Wema Bank Plc. has opened a new branch on Dunukofia Street, Area 11 part of Garki, Abuja as it continues its strategic expansion following a national licence granted the bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2015. The new branch is expected to further strengthen the bank’s business in the Federal Capital Territory as the bank continues on its growth path.
“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,” notes Adeyemi Oshundiya, Regional Operations Executive, South West & Abuja at Wema Bank. “The bank’s position on this has not changed.”
Read Also:
In addition to expanding strategically, Wema Bank is also using technology to improve how it serves its customers. One such is the recent launch of Wema EasySavers, an account that can be opened with the unique code *945*10#, launched in partnership with youth-friendly 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.
Wema Bank has continued to show strength in the face of economic challenges in the country, opening new branches when people expect banks to downscale. 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 Dunukofia Branch used to operate from the Le Meridien Hotel. “The need to move to a bigger and more strategic location which will help us serve our customers better necessitated the opening of the new branch,” he said.
When not banking online or via *945#, customers of Wema Bank who had their accounts domiciled in Le Meridien Branch can now visit the new Dunukofia Branch to continue banking. Wema Bank is expected to open more branches in the first quarter of 2017.
