ZABG Lines Up Projects

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) November 27, 2005 Darlington Musarurwa 11/30/2005

THE Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) has lined up projects worth more than $1 trillion as the group strategically positions itself for growth in the financial services sector. The projects are mainly service oriented technology packages that are meant to both grow and augment the bank's growing clientele base. Built from the remnants of the collapsed financial institutions Royal Bank, Trust Bank and Barbican Bank which were the victims of a liquidity crunch that beset the banks at the height of the central bank's clean up exercise in the financial services sector in 2004, the banking group has shown strong growth potential. Among some of the ambitious projects that ZABG is planning to introduce is the setting up of Self Service Technology which, among other functions, allows for voice recognition through the interactive voice response (IVR) technology. The IVR technology is believed to be in sync with best practices in the financial services sector. The brand and advertising manager of the group, Mr Taurai Chinyamakobvu said that they wanted to improve and grow their services through a technologically induced competitive advantage in the financial services sector. "Our main thrust as a financial group is to provide a one-stop shop to customers as we have successfully developed into a composite financial institution that provides services ranging from asset management, treasury, money market investments and a host of other financial services. "We mainly focus on convenience to customers and we want to base it on state-of-the-art technology; and self service technology is one concept we are exploring and it is due to be rolled out next year," said Mr Chinyamakobvu. The bank's book has been growing over the month. The group's market share was also improving significantly. In the post Supreme Court judgement this year, the chief executive officer of ZABG, Mr Stephen Gwasira said that the bank would expand its operations in a deliberate attempt to grow their book. To date, the bank's branches have increased to 27 after the acquisitions of properties in Bulawayo and Harare. A fortnight ago ZABG unveiled the Travel Centre Branch, the bank's latest property and business unit, and also the Supreme Banking Centre which was officially opened by the Minister of Finance, Dr Herbert Murerwa. The Supreme Banking Centre is a programme through which the group is now broadening its client base by incorporating an exclusive service to complement the products that are meant for the lower end of the market. ZABG's existence and growth was hampered by the Supreme Court challenge by Royal and Trust Bank, which were contesting their inclusion into the RBZ project. This resulted in the group suspending some of its plans due to the uncertainty that hung over the court challenge. Negative publicity that the bank was receiving resulted in a run on deposits and proved to be a drawback that has since been overcome. The Supreme Court judgement that dismissed the challenges has spurred forward the group's plans. ZABG is buoyed by the $26,7 billion profit after tax that was recorded in the bank's first six months of operation this year. The allied banking group is well poised to develop into a huge financial institution that is central to the country's developmental projects. Already, the bank has made investments in the agricultural sector, particularly tobacco farming. Enditem