HARARE: Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe will this year focus more on affluent customers for its retail banking business. Standard Chartered
This was said by the group’s head of retail clients, Karren Fawcett who was in Zimbabwe Wednesday to familiarize herself with the Zimbabwe business.
The Singapore-based executive, who is responsible for directing the bank’s global strategy and performance of retail clients segment, said the bank will provide more financial services to the well-off segment to minimize the risk of defaulting clients.
“What we want to do is to focus on affluent clients and small business clients who need the type of services that are offered by the bank,” said Fawcett.
Zimbabwe’s banking sector has been plagued by high non- performing loans as clients struggle to re-pay loans owing to tight liquidity conditions prevailing in the country.
The high non-performing loans, standing at 16 percent as at December 2014, are limiting banks’ ability to extend credit to the private sector and are keeping the cost of credit high.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has since established the Zimbabwe Asset Management Company to take over the non-performing loans and enhance viability in the sector.
Fawcett said the bank also focused on banking employees of its corporate clients as part of the bank’s strategy for Africa.
“We are bringing technology and we want to make sure that this (Zimbabwe) franchise is healthy as much as possible. We can see opportunities here.”
The bank is among a few foreign owned banks that are operating in Zimbabwe and remain subject to the indigenization law which requires foreigners to cede majority shareholding to locals
