09 Sep 2018

Following its successful track record of registering vertical profit margins for a decade, Capital Bank on September 5 evening celebrated its achievements and shared its strategic framework of increasing its footprint internationally.

Speaking during the celebrations at Gaborone’s Central Business District (CBD), where the bank recently acquired new offices, Capital Bank Botswana board chairperson, Mr Hitesh Anadkat said the bank, which started its initial operations in Gaborone with one branch, had now expanded to four branches.

Capital Bank has three branches in Gaborone and one in Francistown.

He said the bank’s success was attributed to Botswana’s strong and stable financial services sector with sound financial regulations and policies.

“Ten years ago we started with one branch in Gaborone, now we have four branches, and we are going to increase our distribution. We have our head office branch here in the CBD and the branch will open by mid-October,” Mr Anadkat said.

The chairperson further asserted that the bank business in Botswana had grown ‘tremendously’, which contributed to growth of the group during this period.

“It was our success in Botswana in the first five years that gave us the confidence and gave our regulators confidence for us to expand geographically,” he said.

He said its quest to grow its footprint in Africa led the bank to buy two non-performing banks in Zambia and Mozambique in 2013 and re-brand them to make them profitable.

The bank in 2017 further took a bold step and bought Barclays Bank in Zimbabwe, which has been in operation for over 90 years, boasting of 25 profitable branches and listed in the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, he said.

“Our acquisition of Barclays speaks volumes of our status and reputation in the financial sector and indeed in the region at large,” he said, adding that Barclays Bank allowed Capital Bank to use the Barclays brand for a year with the Capital Bank staff running the show.

Furthermore, Mr Anadkat said they were growing a banking group domiciled in Malawi, which would need capital for the long term.

He said to secure the bank asserts and ensure healthy balance sheets, Capital Bank shall move its US$1.2 billion of asserts to Mauritius, which is a country they consider to be the best destination and a gateway to Africa.

“It shall be the holder of all our assets. In the coming months we will transfer the investment under Malawi directly under Mauritius,” he said.

He said Capital Bank, which currently runs under four different company names in five different countries, would soon consolidate and come up with one brand, adding that it brings the group asserts to a total of 75 branches, which are run by 1 700 employees. For his part, he chief executive officer of Capital Bank Botswana, Mr Jaco Viljoen appreciated everyone who had contributed to the success of Capital Bank in the past 10 years.

“Capital Bank is a story that is beautifully populated with incredible people from our staff to our customers and the many stakeholders and partners. We are grateful for the people who made Capital Bank what it is today and those that have been part of this story throughout the years,” he said.

The celebrations were sealed by Capital Bank Botswana director, Mr Raj Patel awarding employees who had served the company with loyalty for the past 10 years and those who had exuded excellence in their duties. ENDS