The young and technologically savvy like to complain that its conservative streak makes it look like it belongs to another era.
Yet the truth of the matter is that the image that Barclays Bank of Botswana cuts today is in many ways a far cry from that of days gone by when the bank was by far a market leader of Botswana’s financial sector.
For decades Barclays Bank dominated Botswana’s financial sector and grew used to that position until such time that it almost took it for granted.
That was also until a batch of newcomers filed into the market and the rules of the game changed completely. Now the once golden boy of Botswana’s financial sector has gone somewhat grey, struggling to reassert itself under the changed ball game where competition is cutthroat and customers are increasingly harder to please.
Barclays Africa Chief Executive, Mizinga Melu says the bank has been listening to all its customers concerns and is responding in kind.
She is confident and unassuming.
For a regional head of a bank that has a lot to do before it regains its old glory from newcomers, Melu is upbeat and reassuring.
After losing two Managing Directors in succession under circumstances best perceived as dodgy, Melu will need her confidence to turn around Barclays Bank of Botswana and win back the public confidence.
Based in Johannesburg, she is in Gaborone to officiate at the opening of a multi-million Pula new head office of Barclays Bank Botswana ÔÇô a sign perhaps of the changing times.
More as a pre-emptive strike she brushes aside all talk that Barclays Bank is a conservative bank, before going at length, root and branch to prove that the bank that she leads is much more progressive than many would give it credit for.
If she is right it will only be a matter of time before the titan of yesteryear reclaims its glory.
Barclays commitment to change the way it has been doing things, she says, is underscored by the importance of the Botswana market to the overall Barclays Africa Group.
Botswana is among the top five markets in which Barclays id doing business in the Africa region.
This means that the bank’s overall bill of health is of great significance to the group’s performance as a whole.
“We are extremely committed to Botswana. We have been in this market for 65 years now, making us one of the longest banks to do business here,” says Melu.
The truth of the matter is that a majority of those 65 years were spent with Barclays being the market leader.
That position has since been lost to First National Bank, a relative newcomer that now controls the Botswana market in many indices.
Sixty five years in Botswana would make Barclays Bank a distant second to Standard Chartered which has a history of over a hundred years in the same market.
“I can say that over the last few years we have invested resources in Barclays Bank of Botswana and customers are beginning to enjoy the fruits of our investment.”
To dispel insinuations that Barclays Bank has not moved with the times especially in its embrace of technology, Mizinga Melu goes at length to give real life examples; the bank has moved to revolutionise its infrastructure which has seen some of the branches become paperless, Barclays Bank Botswana has some of the most advanced branches for anyone country where the bank is doing business. “You do not have to come to our branch receive or deposit money. It can be done from the comfort of your home and office, including using mobile phones. That certainly does not make us a conservative bank. A conservative bank would not participate in the innovative propositions that we have. Just over an Ipad one is now able to open a bank account with Barclays Bank of Botswana,” she says.
While the traditional brick and mortar banking remains important, there is growing evidence that it is time for alternative banking.
The fact that Botswana with a population of just over 2 million, has as many handsets as 2 and a half million drives Barclays to believe that by investing so heavily on mobile banking, they have put their money where their mouth is.
And that is not all.
Over the recent past, Bank of Botswana, in their annual report decried low levels of financial inclusion in Botswana. The report put blame squarely at the doorstep of commercial banks. A litany of reasons were adduced, chief among them lack of innovation and high bank charges by commercial banks.
“Mobile phone is key to financial inclusion. And that is the direction we have chosen for ourselves,” says Melu.
She insists that more than ever before, customers are now getting better and better propositions from Barclays Bank. The bank has increased the number of flagship branches across the country and the number of ATMs has grown exponentially.
How about the bank charges that in Botswana are a source of public disgust pitting commercial banks on one hand and the public, most recently backed by the Central Bank on the other?
Commercial charges is one sensitive issue on which commercial banks seem not to agree with the Bank of Botswana. And true to expectation Mizinga elects to sidestep the question.
In fact a Chief Executive from another bank recently resigned after alleged fallout with the regulator over bank charges.
The fact that the said CEO was later transferred to another jurisdiction on promotion hinted at a possibility that her views were at least broadly speaking in synch with those of her masters in Johannesburg.
“We are supporting the government in all their strategic pursuits. If you look at our strategy you will realize that we continue to support Botswana Government in their efforts to grow the country’s mining industries, especially diamonds. We have already started participating in the industry’s secondary and downstream sectors,” is the answer Melu elects to advance instead.
For the entire duration of the interview, no mention is made of the fact that Barclays Bank of Botswana has recently lost two citizen Managing Directors under a cloud. It is an welcome distraction that Barclays has had a hard time dealing with.
To resolve what was fast degenerating into a public relations crisis, the bank ultimately had no option but to request the Central Bank for permission to be allowed to reverse the gains made in localization of the top job. This saw a Managing Director being imported from South Africa with a clear brief to clean up the rot and get the bank where it used to be; which is at the top of the heap.
“We remain committed to our staff. We have programs in place aimed at identifying talent and grooming leadership. Oupa Monyatsi [a former acting MD of Barclays Bank Botswana] is today holding a big position at regional level. That is a demonstration of how seriously we take this market,” says Melu as a parting shot.
