offering and business solutions that cater for our SMEs and corporate organisations alike, to enhance their businesses and thereby contribute to the success of our Malawian economy,” he said.

It looks like the pioneering four-lane Area 18 Interchange has inspired more such constructions in Lilongwe as a similar project, a 6-lane stretch, is also taking place on Kenyatta Drive.

In the years to come, there will certainly be more of such pieces of fine infrastructure.

But even after hundreds of years and hundreds of such infrastructure in the country, history shall say that Area 18 Interchange blazed the trail of modern highway construction in Malawi.

And NBS Bank has its name engraved on this development.

Business

NBS Bank geared to build on its recent success

Maravi Post Reporter
NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya

By Ernest Mwale

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The future of banking is generally in how innovative the players in the industry will be; and NBS Bank intends to listen more to the needs of its customers for more successful banking.

That is the assurance by NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya in an exclusive interview.

“We are geared to providing life-changing financial solutions to address their needs and those of the nation as a whole. The Bank will only get stronger than before and we would like to take our customers along as we move on to greater heights,” he said.

He was speaking a few weeks after NBS Bank released its trading statement in which it announced a profit of 55 percent in the first half of the year ending June 30, 2021.

The profit is one in the series the Bank has registered in recent years, a remarkable turn-around from years of loss making.

But what has been the secret for these positive results? And what does the future look like?

Ngwenya said NBS Bank has remained steadfast in its transformation journey for the last five years. The strong positive trading results are a product of the Bank’s five-year strategy.

“There has been a continuous focus on accelerating digital transformation to enhance convenience and general customer experience for our customers,” he said.

Under that strategy, the Bank has continued to make serious investment in digital platforms and improved its operational efficiencies in its system, among other interventions.

This has resulted in convenient banking solutions to customers.

“Additionally, in the first half of 2021, the Bank managed to grow its loan book and effectively manage its investments in money market instruments,” he said.

The digital banking investment has ensured that the Bank continues to register positive results even as Covid-19 pandemic devastated economies world over and constrained business locally.

He admitted that Covid-19 crisis set in a challenging business environment since many transactions across the country are heavily reliant on face-to-face engagement.

To NBS Bank, this has had some silver lining too, testing the Bank’s resilience and challenging it to innovate, he indicated.

“It has presented the Bank with opportunities to innovate and introduce products and services that encourage customers to transact digitally.

“Assuredly, the Covid-19 pandemic has tested the Bank’s resilience in many aspects, business continuity being top on the list. We are proud to report that the Bank demonstrated the robustness of its Business Continuity Plans, which is evident in our performance,” he said.

Looking ahead to the an uncertain future presented by Covid-19, he said NBS Bank is confident that the strides it has taken so far on the transformational journey have laid a solid foundation for future growth of the Bank.

“We believe that staying the course of the strategy put in place will navigate the various challenges that may arise from time to time,” Ngwenya said.

NBS Bank is a fully-fledged commercial bank which provides a wide range of financial services to individuals, small and medium businesses, large corporations and public institutions.

Business

Malawi’s NBS Bank assures customers’ accounts money safety

Maravi Post Reporter
NBS Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The NBS Bank management on Tuesday, November 3, 2020 assured customers regarding the safety of the customers finances.

Bank Chief Executive Officer Kwanele Ngwenya made the assurance through the press statement made available to The Maravi Post.

Ngwenya said the bank is aware of rumours going round in social media concerning the firm’s system being hacked.

“We would like to assure all our customers that their deposits
and customer data are safe. There is no loss of customer funds as has
been reported.”

He said as a Bank, “We have stringent security protocols to ensure
protection of depositors funds. We encourage the media to engage the Bank to verify information in order to maintain professionalism and to avoid unnecessary panic.”

Ngwena said the Bank would like to assure its customers that their
deposits are safe and intact.