UP CLOSE & PERSONALWe are still a young organization. We have the potential to grow and ga<strong>in</strong> a higher market share.In a freewheel<strong>in</strong>g conversation with DURRAH,Jamal Ali Al-Hazeem, Chief Executive Officer, <strong>BMI</strong>Bank looks back on his career and his vision for thefuture.Tell us a little about your backgroundand the road that led you to yourpresent position.I started my career <strong>in</strong> 1979, and with<strong>in</strong> afew months found an appo<strong>in</strong>tment with ArthurAnderson- Bahra<strong>in</strong>. I started from scratch as staffmember at level one, and worked my way to theposition of Manag<strong>in</strong>g Partner by 1993. I stayedthere for 22 years and I am especially proud ofthe fact that we built a practice staffed largely byqualified Bahra<strong>in</strong>is, contrary to the trend <strong>in</strong> themarket at that time.In October 2000 I was appo<strong>in</strong>ted as ChiefExecutive Officer of the Economic DevelopmentBoard (EDB). I only stayed two and a half years <strong>in</strong>this position. The difference of the work culturefor me as a person who had moved from work<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> the private sector to a government or quasigovernment organization was a truly genu<strong>in</strong>eexperience.I stayed on as an Advisor to His Royal HighnessPr<strong>in</strong>ce Salman b<strong>in</strong> Hamad Al Khalifa, the CrownPr<strong>in</strong>ce, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairmanof the Economic Development Board for six monthsas agreed, it be<strong>in</strong>g the first year of Formula 1 <strong>in</strong>Bahra<strong>in</strong>. The agreement was that once Formula 1was over I could rejo<strong>in</strong> the private sector, whichis exactly as it happened. After a short break Iworked <strong>in</strong> Kuwait with The International Investorand returned back to Bahra<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> 2007 to take on therole of <strong>CEO</strong> of First Investment Bank, a $200 millionSharia-compliant <strong>in</strong>vestment bank headquartered <strong>in</strong>Bahra<strong>in</strong>. From there, the next stop was <strong>BMI</strong> Bank.Why <strong>BMI</strong>?I am 51 years old and what I have lived is fargreater than what is left. At this stage <strong>in</strong> my life,after this career, there is not a lot to prove and not alot left to gamble with.I wanted to make sure that I am able to givemy best shot, with people I like work<strong>in</strong>g with. It isimportant to know they will support you and backyou <strong>in</strong> your efforts. The <strong>in</strong>teractions here are verypositive. I had a few other options at that stage butthey were not really what I was look<strong>in</strong>g for and thiscame as an opportunity to do someth<strong>in</strong>g good, todeliver someth<strong>in</strong>g worthwhile <strong>in</strong> the time I have.This is someth<strong>in</strong>g I learnt at Arthur Anderson. Youtake someth<strong>in</strong>g and work with it and when youleave it to someone else, you leave it <strong>in</strong> muchbetter shape than when you took it over.There has been progression as wellas a transition <strong>in</strong> your career path atcerta<strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>ts. How did you cope withthat?Yes there has been progression but not manytransitions as I have stayed consistently with<strong>in</strong> theareas of bank<strong>in</strong>g and f<strong>in</strong>ance. Bank<strong>in</strong>g is not newto me. Hav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>teracted with bankers even at theearly stages of my career, it is a field I know verywell and feel very comfortable with. Even at ArthurAnderson I worked <strong>in</strong> the f<strong>in</strong>ancial sector divisionas a consultant and auditor, <strong>in</strong>teract<strong>in</strong>g closely withcorporate banks.The major transition, I would say, was theshift from Arthur Anderson to the EconomicDevelopment Board, which was the move fromprivate sector <strong>in</strong>to a quasi government organization.The EDB was a newly formed organization andthat <strong>in</strong> itself was a great challenge. Today His RoyalHighness the Crown Pr<strong>in</strong>ce has both the executiveand political role def<strong>in</strong>ed and the EDB is work<strong>in</strong>gsuccessfully as per the orig<strong>in</strong>al vision and objective.That was the transition for me as I have realizedthrough it that the private sector was my niche.Where do you see the economy todayand how does <strong>BMI</strong> fit <strong>in</strong> the big picture?Today there are two ma<strong>in</strong> drivers of theeconomy <strong>in</strong> Bahra<strong>in</strong>, one of which is thegovernment, who is the biggest spender. As longas the government does what is expected ofit, the economy will run. The other driver is realestate. We don’t have a lot of large corporations<strong>in</strong> Bahra<strong>in</strong>. We have BAPCO, ALBA, Gulf Air, and afew like that but what we have is a large segmentmade up of Small and Medium Enterprises. I th<strong>in</strong>kthe services <strong>in</strong>dustry is grow<strong>in</strong>g and tourism andhospitality sector needs to be brought to its truepotential.The government is spend<strong>in</strong>g a lot of moneyto build up the <strong>in</strong>frastructure of the country withprojects like the one near the Diplomat Hotel, andother <strong>in</strong>frastructural projects, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g electricity,power, water, and so on. However, bus<strong>in</strong>ess will notcome just because you have <strong>in</strong>frastructure. Bus<strong>in</strong>esswill come only if you have a lifestyle that <strong>in</strong>vestorslike. Saudi Arabia has a lot of <strong>in</strong>frastructure, andso do a lot of other places, but if you don’t have alifestyle that will attract people to come and live hereand do bus<strong>in</strong>ess, they will not come because theyhave many other options all over the world.In 2000, at the EDB, a study that wecommissioned <strong>in</strong>dicated that the average stay fora tourist here is 1.7 nights and the average spendper night is US$ 125. If however we can <strong>in</strong>creasethat to three nights and US$ 300, the impact on theeconomy will be huge. We need to figure out howto make people stay on longer and spend more withthe right offer<strong>in</strong>gs. Seef Mall and City Center arenot enough. Dubai today has the lifestyle and I canspend four 4 days there and not get bored becausethere is so much to do. The government of Bahra<strong>in</strong>has a responsibility to come up with some sort ofstimulation package or <strong>in</strong>itiatives for the economy.There is a lot of liquidity <strong>in</strong> the market. Just lookat the deposits <strong>in</strong> the bank. We need, howeverto create the right avenues and opportunities for<strong>in</strong>vestment. We have to create the lifestyle not onlyfor those who come here as tourists, but also for us,for our kids, for our visitors and guests.Given the recent economic downturnand recent bank<strong>in</strong>g difficulties, how doyou reassure your clients?<strong>BMI</strong> is a retail bank and our core bus<strong>in</strong>essis <strong>in</strong> retail. What we are try<strong>in</strong>g to do is <strong>in</strong>creaseour share <strong>in</strong> the market. The only way we can dothat is by offer<strong>in</strong>g better products and services.In 10 years time, I would like to see this bank asone that always uses cutt<strong>in</strong>g edge technologyto deliver <strong>in</strong>novated f<strong>in</strong>acial solutions to ourcustomers. I would like to see <strong>BMI</strong> tak<strong>in</strong>g up thecourse that BBK took 20 years ago, when it wasthe first bank that came up with Internet bank<strong>in</strong>g.0201 Jamal Ali Al-Hazeem, <strong>CEO</strong>of <strong>BMI</strong> Bank, is determ<strong>in</strong>ed tobuild on the bank’s strength andprovide customers with uniquef<strong>in</strong>ancial products and services.02 Part of <strong>BMI</strong> Bank’s CSRProgram is to support the localcommunity. Here the <strong>CEO</strong>presents a check to the AmericanMission Hospital.What differentiates <strong>BMI</strong> from all otherbanks?I have to be candid. At the moment the answerto that would be No, we don’t have a differentapproach, but we would like <strong>in</strong> time to differentiateourselves dist<strong>in</strong>ctly. We don’t want to compete onthe price so I th<strong>in</strong>k we can compete on only twostands - quality of service and type of products.These two factors can only be driven by people.There are organizations that can compete onprice because of their size and their liquidity but Ith<strong>in</strong>k what I would like to compete with is people,the staff at <strong>BMI</strong>. If we have the right quality ofpeople they will provide the right quality of serviceand right type of products. I th<strong>in</strong>k that is moresusta<strong>in</strong>able than compet<strong>in</strong>g on price. We are still ayoung organization. We have potential to grow andto ga<strong>in</strong> more market share. All that, however, willdepend on the culture we create with<strong>in</strong> <strong>BMI</strong>. So ifyou ask me whether <strong>in</strong> the next 5 or 10 years timecan we be the new BBK or AUB of Bahra<strong>in</strong>, I wouldsay that we can and it will happen because of thepeople here.Tell us about your partnership withTamkeen and the benefits it promisesto br<strong>in</strong>g to the SME (Small and MediumEnterprises) segment with<strong>in</strong> Bahra<strong>in</strong>.From an economic po<strong>in</strong>t of view, the futurefor Bahra<strong>in</strong> lies <strong>in</strong> SMEs. If someth<strong>in</strong>g like a crisiswere to happen, with total dependence on largecorporations that would be catastrophic for thecountry. Bahra<strong>in</strong> should be support<strong>in</strong>g SMEs andwork<strong>in</strong>g on ways to improve the way SMEs dobus<strong>in</strong>ess. The Tamkeen program is one step <strong>in</strong> thatdirection and because of our belief <strong>in</strong> it we have042 a Pearl of Luxury
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL03 0403 <strong>BMI</strong> Bank celebrates its five yearmilestone <strong>in</strong> Bahra<strong>in</strong>.04 “It was <strong>in</strong>stilled <strong>in</strong> me that <strong>in</strong> anybus<strong>in</strong>ess you have to be a goodcorporate citizen and give back tothe community you operate with<strong>in</strong>.”decided to work with them. In fact when I cameto <strong>BMI</strong>, one of the first th<strong>in</strong>gs I did was to go toTamkeen to f<strong>in</strong>d out how we can work together.Our systems were not ready, but we agreed ona grace period of three months <strong>in</strong> order for us toprepare and have recently launched the scheme.I believe that if you have very strong SMEs <strong>in</strong>your economy, that is your best protection. Italyis one of the big <strong>in</strong>dustrial nations but its ma<strong>in</strong>economy is based on its SMEs. The mom andpop shops drive the country. It’s not the Fiat, northe big organizations, but the SMEs. If we canreally work with SMEs improv<strong>in</strong>g the way they dobus<strong>in</strong>ess, their report<strong>in</strong>g, their account<strong>in</strong>g, the waythey handle their f<strong>in</strong>ances, the way they handletheir cash management, I th<strong>in</strong>k it would be bestfor them and for us. I th<strong>in</strong>k the more they improvethemselves the better for us as banks to work withthem. Once they have better practices, and betterways of manag<strong>in</strong>g their bus<strong>in</strong>ess then we will knowand understand their bus<strong>in</strong>ess more than we dotoday. Tamkeen has come up with a lot of productsthat will help SMEs improve themselves.What are the bank’s retail bank<strong>in</strong>gplans for <strong>2010</strong> and what new productsand services do you <strong>in</strong>tend to roll out<strong>in</strong> 2011?On the retail side we want to cont<strong>in</strong>ue todevelop our product offer<strong>in</strong>gs to our customers.Most banks offer customers the same productor service packaged under a different name, butthe products can go beyond the normal bank<strong>in</strong>gproducts like current and sav<strong>in</strong>gs account, creditcards, auto loans, mortgage loans and so on. Wewould like to come up with better products thatwill hopefully help our customers so that <strong>in</strong>steadof just keep<strong>in</strong>g their money with us and earn<strong>in</strong>glow returns on that, they can put their money, withm<strong>in</strong>imum or zero risk on their capital, but which willmore than <strong>in</strong>crease their average deposits. In orderto do that you need a proper kitchen, a kitchen thatwill develop these products, and you need a specialtype of people, special type of skills, special type oftechnology for you to be able to do that, packageit and take it to your clients. This is what we arework<strong>in</strong>g on.Tell us about your CSR program andplans for 2011.We have been contribut<strong>in</strong>g and work<strong>in</strong>g withthe American Mission Hospital, Th<strong>in</strong>k P<strong>in</strong>k andCommunity development programs. All are greatcauses and we <strong>in</strong>tend to cont<strong>in</strong>ue support<strong>in</strong>g them.I come from the background of an <strong>in</strong>ternationalorganization, well established <strong>in</strong> different countrieson the globe. It was <strong>in</strong>stilled <strong>in</strong> me that <strong>in</strong> anybus<strong>in</strong>ess you have to be a good corporate citizenand you need to give back for good causes. Theprogram that exists <strong>in</strong> <strong>BMI</strong> today was started beforeI came and we are cont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g with that. I th<strong>in</strong>kwhat we are try<strong>in</strong>g to do today is help people helpthemselves. Besides our association with thesecauses we are look<strong>in</strong>g at different ways to helpand contribute. I would like personally to see that<strong>in</strong> addition to these causes, we <strong>in</strong>volve ourselves <strong>in</strong>good learn<strong>in</strong>g programs, someth<strong>in</strong>g like His RoyalHighness the Crown Pr<strong>in</strong>ce’s program for education.I th<strong>in</strong>k it is one of the best th<strong>in</strong>gs that has happened<strong>in</strong> Bahra<strong>in</strong>. The vision of His Royal Highness to startthis program is tremendous, and testimonials havebeen pour<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> from the <strong>in</strong>ternational community,even from people like former US President BillCl<strong>in</strong>ton and others. This program has been able todevelop some very good bra<strong>in</strong>s for the country.Besides it is the first time we have a program thatdoesn’t tie you up. In this program if I support youreducation, you don’t have a commitment to comeand work for me, you are free after you f<strong>in</strong>ish.However <strong>in</strong> the long run the country will benefitfrom your knowledge and experience. It is truethat some of these students have stayed beh<strong>in</strong>dafter their education to work for two or three years<strong>in</strong> the US or UK, but I believe that is even betterbecause if they are tra<strong>in</strong>ed outside, the benefitswill be even more when they come back. I havemyself experienced that when I was <strong>in</strong> the US on anexchange program. When I returned I managed tobr<strong>in</strong>g back a lot of good th<strong>in</strong>gs with me. I would liketo see <strong>BMI</strong> <strong>in</strong>volved with <strong>in</strong>itiatives like this.044 a Pearl of Luxury