Hundreds of customers of the First Community Bank have protested restrictions imposed by the bank on the withdrawal of funds currently being implemented by the financial institution that had been in place for the last two weeks.
According to sources, bank customers were only allowed to withdraw a maximum of Ksh. 10,000 per day an action that has resulted in panic withdrawals. The bank’s chief executive officer Hussein Hassan in a statement attributed the panic withdrawals to malicious speculations that forced their clients to rush to withdraw their savings thus putting a strain on their operations.
“First Community Bank would like to assure all our esteemed customers and the general public that the Bank remains in a good position to serve you now and in the long-term,” he said. “We acknowledge that our customers may currently be experiencing challenges in some of their transactions occasioned by panic withdrawals informed by malicious rumours,” Hassan added.
The bank noted that unprecedented withdrawals forced the bank to limit its depositors’ withdrawal limit. “As a responsible bank, FCB understands that these restrictive measures have not been favourable to our customers but are necessary to maintain stability in the short and long-term,” he said.
“We are continuing to implement several measures to address the challenges customers are currently experiencing. We urge our esteemed customers to maintain confidence in FCB reposed in us over the years and for the general public to engage us directly to obtain accurate information.”
Owing to the significant withdrawals the bank management also noted that it had reached a deal with CBK to limit some of its services until it restores normalcy to its operations. The First Community Bank is the country’s first-ever licensed Sharia compliant bank by the Central Bank of Kenya and has been up and running for the last 12 years.
