By JAMES KUNDA –
THE Pan African Building Society (PABS) in Ndola has this year set aside K9 million for loans and leases to retail and corporate clients.
PABS Ndola branch manager Jones Mulenga said in an interview that from this K9 million, the institution plans to loan out K4 million to its retail clients who are mainly from the public sector.
Mr Mulenga said the remainder of K5 million would be leased-out to corporate clients, predominantly the Small Medium Scale Entrepreneurs (SMEs) whom the institution serves in this category.
“This year, K9 million has been set aside for loans across all consumer categories and from this total allocation, K4 million has been put aside for the retail clients, whereas K5 million is reserved for corporate clients,” he said.
Mr Mulenga said the institution performed fairly well in 2013, with the clientele base growing tremendously owing to the favourable services that are being rendered to both our retail and corporate clients.
He said last year, the institution disbursed K11 million in loans and leases across its clientele base.
“The K9 million is just an initial start-up sum as the allocation may increase gradually to even more based on the response from our clients,” he said.
Mr Mulenga said efforts by the institution to grow its customer base would be enhanced further this year by the introduction of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), which are expected to be rolled out at all PABS branches next month.
“These facilities are already operational across our branch network in Lusaka and soon, the ATM’s should be up and running to service the clients in Ndola and surrounding areas,” Mr Mulenga said.
He said the institution also plans to open up branches in Mpongwe and Solwezi to ensure that people there can also benefit  from PABS monetary products and services.