WING Bank (Cambodia) Plc on March 14 opened two more Phnom Penh branches – one in Sen Sok district and another near the Independence Monument – in its quest to deliver an ever-expanding suite of financial solutions to more Cambodians, and team up with industry leaders from around the world.

The bank, part of the Royal Group of Companies Ltd, has steadily stepped up its potential in nearly a year since it obtained a commercial banking licence from the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), the central bank, in April.

At the inauguration ceremony, Wing Bank chairman and Royal Group CEO Kith Meng described the opening of the branches as a “significant event” in the bank’s expansion drive aimed at taking services to a wider local audience, through innovative digital technologies and solutions to customer needs, moulded by alliances with eminent global leaders in the field.

“Wing Bank has developed a wide range of financial products and services, including credit and deposit services, to complement Wing's existing digital financial services – these services are provided through the Wing Bank App, which has a network of more than 10,000 Wing agents nationwide,” he said.

At the ceremony, NBC’s director-general for Banking Supervision Rath Sovannarak said that the expansion of Wing Bank's operational network “bears testament” to the growth of the Cambodian banking sector, as well as the level of investor confidence – local and foreign – in the sphere despite the context linked to Covid-19.

He underscored that Covid-induced shocks have squeezed household and business incomes along with foreign capital inflows since the first local coronavirus wave began in 2020, and continue to weigh on the economic recovery.

“The National Bank of Cambodia has been striving to continue to implement effective monetary policy to maintain price stability and exchange rates, as well as to strengthen monitoring mechanisms to maintain the strength of the banking sector in Cambodia,” he said.

At the same event, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces deputy commander-in-chief Lieutenant General Hun Manet emphasised the importance of bank loans as a source of capital to support economic activity in all areas.

He noted that the government and private financial institutions have provided a total of $290 million for the SME Co-Financing Scheme (SCFS) in both phases to support the Kingdom’s smaller businesses.

“I would like to encourage Wing Bank to explore the possibility of providing more credit to these enterprises using the institution's own capital,” Lieutenant General Manet said.

According to the NBC, banking system assets increased by 172 per cent last year to $69.6 billion, customer deposits rose 16.5 per cent to $39.2 billion, and consumer loans gained 22.7 per cent to reach $46.7 billion.

The health of the banking system in 2021 was “strong and resilient”, reflected in the capital adequacy ratio of 23.1 per cent, liquidity ratio of 151 per cent and non-performing loan ratio of two per cent, the central bank said.

Wing entered the payment and money transfer services market in 2008, evolving into Wing (Cambodia) Limited Specialized Bank in 2014 and becoming a full-fledged commercial bank last year.