The name change was part of BBS's application for a banking license, which was granted by Companies and Intellectual Property Authority (CIPA) in September this year.
In October 2022, Bank of Botswana formally granted the company the license to operate as a commercial bank in Botswana.
According to a statement from the bank, the Directors and Management are now implementing key banking functions, systems, processes and skills to leverage on the banking license.
"This will ensure that the company diversifies its product offering from solely mortgage and savings accounts to new commercial banking products and services.”
The new offering will improve the bank`s competitiveness relative to its peers, income streams, the cost of funding and the general performance.
The diversified offering will also cushion the bank against macroeconomic developments that have impacted mortgage lending such as the effects COVID-19 pandemic, looming retrenchments across various sectors in Botswana, constrained country and global economic growth, high household debt, geo-political tensions, and projected global recession.
Meanwhile as part of their diversification drive, they launched an insurance agency, which is a subsidiary company that is fully licensed by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA). Its purpose is to generate income from the bancassurance business for the group, and the positive results are already showing.
During the same period, the bank has also launched a visa debit card, to improve its service offering and offer convenience to customers. These initiatives have the added benefit of improving non-interest income
