BSB to open 10 new branches ahead of merger

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Sunday May 26, 2013 00:00

With the imminent merger of BSB and Botswana Postal Services coming during the 2013/14 financial years, plans are in place to open 10 full time branches at selected post offices in order to avail general services at these post office outlets. The bank currently has only two branches; in Gaborone and Francistown.

'These will include issuance of loans, unlimited amounts of deposits and withdrawals, ATMs. Furthermore, a project named, Project Metro, aimed at improving the communication link between the branches was introduced and completed in October 2012,' Assistant Minister of Finance and Developmnet Planning told Parliament last week.

Parliament, last year passed a bill, which turned the Botswana Savings Bank (BSB) into a public company. Already a holding company has been established which will have the postal services, courier services and banking and financial services as its three subsidiaries.

In preparation for the merger, Seretse said that the BSB has started an organisational restructuring project, which commenced this month and is due for completion by end of July 2013.

'This project was initially postponed due to the impending merger. However once it became clearer from the approved operational model of the merger that the two merging entities would each essentially maintain their core business mandates as subsidiaries to a holding company, it was decided that organisational restructuring should be undertaken as it remains a critical ingredient in the achievement of the bank's Strategic goals and objectives,' he added.

The implementation of the restructuring project has become even more urgent as the bank prepares to convert into commercial banking, which will assist in broadening income streams through increased products and services, as well as increasing market segments such as business and corporate banking.

To facilitate the merger, the Botswana Postal Service Transition Bill has been drafted to allow BPS to be turned into a public company and is set to be tabled in the current session of Parliament.

Updating the ICT parliamentary portfolio committee on the merger last November, director in the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Onalenna Sechele, said the merger would allow BPS to provide fully-fledged banking services through its national network.

It will establish a one-stop shop for products and services. Sechele said that the merger process has been slow due to legislative changes that require parliamentary approval.

On the other hand, Botswana Postal Services (BPS) is also expanding its product range to bring services closer to the unbankable and rural clients head of the merger. The BPS expansion involves partnerships with Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) and Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). Last year BPS struck a partnership with BMC to facilitate payment of livestock farmers via post offices.

Through the Direct Cattle Purchase initiative, each of the 100-plus BPS branches in the country can pay a maximum of P25, 000.

With BPC, Botswana Post has inked a deal to become a prepaid electricity super vendor as the power utility embarks on a nationwide roll out of converting to prepaid electricity.