These have been there for a long time. Banks have had agencies (sub branches) which carry out limited functionalities. For example they may only receive/pay cash,receive cheque deposits,a/c opening applications but may not handle loan processing,Trade Services eg Letters of Credits,Guarantees etc. They are outlets meant to bring services closer to the people and depending on the response may be upgraded to full branches.

Administratively also they report to a mother branch and their manager's usually a grade or two lower than their counterparts in fully fledged branches. In Kenya for example,KCB,NIC and CBA have all had such arrangements.