BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – The First National Bank in Eswatini (FNB Eswatini) is celebrating 30 years of its existence in the country and the financial institution assures its customers that batintile, abayi ndzawo (they are here to stay, and they are not going anywhere).
This was said by FNB Eswatini Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Thokozani TK Dlamini, in a statement he made regarding the celebration of this milestone. The CEO further assured the nation that they would continue to make the meaningful contribution they had been making while they rendered the banking services to the public.
He promised that the bank would continue to relentlessly work on making the lives of their customers to be easy, while playing an active role in the development of Eswatini. Dlamini expressed pride in having deep roots in Eswatini, something that was backed by their spacious head offices in Ezulwini, 14 branches across the country, and a network of over 500 active CashPlus agents.
Dlamini also promised to continue to champion innovative banking and the growth of Eswatini as a responsible corporate citizen. He said through their initiatives such as using local businesses for procurement, their scored lending for SMEs, 1% profit after tax deduction to FNB Eswatini Foundation which supports social impact projects, they would continue to affirm their roots in Eswatini, aligning to their vision of shared propensity.
The CEO also expressed pride in having innovated with products that revolutionised banking in Eswatini and extended help in ways that were never seen before. These were done through innovations such as the FNB App, eWallet, and most recently, the Auto Deposit Teller (ADT) machines. Most importantly, Dlamini stated that their help to their customers would never stop.
Dlamini expressed profuse gratitude to their customers, most of whom he said had chosen them as their preferred financial service provider, since they set up their service centres in the country. He mentioned that some of these customers earned their first salaries with them as a bank, while some got their first cars with them. Some of the customers financed their homes, expanded their businesses, and even went to retirement still banking with FNB Eswatini. For that, Dlamini said they would forever remain thankful.
In his statement, the CEO did not forget to mention the hard work shown by the employees of the bank, who positively contributed to what the bank is today. He said some of these workers had been with FNB since 1995, like Make Nonjabulo Mthembu and Make Cebsile Vilakati. He paid special tribute to the people he referred to as FNBers (past and preesent), who contributed to the development of the bank.
He also paid tribute to his predecessors and their respective governing boards. He also thanked the shareholders of the institution (past and present), stating that their contribution made FNB to be successful. He said FNB, which is listed at the Eswatini Stock Exchange, has been predominantly led by Emaswati, with 99% of its employees being the citizens of this country. He said half of the executive of this company consisted of females.
