Sibebe Resort: “The banking landscape is changing. As a bank, we have no choice but to automate, upgrade, and modernize our systems as quickly as possible.”This are the sentiments of Eswatini Bank Managing Director Nozizwe Mulela.
She said the Eswatini bank embark on the transformation journey that has to this far cost the bank about E171 Million .
Addressing the Eswatini Editors’ Forum on Thursday afternoon at Sibebe Resort, Eswatini Bank Managing Director Nozizwe Mulela said that one of the major factors driving an increase in their operational expenses is that they have spent millions of Emalangeni upgrading their legacy systems.
But what caused this awakening? According to Mulela, the bank started losing customers in droves during the COVID-19 pandemic period. “Our challenges began in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The pandemic found us wanting in our technology infrastructure. We were just not ready. Customers couldn’t receive assistance. “This meant that we lost a lot of customers who migrated to other banks. This hit us severely.”
The MD further stated that another effect of the pandemic was that most businesses that had taken out loans were unable to service them because they were not operating. She said that although some businesses clawed their way out of financial challenges, others couldn’t and have since closed. “We have businesses that have structured payment arrangements with us and are still servicing loans, but others just could not survive.”
Mulela revealed that, because of these factors, they had to invest in digital infrastructure, which has since increased their operational expenses and further affected their financial performance. “From 2022 to 2024, we have been on a journey of IT advancement and development. Our IT legacy systems needed to be modernized, which effectively meant that our costs doubled. We have also had to fortify our cybersecurity systems and bring new skills to the bank, which further increases our operational expenses.”
She revealed that to date, they have spent E171 million to fortify their digital systems and also introduce new digital platforms. “This is a journey, and we are not done. We are still going to invest in a new core banking system, as we have been upgrading our software systems rather than the hardware. Our banking system is struggling to handle these new digital products we are introducing, as it wasn’t designed to handle such capacity,” she noted.
Mulela said that the situation is more challenging because these capital projects are self-funded. “We need support. Any business investing in infrastructure development requires its shareholders to support it, while we continue working to ensure that we grow the business.
Discussion about this post