As Nigeria’s huge unbanked population steadily migrates to the formal banking system, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, a member of the Standard Bank Group, has restated that it will continue to offer new and innovative products and solutions aimed at meeting the demands of the various segments of the market.

This promise comes against the backdrop of the continuing growth of the bank’s retail franchise with the opening of over 70 branches across the country since the beginning of the year.

Tolu Oladipo, the bank’s Head of Personal Banking, noted that the Nigerian financial market is extensive and ever expanding, a situation that demands consistent evaluation to identify potential customers, their needs and aspirations as well as to support these with the appropriate products and solutions.

He said Stanbic IBTC already have an array of product and service solutions targeted at a diverse customer segment to ensure that all customers will have access to the best products and services wherever they are and whenever they desire it.

“Awareness of our products is growing rapidly in the market, driven by our significant expansion within the country. Since the beginning of the year we have rolled out more than 70 points of representation nationwide and we expect to see this trend continuing over the next few years. In addition to this, our growth is fuelled by the strength of our brand as well as the quality of service we strive to continue to deliver to our customers.”

Some of the specialized service offerings said Oladipo, include the Stanbic IBTC Home Loans product, which enables customers and non-customers to access loans from the bank in order to purchase or build their own homes. Another is the Vehicle and Asset Finance product through which a salaried employee or a corporation could take a loan to acquire assets that may include motor vehicles or operational equipment among others.

The bank was awarded the “Best Customer of the Year” by Toyota Nigeria Limited for financing the highest number of Toyota vehicles sold in the country last year, which is a testament to the ease of access of this particular product, said Oladipo.

Yet another product, said Oladipo, is the e.susu product, a micro credit scheme which enables activation of various personal finance pockets for those who want to save to meet specific future needs whilst giving the customer the freedom to choose how much and when they want to save. This has been a hit among entrepreneurs in the small and medium scale enterprises sector.

“In addition to Vehicle and Asset Finance (VAF), we currently offer a large number of lending and transactional products both in personal and business banking and this offering will continue to expand,” he stated

Jacques Troost, Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Executive Director for Personal and Business Banking, stressed that while the bank will continue to expand its footprint in Nigeria to ensure even greater closeness to customers, a major objective is to continuously avail different customer segments of exceptional value by means of customized products and service offerings.

“We are confident that the market will continue to see new and innovative solutions from us, which will result in numerous opportunities to create value for our customers and the community in general.”