National bank integrates with Indebank

Effective June 30, 2016, National bank of Malawi, which has now been merged with Indebank closed some of its branches in areas where both banks existed.

Last year National Bank emerged a successful bidder for the acquisition of Indebank, which used to save as a development bank and the government was a major shareholder.

Indebank was put up for privatisation in March to boost its capital in compliance with Reserve Bank of Malawi’s Basel II requirements.

NBM Corporate Affairs Manager Annie Magola said the closure of Indebank is aimed at cutting costs and improving service delivery.

So far 14 Indebank branches have been closed down.

The branches include Karonga, Mzuzu, Mponela, Salima, Kanengo, Lilongwe Old Town, Mpico, Capital City, Mangochi, Limbe, Hedreson Street, Luchenza, Kasungu and Bwaila.

Magola said in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Services Act and the timetable given by the Reserve Bank of Malawi, National Bank is in the final stages of integrating Indebank into its system.

“We communicated to all Indebank customers on the closure and since May, we have been integrating their accounts with our system,” she said.

On job security of Indebank employees, Magola said it is inevitable that some employees might lose their jobs.

She, however, was quick to point that for one year National Bank has not recruited any new employees to create space for the merger.

“We will communicate to those who will not be taken on board and as National Bank we will make sure that we follow all proper procedures and compensate them according to law. There will be no shortcuts on this one.

“What you should also know is that as National Bank, we started preparing for this merger long time ago, hence for one year we never replaced those who left the bank for various reasons including death. So there might not be many who will be left out,” said Magola.

The merger of National Bank and Indebank which has been done concurrently with the integration of MSB and FDH Bank has now seen the number of commercial banks in the country going down from 11 to nine.