On behalf of Management and the Zambia National Building Society, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the official reopening of the newly refurbished ZNBS Choma Branch.
Ladies and Gentlemen, ZNBS embarked on a transformation journey over the last couple of years and this momentous occasion you are witnessing here today, is a testament to our commitment to delivering high quality Customer Service, one of the Society’s core values.
Choma town is the agriculture and Cultural hub of Southern Province and/ ZNBS serves over 3500 clients catering for both the formal and informal sector in this strategic location. Our refreshed Branch reflects the Society’s commitment to grow our customer base even further with your support.
ZNBS has over the years rendered Banking and financial support to these customers, who include a large number of Civil Servants, predominantly from the Health and Education sectors. Guest of Honour, ZNBS has continued to support these sectors through the provision of Personal Loans under the Friendly Loan and Buildings Materials Loans and more recently, through the provision of the Targeted Medium Term Refinancing Facility (TMTRF) facilitated by the Bank of Zambia, also known as Covid-19 Loans. These loans were offered to Civil Servants and employees in a number of other sectors at reduced borrowing rates of 24.5%, in order to provide financial relief by refinancing at lower rates.
However, our Branch here in Choma also has strong ties with the Defense Wings who are represented here today. ZNBS has also continued to support local businesses and small scale farmers providing them with a wide variety of flexible and affordable products including a range of Savings options as well as the Mortgage Product.
Guest of Honour, it is certainly not by accident that we are here today, unveiling one of our strategic Branches in Southern Province. We are invested in our customers here in Southern Province. Through our efforts to make Banking more convenient and more accessible for our customers, the Society has expanded its digital footprint by implementing Mobile Banking services and has also set up Agency Banking which is intended to serve our clients beyond the Branch. This will help decongest the Branches as all Banking services can be accessed from the Agency points. In addition, we are excited to inform our esteemed customers that ZNBS has recently implemented Online Banking, with the ability to make transfers real time, through the Electronic Funds Transfer platform.
Ladies and Gentlemen, being a proudly Zambian Institution, I must mention that our role in empowering the people of Zambia across the country with Housing Finance is one of our top priorities. Our areas of strategic focus will continue to be:
- Delivering affordable housing: ZNBS will continue to work with Government and through key strategic partnerships to increase capacity in the provision of affordable housing finance.
- ZNBS Will continue to strengthen partnerships with long term fund providers to allow for the creation of affordable mortgages.
- Product design: The Society, will also continue to focus on enhancing its offering and tailor its product solutions to meet the needs of customers. That is why we have brought you Promotions like the “Bwela Timage” Home financing Promotions which makes Mortgage and Building Materials pricing more affordable. Through this promotion our customers can take advantage of our Mortgage rates, which at 21% are the lowest on the Market with a 3% discount on the arrangement fee. We have also Partnered with organisations like Lafarge and BSI Steel so that our customers can enjoy discounts and many more benefits through this Promotion
We recognize that with almost 90% of home ownership in Zambia being derived through Self-Build, Construction Mortgages will be key. This is why we have recently enhanced our Mortgage Solution to include financing the development of bare land.
Most importantly, we want to show you, our customers, that we value you by improving customer convenience in accessing the Society’s products and services and by refurbishing the Branches, as we are here to witness today. This will enable you to transact in a more convenient and more conducive environment. We continue to embed strong customer service values in our people and have established a dedicated team focusing on timely resolution of complaints amongst other service improvement initiatives.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as I conclude my remarks, please allow me to thank each one of you, our esteemed customers and stakeholders for your loyalty and support over the years. We would not be here today without your support.
I Thank You