Oral East AfricaSince Family Bank was set up in 1984 as Family Finance Building Society, it had been handling small transactions. Its most popular product at the time was school fees loans of as low as KES 200.
However, in 1993, the Bank suddenly received a cheque of KES 149 million being bonus payment to Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) farmers who were banking with Family Bank at the time.
Undeterred, Family Bank was determined to rise to the challenge, reached out to and convinced bankers from the big institutions to come into their halls and help them serve customers as a side hustle.
Read also: Family Bank celebrates 40 years, looks ahead with view on AI
“We had not handled that kind of money before, but we were calling ourselves a bank, so we had challenges of paying this money to customers who were coming to our branches in large numbers,” Family Bank Founder T.K Muya said.
“We had to strategies and talk to cashiers from other mainstream banks, quietly advising and persuading them to proceed on leave and come assist us to serve our customers,” he said.
Lucky break
The gamble paid off, Mr. Muya said it was a lucky move that some tellers took the risk and came out to help them otherwise Family Bank, as we know it would not have taken off in the trajectory it has.
“Luckily some of them sympathized with us and agreed to proceed on leave and then come and help us, we shall forever be grateful to them,” he said.
Since that time, Family Bank has set its sights on growing the Bank into a formidable player with targets to not only get to tier one status and get listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange but to expand further into the East Africa region where Kenya banks have set sights for growth.
Today the lender boasts of being the fourth largest by branch networks with 95 branches across 32 counties and one of Kenya’s most trusted financial partners.
The lender has now grown internal capacity to proudly serve over 1.7 million customers with a total asset base of KES 158.3 billion and a deposit base of KES 119 billion as of 30 June 2024.
Looking into the future, technology is allowing the lender to do incredible things they could not have imagined in the 1980’s and 90’s as they are now able to serve millions of customers using technology.
“As we look to the next 40 years, there are no limits to innovation. The future is shaped by AI, big data, digital transformation, ESG values, ecosystem banking, innovation, and strategic partnerships. At Family Bank, these are our core priorities, and our goal is to evolve into a one-stop financial hub for our customers,” said Family Bank Chairman Lazarus Muema.
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