Winning the Best Islamic Bank award in Kuwait from Arabian Business magazine, and the Best Islamic Bank in Kuwait for Customer Service from Service Hero, was proof the bank is on the right track, whether with respect to product and service development or distinction in customer service.
During 2011, the bank continued the implementation of its local expansion strategy by offering more distinguished Islamic products and services in addition to the geographical expansion throughout the different areas of Kuwait to reach the largest ratio of the various categories of society.
Thanks to the developments witnessed in the bank, it ranked 44th among the top 500 Arab companies as per a report published in the last issue of Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal magazine stating the top 500 listed companies according to market capitalisation for the two years 2009 and 2010.
Noteworthy is that the bank underwent a set of major developments during the last two years; namely since April 2009 with the formation of a new board of directors followed by a step towards enhancing stability by the entry of new stakeholders to the bank; chief among which is the NBK with a shareholding exceeding 47 percent.
During this period, and thanks to its professional management team, Boubyan Bank successfully shifted from loss to profitability and significantly regained the trust of shareholders and clients. Moreover, the bank developed a clear vision and strategy as professionally set by the present board of directors, which is carefully and continuously implemented by its departments in such a way that realises all the desired objectives.
The mentioned period witnessed a set of developments, basically the entry of NBK as a major stakeholder, following which an accurate assessment of the bank’s conditions was conducted for around two months, then a set of parallel steps were taken including contracting with a prestigious international consulting firm to prepare the bank’s strategy now in action.
As for the second step, the bank made a capital increase of 50 percent; thus raising its equity to above KD 235 million, which, in its turn, contributed to raising capital adequacy ratio to above 30 percent, the highest among Kuwaiti banks.
The third step was represented in the cleaning the bank’s budget by the write-off of precautionary provisions, whereas the last step was dedicated to strengthening the bank’s human resources, and completion of the executive team structure by soliciting a number of highly efficient banking executives.
Islamic values have played a major role in establishing the standards and principles of the bank and its operations. These values have been adopted throughout all sectors, departments and branches to reflect our genuine identity and ideals that are based on integrity, transparency, and honesty. In addition, the bank is committed to the society it operates in, and this is reflected through various social responsibility initiatives and programs. This has aided in the recruitment of talented Kuwaiti youth to join a promising banking environment.
The bank has succeeded in moving forward and has witnessed numerous operational growths, which includes the progress of private banking services and the expansion of its network, which will include more than 20 branches throughout Kuwait by the end of the year. In addition to this expansion, Boubyan Bank ATM machines will soon be located in more commercial and residential areas.
The bank has also developed its Platinum banking services to meet the needs of special clients such as company owners and executives. This service provides them with an exclusive package of privileges and services offered by our personal banking officers who respond to our elite customer queries and communicate with them on a regular basis to keep them updated on the latest services while providing them with trustworthy financial and banking advice to meet their expectations.
Boubyan private banking services has proven to communicate with customers effectively and efficiently by providing them with a number of leading services, including setting wealth management plans, reviewing the financial statuses of clients, and supporting their investments. We are committed to providing our customers with all the banking support they need while protecting their investments and assets by offering credit and Sharia’a consultation at all times.
The bank continued its policy aiming at becoming the first choice for companies desiring to deal with Islamic banks, as the new management adopted a clear strategy set by a leading international specialised entity.
The management structure was reorganised in accordance with the new strategy based on diversifying the banking relationships to encompass all economic sectors while focusing on productive sectors and targeting medium and large size enterprises to realise best banking service.
In addition, providing all banking needs through highly qualified specialised account managers for provision of best service, whereas their role is not confined to studying and granting credit to companies but also attending to the comprehensive banking relationship.
Despite the tough economic conditions, Boubyan Bank managed to realise remarkable growth rates in the credit portfolio reaching 30 percent by the end of the year, which is considered one of the highest growth rates in the local market, by soliciting many well-known productive high financial and economic worthiness companies, whilst strictly abiding by the highest credit worthiness standards, studying and diversifying risks.
Structured Finance and Syndicated Finance Division plays a key role in provision of new finance instruments whilst focusing on growth in syndicated finance for productive companies and development plans’ projects, as seen in arranging a syndicated finance transaction for Zain Sudan where the Division successfully gathered a number of local and international banks to participate in this transaction, thus increasing finance value to €270m. The Division also undertook the restructuring of some syndicated finances for some local companies, thus helping these companies overcome the tough conditions of the Global Financial Turmoil.
The year also witnessed assignment of a division for following up investment companies, which is entrusted with following up clients and adopts a policy based on negotiation with the defaulting client, the fact that resulted in rescheduling many files, improving collaterals’ ratio and correction of the conditions and composition of the bank’s credit portfolio.
In line with the restructuring process throughout 2010, the focus of the financial group was broadened from providing timely, adequate and effective information to also accommodate deploying a comprehensive framework for strategic performance management. This has enabled to benchmark the bank’s operating model against best practices that support senior management and effectively contribute into decision making.
During the year 2010, the bank’s human resources development continued, as the accredited trainees’ base expanded both on the local and international levels, in addition to retraining and qualification of all the staff of consumer banking, corporate banking and treasury services groups through an integrated training system.
To the end of creating a professional organisational environment, the preparation of career path plans for each position in the bank’s organisational structure was completed, and as part of the national labour support policy as a pivotal strategy, the Human Resources Group managed to realise a ration of 63 percent for Kuwaiti nationals of the total bank’s staff.
