Mohohlo urges banks to invest
Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday October 25, 2016 14:31
Speaking at the First National Bank of Botswana (FNBB) 50th anniversary celebration dinner recently, former Bank of Botswana Governor, Linah Mohohlo said banks as market leaders should not rely on poaching staff from each other, noting that it cannot be a viable and sustainable means of acquiring the skill-set and knowledge-base necessary for the continued growth and development of the banking sector.
“You will readily agree that it is a sound business strategy to invest in staff training as the country has a small pool of bankers. As the banking sector, it is logical to expect a diversity of banking products and services at a reasonable cost in part through increased competition,” she said.
According to Mohohlo, although levels of efficiency show signs of improvement, particularly in turnaround times for loan application processing, several aspects of customer service need overhauling. She said the recent report by KPMG entitled, ‘Banking industry customer satisfaction report for Africa’, suggests that customers need more than just access to finance, noting that they need to be made welcome and afforded pleasant and helpful service.
“Indeed, this has to be entrenched from the moment a customer makes contact with a bank by way of a visit to a physical branch by telephone, increasingly by other forms of electronic and online media,” she said.
She noted that these principles would have a positive impact on striking an appropriate balance between the cost and quality of banking services. Mohohlo said arguably the cost of banking infrastructure in a vast and sparsely populated country like Botswana could be high.
In addition, she said it is a concern that in a number of instances, the quality of service does not warrant the charges levied by banks for the associated services.
“As a result, a perception has developed that charges are as high as they are to the point of being exorbitant to compensate for banks’ internal inefficiencies,” she said.
For his part, FNBB CEO Steven Bogatsu appreciated the role that Mohohlo had played while Governor, noting that she created an environment that has allowed the banking system to expand considerably and for the services to become diversified and more efficient.
“Our commitment and passion to help our customers, have been the guiding principles of our product and service offering since we opened our doors. This passion for helping our customers has been a driving force since our inception, and has propelled us forward to where we are, now,” he said.
The CEO said that innovation, a solid product and services offering and a wide national footprint have been key contributors to their success.