Co-operative Bank of Kenya will open 15 new branches this year, continuing with the expansion of its physical outlets across the country despite the rising preference for digital services.
William Ndumia, the director of retail and business banking, said many of the branches lined up are at various stages as the company seeks to move services closer to the people.
“When we look at our mission and vision, we want to be dominant in this market and there are some areas where we have not gone into. There are even counties where we do not have a presence,” said Mr Ndumia.
"We want to seal that gap. Also, because of the infrastructure development that has happened across the country, there are some key towns that have come up and there is a lot of business and some of our customers are spreading out.”
The bank, which has an operation in South Sudan, has intensified its expansion locally where it sees untapped growth opportunities.
The 15 branches will add to the eight opened last year and five in 2022.
Co-op Bank closed September last year with 193 branches. The opening of new branches mirrors the trend in the sector where Co-op Bank's competitors including KCB, NCBA, DTB and I&M have been adding physical outlets.
This is despite the latest industry survey by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) showing that 45.7 percent of customers now prefer fully-automated or self-service platforms, including mobile, internet and chatbots for their banking services while just 16.5 percent prefer human-assisted service.
Mr Ndumia, however, said the market continues to face the pressure of “we want something close” given the changing demographics in satellite towns or rural towns coming to life as devolution initiatives spur growth.
He noted that Co-op Bank has already opened one branch in Ugunja town in Siaya County and will this month be opening another one in Imaara Shopping Mall, the new retail complex on Mombasa road at the entrance to Nairobi's Imara Daima estate.
Co-op Bank will then follow up with another branch in Luanda town in Vihiga County, bringing competition to the doorsteps of Equity and KCB.
Mr Ndumia was speaking after the signing of a new asset financing deal with motor vehicle dealer Isuzu East Africa through which Co-op will support schools and businesses in acquiring buses and commercial vehicles.
The asset finance scheme will see schools enjoy a 100 percent financing while businesses will access 95 percent financing from Co-op Bank.
Customers buying commercial vehicles will enjoy a 60-day grace period. Schools will have a one-term moratorium when they purchase the buses with repayment extended to 72 months on a termly basis, which adds up to 18 terms at zero processing fee.
