BBK annual report eng 21.5.5

CustomersTo meet the challenges posed by theincreasingly competitive domestic retail bankingenvironment during 2004, BBK continued tofocus on exceeding clients’ expectations for acomprehensive range of innovative products,services and delivery channels.The new consumer loans package, introducedin 2003, was further enhanced with moreflexible repayment options, and a dedicatedpromotions campaign for this product resultedin the Bank’s customer loans portfolioincreasing by over 13% during the year. Theresidential mortgage loans package was alsoenhanced with added features in order toreinforce its position in the market.The Bank successfully expanded its insurancebusiness, with Secura car and homeinsurance products, provided in associationwith Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Company,showing an increase of 45% in premiumincome, while the number of transactionsgrew by 50%. The exclusive provision ofWestern Union money transfers by BBKbranches was well received by clients,with transaction volumes growing by 23%.BBK is committed to remaining at theforefront of electronic banking. New servicesintroduced during the year resulted in a 34%utilization in Internet home banking of BBKand third party e-channels. The number ofclient transactions conducted electronicallynow exceeds 800,000 transactions, excludingthose through ATMs.New services include the Batelco and MTCe-Service for online real time bill payments,Direct Debit e-Service, and e-Hayrat for thepurchase of Al Hayrat savings certificatesonline. These complement BBK’s existinginnovative services such as BahrainPayelectronic payment gateway, enterActive loan,mBank (WAP banking services), SMSBank,and e-Bank Corporate.A major dynamic upgrade of BBK’s webportal (dot.) was launched in 2004. Thisencompasses the products and services fromBBK and third parties in a user-friendlyenvironment. Features include MyBBK wherecustomers and non-customers can participatein discussion groups and forums, create onlinecommunities, and personalise their own pageson the website. It also features enhancednavigator tools and helpful services such asgreeting e-cards and prayer times.In addition, BBK’s eCall Centre has becomeone of most sophisticated and comprehensivecentres of its kind in Bahrain by introducing itsweb channels, email, fax, call-back and FAQ.The successful take up of this service wasillustrated by the results of an independentconfidential customer satisfaction survey.Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Credimax,BBK continued to maintain its leading positionin the cards service sector in Bahrain, despiteincreasing competition from several newentrants during the year. New initiativesinclude the introduction of the first proprietarychip card (smart card) from a financial institutionin Bahrain, the signing of an exclusiveagreement with Japan Card Bureau, and thelaunch of a specially designed credit card tocelebrate the occasion of the first FormulaOne grand prix in the Middle East. In addition,Credimax is about to form a third partyprocessing company in partnership with aleading technology provider.As one of the largest providers of corporatebanking services in the Kingdom, BBKcontinued to play a leading role in supportingBahrain’s economic growth and industrialdiversification. The Bank’s participation inindustrial, commercial and infrastructuralprojects included major financing for the latestAluminium Bahrain (Alba) expansion plans.International banking activities during theyear focused on boosting fee-based incomeand actively seeking additional trade finance,structured asset financing and credit derivativestransactions. The Bank also participated in anumber of corporate finance transactionsacross the GCC region, especially in the oil,gas and petrochemical sectors.A record profit was posted by the Bank’streasury services in 2004. BBK continued toimplement a sound liquidity policy in order toachieve stable profitability through reducingForex and money market risk, and creating anenvironment in which inter-bank and corporatebusiness could flourish.During 2004, BBK repositioned its investmentservices, realigning its global markets, capitalmarkets and advisory activities to better meetthe increasingly sophisticated and inter-relatedneeds of its clients, while continuing to increasefee-based income. Continuing its movetowards cash yield products, BBK launched athird exclusive real estate fund in associationwith Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz). Thisconstitutes a unique and innovative real estateinvestment offering from a commercial bank inBahrain, comprising residential, office andretail property developments.The requirements of the Bank’s overseasclients continued to be well serviced by BBK’sbranches in Kuwait and India, together with itsrepresentative office in Dubai.BBK’s Kuwait branch performed withdistinction during 2004, taking advantage ofbuoyant local and regional market conditionsand achieving a substantial increase in overallactivity. The branch introduced new competitiveconsumer loans to meet local demand, andachieved a growth of 29% in private deposits.In addition, it continued to build its corporateloan portfolio, resulting in a growth of over 30%.Annual Report 2004 12 | 13