Nasfund pays out another K8.5mil

Business

Nasfund Contributors’ Savings and Loan Society (NCSL) is paying an additional K6.7 million in interest to its members, which brings the total amount of interest paid to members to K8.5 million.
NCSL said this equated to a total of 5.8 per cent in total interest payment to its members for the 2018 financial year.
It said NCSL’s result was an improvement on 2017, where it paid a total of 4.2 per cent in interest crediting rate to its members.
The interest payment will be made to members’ savings accounts today.
“The board is pleased with the overall results, despite the challenging environment during the year,” chairman Ian Tarutia said.
“We note the main drivers of profitability and balance sheet growth were on the back of good growth in the lending portfolio and returns on cash investments.
“The focus remains on generating growth in membership and expanding our loan book to ensure long-term sustainability.”
The society has seen a large increase in the number of members using electronic channels, including internet banking, to access products and services.
It will continue its focus on enhancing these channels to provide a more-convenient and user-friendly service to its 106,000-plus members throughout the country.
The society now has biometric identification service via touchscreens at each of the 19 branches nationwide. It has started installing them at high foot-traffic areas as part of bringing services closer to the members.
It has also revamped the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) service and online services, which now allow for automated approval of 1:1 loan applications, initiated using any type of mobile phone.
This is in addition to the withdrawal applications and account transaction history functions that can be accessed using this service.
NCSL is working on some exciting initiatives, including launching of its debit card within the next few months.
“On this note, we commend the NCSL management and staff, under the leadership of general manager, Vari Lahui, for their hard work and contribution to the 2018 results,” Tarutia said.
“Importantly, we also acknowledge and thank our valued members for their confidence and support over 2018, and assure them of our continued effort to provide a savings and loan service they can be proud of.”