Wema Bank Plc has opened a new branch in Area II part of Garki, Abuja as it continues its strategic expansion following a national license granted the bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2015.
The new branch is expected to further strengthen the bank’s business in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as the bank continues on its growth path.
Regional Operations Executive, South West & Abuja at Wema Bank, Adeyemi Oshundiya said: “When we reopened our branch in Minna in September, I emphasized that Wema Bank, in its quest for growth, will only expand to places where there are compelling business opportunities. The bank’s position on this has not changed.”
In addition to expanding strategically, he noted that the bank was using technology to improve how it serves its customers. According to him, “one of such is the recent launch of Wema EasySavers, an account that can be opened with the unique code *945*10#, launched in partnership with telco, Etisalat.
Wema EasySavers is available to all Etisalat subscribers. Its unique code *945*10# is layered on Wema Bank’s USSD banking code *945# launched earlier in the year.
“Wema Bank has been able to onboard more customers and has provided easier ways of banking through this service, as the code gives everyone with access to a GSM network the opportunity to bank on their mobile phones.”
Oshundiya explained that bank had continued to show strength in the face of economic challenges in the country, opening new branches when people expect banks to downscale.
He added: “Its strength and good standing in the Nigerian banking industry was recently validated by respected global ratings agency Fitch which affirmed Wema Bank’s Long-term national rating and the Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) despite downgrading some bigger banks.
The bank also raised N20 billion from the bond market recently to fund its expansion plans. Oshundiya explained that the new branch used to operate from the Le Meridien Hotel.
However he stressed the need to move to a bigger and more strategic location which would help the bank serves its customers better.
