Companies

DTB opens new branches in Nairobi and Kiambu

DTBBRANCH

DTB chairman Linus Gitahi (right) and CEO Nasim Devji during the launch of the lender's 67th branch at Sarit Centre, Westlands in 2022. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has opened three new branches as part of an expansion drive to bring products and services closer to customers.

The physical outlets located in Baba Dogo, Kijabe Street and Kiambu town bring DTB Group’s branch network to 70 branches in Kenya and 138 across East Africa.

“DTB’s growing network of branches represents our ongoing commitment to be closer to our customers and providing them with easy and convenient access to our services,” said DTB Group Chief Executive Officer Nasim Devji.

Despite a shift in digital transactional channels accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, banks are still opening new brick-and-motor outlets for reach to customers and expansion.

KCB Group plans to open 12 new branches in Kenya and Tanzania this year in a move that will take its branches across the region past the 500 mark.
Six of the new branches will be in Kenya while the other half will be in Tanzania where KCB is still eyeing acquisitions after the deal to acquire a 100 percent stake in African Banking Corporation Tanzania Limited collapsed in December 2021.

Last year, DTB opened six branches across Nairobi, Mombasa and Kiambu counties in its commitment to enhancing customer satisfaction.

“The new branches, targeting traders, farmers, and other business owners and retailers, will offer a wide range of innovative products and services to our customers, while also giving them a space where they can come in and talk to us as we explore ways of supporting each other,” Ms Devji added.

The 2022 banking industry customer satisfaction survey by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) shows that the preference for branch banking spiked to 17.6 percent last year, shooting past the 2019 levels of 13 percent before the health crisis drove customers to mobile channels.

The preference for branch banking faded significantly in 2020 and 2021 as mobile, internet and online banking preference rates soared in the shadow of the pandemic which forced reduced physical interactions.

Despite the returning allure of physical branches, the preference for mobile banking has not waned as 67.8 percent of the survey respondents said they preferred mobile banking in contrast with a 58.4 percent preference rate in 2021.

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