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| New bank born in Lilongwe |
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by
George Ntonya, 11 June 2003
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18:01:48
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The banking sector has witnessed the birth of another lending institution in Lilongwe called Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM).
Opened on May 23, the bank has already registered over 600 clients, many of them savings account holders, according to head of human resources and administration Laura Roberts.
She said that the bank aims at improving the lives of the “economically marginalised of Malawi.”
“The micro-banking division offers lending and savings products designed to be affordable, accessible and applicable for business men and women operating at the smallest scale of the economy,” Roberts said in a statement.
She added that in its attempts to ensure that customers get a simple, efficient and friendly experience, OIBM has implemented fingerprint identification, photographic Malswitch account cards, Chichewa translation for all micro-customer applications and forms and a low minimum savings balance of K500.
Situated in Old Town near the Lilongwe Post Office, the bank is a member of
Opportunity International Network, which was founded in 1971 and is currently helping over 400,000 clients in Africa, Asia, central America and eastern Europe.
Roberts said public response has been overwhelming with clear indications of a rapid growing clientele. The bank intends to expand to other cities with satellite branches in selected rural areas in the near future.
“The OIBM leadership team is a blend of Malawian and international talent in banking micro-finance.”
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