Another Malawi commercial bank confirms deeper staff cuts: NBS to close five branches

Malawi Stock Exchange-listed commercial bank, NBS Bank plc,  has confirmed  it’s laying off employees  as it plans to close five branches across the country following a slump in the number of transactions it handles.

NBS Bank has been making losses until recently when it announced reducing loss by about 74 percent to K1.1 billion in the year ended December 31 2017 from K4.3 billion in 2016, according to the bank’s financial results.

The bank said the job cuts would hit its staff   as it plans to close five of its service centres  from March 18 as part of rationalisation of business operations in its transformation process.

The branches involved includes Chitipa, Ntchisi, Kamuzu International Airport, Riverside and Neno.

Customers  of the bank may continue transacting at any of its Banki Pafupi agents in the affected and surrounding areas.

NBS Bank plc  has since opened the voluntary exit window to reduce chances of retrenchment where interested employees are urged to apply for voluntary exit, according to a  letter issued on Tuesday and co-signed by the bank’s chief finance officer Vera Zulu and head of human resources Austin Thunde.

“As earlier communicated, the operations of the closed service centres will be merged into the closet service centres. The bank will then consider all applications made and the applicants will be notified of the outcome upon review,”  reads the letter as seen by Nyasa Times.

The development comes in the wake of National Bank, the country’s biggest commercial bank by assets and profitability, confirming it would lay off an undisclosed number of employees in what it termed voluntary retirement to reduce its operational expenses.