| Updated Wed, May 3rd 2017 at 19:02 GMT +3Ecobank plans to close branches and cut jobs as the pan-African lender steps up investments in digital platforms, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Ecobank’s operations in nearly 40 countries across sub-Saharan Africa are exposed to some economies that have been pressured by the slide in commodity prices and unfavourable currency swings. The bank, which counts South Africa’s Nedbank and Qatar National Bank as shareholders, suffered a hefty $131 million (Sh13.49 billion) pre-tax loss in 2016. “This means reducing our branch network, using technology to deliver to customers and processing transactions centrally,” said Ayeyemi. Ayeyemi, a former Citigroup executive in Africa who took over at Ecobank in 2015, said the expansion into online platforms would lead to lay offs.

Source: Standard Digital May 03, 2017 16:52 UTC