Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) is set to install 50 more Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) to ease the long queues at the bank’s branches across the country, management said yesterday.

The country’s leading commercial bank by branch network has 25 ATMs and only three of them are automatically linked on one network.

"We still have a problem of connection from telecom operators plus some places which don’t have access to electricity,” Ben Kalkman, BPR’s Chief Executive Officer told Business Times in an interview.

He said the expansion will facilitate their clients with easy access to their accounts during any time of the day.    
BPR has so far managed to link 36 branches on one network, Kalkman. The bank has 188 branches across the country.

In an attempt to cut the non-performing loans, BPR has also written-off Rwf1 billion from its balance sheet which dates back as far as 10 years.

As a result, the bank registered a huge loss in 2009. The CEO said that at least they are assured that the bank’s balance sheet is clean.

"After the loss of 2009, the first half results shows the bank is doing much better than the previous years,” Kalkman said.

BPR was bought by Rabobank, a Dutch bank which acquired 35 per cent stake in BPR in June 2008. The bank invested heavily and it provides management services and extensive technical support.

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