BNR moves to ensure financial inclusion as it marks 50 years

THE NATIONAL Bank of Rwanda (BNR) is committed to improving its tools, mechanisms and systems of managing economic stability and progress towards financial inclusion. This was said on Saturday by the central governor, John Rwangombwa, in Musanze District as the Bank celebrated 50 years of operation. The celebrations also coincided with the inauguration of the modern building that will host the BNR Northern region branch, which was constructed by the Bank at a tune of Rwf2billion. Officials said with the new facility, the branch will deliver better services given the modern equipment that came with it. Rwangombwa said having upcountry branches helps bring services closer to the people and ensures that economic growth is realised across the country. He said as the Bank turns 50, much has been achieved but more needs to be done to maintain financial stability in the country. “As we turn 50, we are happy with the performance of the financial sector. We have maintained stability of the financial sector with single-digit inflation in the last five years and over the last three years, it remained at five per cent or below,” Rwangombwa said. He added that going forward; the focus will be to continue improving tools and systems. “We are supporting the growth of the financial sector. We see different developments in the sector such as mobile financial services. We are keeping pace with these new innovations in order to achieve universal financial inclusion by the year 2020,” he said. Currently, BNR has five upcountry branches in East, South, North and two in the Western Province which Rwangombwa said can ably serve the entire country. The Bank was created in 1964. The number of commercial banks operating in the country have since increased to 15 with over four million clients, according to Rwangombwa. The Musanze branch has been key in improving financial services in this part of the country, since it was created in 2005, according to officials. Rwangombwa said in 2006, a year after it was created, it received Rwf8.9bn and last year, it received more Rwf19billion from clients, an indication that the branches have a critical role in the economic growth of the country. The Northern Province Governor Aime Bosenibamwe, welcomed the new facility, saying it will go a long way in offering better services to the people in the area. He encouraged businesses to shun archaic business practices through working with banks. The business community in Musanze hailed the role banks are playing to transform their economic status and pledged to continue working with banks.

National

BNR moves to ensure financial inclusion as it marks 50 years