Mayfair Bank

In 2017, the bank operated for just 5 months after getting its license from the Central Bank of Kenya in June of the same year. They had been in existence but not operational for about one and half years prior to that. The bank focuses on SMEs, corporate, selected retails and has a relationship management based approach.

They managed to open 500 accounts by December 2017. So far they have three branches; Westlands, Upper hill and in Mombasa, Nyali.

“We are relationship based, in terms of returns and how customers are handled. We are totally focused in services. Whoever comes to us gets the best. We have competitive rates but our focus is on services.” he adds. In 2017 the bank loaned out about Ksh 200 million. Other revenue streams included investing in treasury bills, treasury bonds and infrastructure bonds.

They managed to open 500 accounts by December 2017. So far they have three branches; Westlands, Upper hill and in Mombasa, Nyali.

“At end of 2018, we plan to open at least two more branches but we will be very aggressive on digital banking, internet banking and mobile banking, ” he adds. Mayfair Bank has heavily invested in their core banking system. “We have Finacle, a core banking system developed by Indian corporation Infosys.” He notes.

In five years, time, the bank looks forward to being at the top of Tier 4 ready to get to Tier 3. This is more than Ksh 15 billion in terms of assets. They are looking forward to growth of more than 100 per cent every year for the next 5 years. Mayfair Bank decided to face the challenges of starting a new bank rather than buy an existing one to avoid the legacy issues that come with such acquisitions. Among the challenges they faced in setting a new bank include; recruitment, developing products, policies, approvals and getting licensed.

Mr. Singh notes that they are going to follow the IFRS 9, they have trained their personnel and are ready for it. In regard to capping of interest rates, he says that their calculations are based having capping in mind, and they are set for it. As a startup, the bank is not impacted by the non-performing assets.

“Our board compromises of experienced people from various sectors and we are strictly following requirements as stipulated by prudential guidelines for the bank board. The board is completely independent in their decision making and have a clear policy to insider lending.The general consensus is that we do not want to see a lot of insider lending.” He notes. Growth that will see their ambitious projections come true will come from mid corporate and large ones at times, high net worth individuals, and the synergies within the Group. They managed to collect deposits of Ksh 2 billion in five months in 2017, in the first quarter of 2018, they are close to Ksh 700 million in asset base.

In 2018 the bank looks forward to an aggressive growth of about 100 per cent in deposit. “We will be focused on lending. We believe in steady progress, professionalism and growth, that is what we will be interested in and we are very optimistic.” He adds

“In 2018 and beyond we are optimistic because of the direction the economy is taking. There is a lot of activities. We are looking at supporting the government’s Big Four Agenda.” He reveals.

Mayfair bank is to start bancassurance this year. Currently they have deposit products; current account, savings account, asset financing, insurance premium financing and forex trading.”

The bank has limitation on loans in terms of sectors that is constantly reviewed. Among the sectors they focus on are retail, agriculture, asset financing, manufacturing and transport. “We are not doing consumer lending yet. It is only available to staff at the moment. We are yet to issue credit cards; it is all in our vision.” He adds.

“Mayfair bank is new and we need support from all over,” he states. “We are optimistic of running the bank the way shareholders expect. We are very careful.” 

On leadership he notes that it is about loving the people you work with, holding their hands and moving together. He states that loyalty, dedication, honesty and 100 per cent integrity matter most.