The Central Bank of Lesotho granted the First National Bank (FNB) South Africa a licence to open a branch in Lesotho, in accordance with Sections 4 and 5 of the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) 1999. The FIA, which is the principal law governing the business of banks, subjects the foreign branches to the same prudential requirements as those of local commercial banks.

The Central Bank of Lesotho took cognizance of the need to create an environment conducive to competition, and extension of financial services to rural areas. The banking business in Lesotho is highly concentrated with three banks only, two of which belong to the same group. This concentration has led to lack of competition in the industry which, in turn, led to limited Financial products. In order to alleviate this problem, the Central Bank considered inviting increased foreign entry into the banking industry in the country.

FNB is expected to provide a full range of banking services to its customers through traditional as well as electronic networks. Their focus is to provide financial services to the customer, small business and rural corporate market. FNB has expressed an intention to install Mini-ATMs, a product that will benefit consumers who are not sophisticated enough to operate current accounts.
Some Basotho who used to cross borders to do various banking transactions in South Africa are already benefiting from the presence of FNB in Maseru. We wish the FNB and Basotho a good and long working relationship.