FNB Eswatini recorded a 9.9% increase in its active customer base in the 2025/2026 financial year, while investing more than E5.4 million in community initiatives and sponsorships.
The growth recorded in the financial year ended June 30 was driven by increased customer numbers across all three of the bank’s business segments, with Corporate and Investment Banking recording the strongest expansion at 17.1%.
This is contained in the bank’s newly released Integrated Annual Report, which also details its community investments, business priorities and efforts to widen access to financial services.
According to the report, retail primary-banked customers increased by 10%, while Commercial Banking customers grew by 7%. Corporate and Investment Banking recorded a 17.1% increase in its client base compared to the 2024/2025 financial year.
The figures point to growth across the bank’s retail and business customer segments, with corporate and investment banking leading the expansion.
Alongside the customer growth, FNB Eswatini invested more than E5.4 million through its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and sponsorship initiatives during the reporting period.
More than E3.4 million was channelled through the FNB Foundation towards community interventions, including support for the SOS Children’s Villages Child-Headed Households Programme and the rehabilitation of a six-classroom block at St Paul’s Primary School in Manzini.
The bank also supported the 2025 Temvelo Awards through its sponsorship wing. Its employee volunteer programme extended support to vulnerable communities through partnerships with retailers.
Working with Pick n Pay Lojaf, the bank provided newborn clothing and maternity essentials worth E80 000 to 11 public health facilities across the country, benefiting approximately 250 newborns.
In another initiative, its partnership with Buy n Save SPAR resulted in the donation of school shoes worth E52 950 to 356 underprivileged pupils from 12 public schools.
FNB Eswatini Chief Executive Officer Thokozani ‘TK’ Dlamini said the bank was positioning itself to serve a wider section of the population through increased inclusivity and more diversified financial products.
He said the institution had spent the past 30 years building a reputation as a bank that was committed to helping people, but was now broadening its purpose to ensure that its services reached more Emaswati.
He said the bank had already started diversifying its offerings to provide more customised, relevant and meaningful financial solutions.
The CEO said the bank intended to accelerate its inclusivity efforts as it worked towards creating sustainable value for its stakeholders.
“We have spent the past 30 years building a reputation as a bank that is here to help. As we evolve, we are broadening this purpose to reflect a more inclusive ambition, one that makes it clear that help is for everyone.
“Our objective is to extend our legacy of trust into a more diversified, digitally enabled and future fit business that can serve a wider spectrum of financial needs,” Dlamini said.
FNB BACKS 9 000 SMEs, TRIPLES LENDING LIMIT
MORE than 9 000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) received lending and business support from FNB Eswatini during the 2025/2026 financial year.
The bank also increased its scored lending limit from E500 000 to approximately E1.5 million.
The expansion effectively tripled the lending ceiling under the facility, potentially giving qualifying businesses access to larger amounts of financing to support their operations and growth.
The bank said it also introduced faster, data-driven credit decisions to improve access to funding, while working alongside businesses through financial education, practical business support and access to opportunities.
FNB also successfully piloted BizHub, a digitally enabled relationship banking model designed to improve engagement with SMEs through proactive customer interaction and better access to banking services.
FNB Chief Executive Officer Thokozani ‘TK’ Dlamini said continued innovation would be guided by the needs of customers, with the bank focusing on attracting new clients while strengthening relationships with existing ones.
Meanwhile, the bank reported reaching more than 6 000 previously underbanked customers through its SicaloZero account as part of its financial inclusion agenda.
The entry-level transactional account carries no monthly account fee and is designed for individuals earning up to E10 000 per month, including informal traders.
FNB Eswatini operates 15 branches, more than 120 automated teller machines (ATMs) and automated deposit takers (ADTs), as well as over 800 active CashPlus agents across the country.
