Proposed Fidelity coast regional office in Mombasa
Fidelity Banks’ has announced an aggressive expansion plan that will see the bank launch five new retail outlets in various parts of the country this year. This announcement comes on the back of impressive 2013 results which have seen profits before tax shoot up by 211 percent.
In its latest published statement of accounts, Fidelity Bank saw its profits rise from Ksh.102.44 million in 2012 to Ksh.317.88 in 2013. Its total assets grew by 8.4 percent from Ksh11.77 billion to Ksh.12.78 billion during the year under review.
According to the Banks Executive Director Mr. Sultan Khimji, the bank’s new branches will still be targeting the small and medium scale (SME) sectors and in growing urban centres of Nakuru, Meru and Eldoret. The bank will also increase its footprint in Nairobi by opening new branches at the New Sameer Industrial Park and Highridge area.
“Nakuru, Meru and Eldoret are some of the fastest growing urban centres in Kenya both in terms of population and the number of SMEs that are coming up such as supermarkets, retail traders and secondary processors of the huge agricultural produce from the surrounding regions. This natural attraction is further enhanced by their new status as seats of county governments,” said Khimji.
“We are obviously very happy with our performance this year. We hooked our growth wagons on the SME train which as you are aware is the engine of growth for the country and we have not been disappointed. These small and medium sized companies are here to stay especially after they have gone through the teething problems of starting up. They need working capital to finance their growth plans, buy raw materials and pay staff; and that is where we come in to offer them services they would rarely get with the bigger banks.”
Last year, the bank opened its newest branch in Kilimani area along Lenana Road. It also announced the establishment of a new ultra-modern coast regional office in Mombasa town to take care of business opportunities in the travel, hospitality, transportation and warehousing sectors.
The bank has broken ground for the new Mombasa headquarters and construction has started on new offices along Nyerere Road which will house a new branch and a fully-fledged regional office with autonomy to address customer issues.
