The Global Trade Review has voted the First National Bank Botswana as the best Trade Finance Bank in Botswana by receiving an award given to a bank that provides effective trade finance solutions for the demands of the local market.
FNBB Director – Marketing and Communications, Bomolemo Selaledi, told Sunday Standard that the award takes into account the innovation, service, consistency, flexibility and pricing of the solution.
Asked why FNBB deserves to be the best Trade Finance in Botswana, she said that FNBB provides customers with innovative solutions to their Trade Finance requirements such as documentary collection, letter of credit and advance payment. She pointed out that the bank provides purchase order finance and pre-and post-shipment export finance that simplify the process of importing and exporting of good between customers and suppliers.
“It is a prestigious accolade and industry recognition that comes with brand visibility and credibility building investor confidence in the winning brand,” said Selaledi.
She also emphasized that Global Trade Review (GTR) is the world’s leading international trade finance magazine, read by and featuring the market’s key banks, credit insurers, corporates, traders, law firms, brokers and consultants.
She added that GTR provides timely and in-depth news, leads and analysis on the global emerging markets trade finance, export finance and risk markets.
“Published six times a year, and with an editorial board that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of leading players in the market, GTR publishes international trade finance news, views, features, case studies and data that will give you the edge for business leads and risk mitigation,” she said.
Selaledi stated that the voters are the global readership of GTR and added that all local financial institutions involved in trade finance are eligible for the nomination and the award.
She also talked about the bank’s diversification drive, which she said continues to develop and improve its customer offerings and operating platform.
“The bank’s strategy of growing the secured books as opposed to the unsecured bucked the trend and showed a more conservative credit risk appetite compared to market,” she said.
Meanwhile, FNBB’s balance sheet continues to show good increases in advances with the year on year growth registering an impressive 23 percent to close at a book record of over P10 billion. The recent financial analysis for the year ended 30 June 2013, FNBB revealed that the growth is predominantly in secured assets, especially in the property and WesBank books.
