Family Bank to open 10 new branches before end of year

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana unveils a plaque marking the opening of Family Bank Wote branch. He is with the bank’s chairman Wilfred Kiboro, founder Titus Muya and retail director David Thuku. PHOTO | FILE  

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI

In Summary

• Family Bank on Monday launched its 91st branch in Wote Town, Makueni, barely two months after opening three other outlets in Mlolongo, Maua and Kahawa West.

Family Bank will open 10 new outlets this year as part of an expansion drive expected to increase its branch count to 100 by end of December.

The tier-two lender on Monday launched its 91st branch in Wote Town, Makueni, barely two months after opening three other outlets in Mlolongo, Maua and Kahawa West.

Family Bank says the extra branches will enable it to serve its 1.8 million customers better while also leaning on alternative financial access channels including agency banking to deliver services. The lender has already signed 3,000 agents spread across the country.

“We will be opening more branches this year to attain our target of 100 branches which will mark the final stretch of phase one of our expansion,” said the bank’s chief executive officer Peter Munyiri in a statement.

Family Bank has set a target of attaining tier one status in the short term, which informs the ongoing branch expansion.

Mr Munyiri, who as CEO has overseen implementation of the expansion plan, has announced that he will exit from the bank in June after expiry of his five-year contract.

READ: Family Bank receives Sh1bn funding from Dutch firm for SMEs

The lender made a net profit of Sh1.8 billion in the nine months to September last year compared to Sh1.36 billion posted during a similar period the previous year, a jump it attributed to increased lending.

Its focus on small and medium enterprise lending and personal loans resulted in a significant jump in its loan book from Sh37.9 billion to Sh52.8 billion.

The bank recently received a Sh1 billion loan from Netherlands-based Oikocredit for on-lending to small and medium-sized businesses, a pointer that its loan book is set to grow further this year. Family Bank closed the year to December 2010 with approximately 54 branches.

Its target of hitting the 100 branches mark will take it close to doubling its outlets count in six years.

“We will continue to fulfil our mandate to our customers ensuring that we enhance our product offering while increasing our footprint to cement our one-stop-shop positioning providing retail and consumer products,” said Mr Munyiri.