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"First National Bank, controlled by South Africa’s second-biggest financial services company, said its executives are “jetting” to four African c..."
First National Bank, controlled by South Africa’s second-biggest financial services company, said its executives are “jetting” to four African countries as it searches for growth opportunities.
The unit of FirstRand Ltd. is committed to expanding in Tanzania, Angola, Zimbabwe and Nigeria as it seeks to increase profitability outside South Africa, FNB Chief Executive Officer Michael Jordaan said today in a telephone interview from Johannesburg.
“We remain interested in Tanzania but are going through the various internal processes first, and we also have executives jetting to Angola, Zimbabwe and Nigeria,” Jordaan said. “I have learnt that these things take time.”
FNB is one of South Africa’s four largest banks. It has remained profitable in the face of an economic slowdown in South Africa and plans to move into faster-growing economies in Africa, following the lead of lenders such as Standard Bank Ltd. and Absa Group Ltd.
FNB announced its most recent expansion drive in January after it was awarded a license to operate in Zambia. The bank has opened one branch in Zambia, and plans to have six by June of next year, Jordaan said. In Mozambique, FNB has four branches, with fourteen planned by the middle of next year.
“We have not made material progress in Tanzania because it’s a long process of preparation for the license,” Jordaan said. “We’ve focused on Zambia and Mozambique.”
