FDH Bank not spared from economic woes
FDH Bank, one of the leading commercial bank, which recently acquired stakes in the formerly government -owned Malawi Savings Bank (MSB), has said its business is not spared from the knock down effects of the economic downturn, currently prevailing in the country.
Speaking on the sidelines of a customer cocktail the bank hosted in Blantyre on Thursday, FDH Head of Finance, Mathias Silumbu, said indicators such as rising inflation and hiked bank rates continue to induce pressure on the bank’s business.
“As with any business, the state of the economy has affected our operations in the year. It has affected our customers in terms of business volumes they are able to turn over, their ability to pay loans and their deposits to the bank which, obviously, will have an impact on our cashbooks,” said Silumbu.
He further hinted that increased interests rates and the ever rising inflation have further affected the bank’s cost of doing business, especially in the last quarter of this financial year.
Silumbu was, however, upbeat for a stable macroeconomic environment in the short to medium terms, which he said would in turn have a positive effect on the business.
Giving a synopsis of the impact of the recent MSB acquisition, Silumbu said in the months, the bank has seen a significant growth in the number of its clientele.
He could, however, not give detailed update regarding the merger of the two banks, only saying there is substantial progress.
“We have a time frame within which we will be executing the merger of the two banks. It’s critical to note that this merger is for the benefit of our customers and a lot has already been done,” he said.
