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Commercial Bank of Africa

GE Security has secured the Commercial Bank of Africa with the latest in surveillance, access control and fire technologies.

The Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) is the largest privately-owned Kenyan bank, whose primary focus is corporate and institutional banking.

CBA was founded in 1962 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, and quickly established branches in Nairobi, Kenya, and in Kampala, Uganda. With bank nationalisation in Tanzania, CBA reincorporated itself in Kenya in 1967. In light of developments in Uganda in 1971, it subsequently sold the Kampala branch.

From 1980 to 1984, the Bank of America reorganised CBA, developing and installing Bank of America’s global systems and disciplines. The Bank of America eventually sold the remainder of its shares and now CBA is wholly Kenyan owned.

CBA is a leading innovator of banking technology in sub-Saharan Africa. CBA was keen to enhance its rapid commercial and physical expansion with the latest trends in facility safety and security. As the bank was moving into its newly completed regional headquarters, it considered designing a scalable security system that would eventually be implemented throughout all of its regional locations.

The bank’s head of security insisted that the system chosen by CBA be first-rate, easy to train on, scalable and complementary to the building’s aesthetic design. GE Security, through its local system integrator, Wells Fargo, was selected by CBA to custom design such a system. GE Security’s partnership with the installer, its experience and its broad system capability were key in ensuring that the site met CBA’s security specifications.

GE Security’s solution

GE Security proposed a solution based on the ATS Master platform for its extensive customisation capabilities and its intrinsic scaling capabilities. The ability to integrate video, intrusion and fire detection was key to the success of the GE Security solution for the site.

The new CBA corporate headquarters features a fully integrated GE Security solution consisting of over 80 cameras, more than 40 access controlled doors and an EST QS fire detection system. The bank has already extended this system to cover six of the bank’s Nairobi offices and is set to roll out further.

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