Français/English - Arab Banking Corporation, ALGERIA

Review of Operations
The SANAD Loan is still the other star product of Retail Banking,
which is a loan dedicated to professionals and SME. Since its
launch, this product has been continuously revised and enhanced
with new parameters so that it can be sold better. Currently, the
SANAD product enables the financing of the professional activities
of small companies and the liberal professions with a special
offering for the health sector.
Other just as significant measures were taken in 2012 to support
a business spirit with the aim of accelerating the sales of Retail
products. The main measure is undoubtedly the putting in place
of a legal team dedicated to the Retail business and which has
amply boosted the review of legal aspects and reduced the time
it takes for funds to be released.
The other decisive factor was the installation of a credit structure
with a credit manager, which has greatly channelled the efforts
of the branches and has meant that our range of products can be
constantly improved and enhanced.
The extension of the network by 5 new branches contributed
towards the considerable increase in the customer portfolio of
ABC Algeria. The number of chequeing accounts reached 18,500
(+15% compared to 2011), whereas the number of current
accounts (Retail) is around 2,000 accounts (+74% compared to
2011). Furthermore, savings accounts increased to 2,600 accounts
(+38% compared to 2011).
Another highlight for the Retail business is the return to
commercial activity of interbank cards. Today, ABC Algeria is part
of the national financial transaction network. It has overcome all
obstacles related to this activity and allowed for the development
of this high potential channel. During 2012, 7,322 cards were
issued for the Bank’s customers.
TREASURY
The Treasury activity consists of supervising the adequacy of the
resources and the uses of the bank’s funds. This management is
reported to the Treasury Committee (ALCO) each month, where
guidelines are given on the policy to be followed.
The year 2012 was overall beneficial. As regards investments, we
recorded a slight increase in revenue of around 0.7% compared
to the previous financial year, i.e. an amount of DZD121 million,
despite an almost 30% reduction on average of the volume
invested.
As regards the foreign exchange market, we had a net increase,
both in volume and in revenue, compared to the previous
financial year:
l The volume of transfers increased by around 28.7% compared
to the previous year;
l The volume of repatriations increased by around 57.1%
compared to the previous year;
l In revenue, the increase was around 57.3% compared to what
was made in the previous year.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The IT department continues to provide the technological support
and innovative solutions in order to enhance operations &
processes and enable the bank to deliver a distinguished service
quality and tangible competitive advantage.
2012 was marked by the successful implementation and
achievements listed below:
l New trade finance system: The Trade innovation system
successful implementation is a major achievement. This
implementation is aligned with the growth of our trade finance
business revenue It will allow a more efficient processing of
operations while at the same time decreasing considerably
inherent operational risk.
l AML & Compliance: For the AML function, the IT department
developed and implemented a package of tools and systems
(transactions monitoring and alerts, Black list, electronic KYC…)
enabling this function to accomplish its mission in such a better
effective way.
l Central bank reports automation: In the continuity of processes
automation, most of central bank reporting produced the
Operations Department was automated to ensure data accuracy
and avoid manual processing errors.
l New Building infrastructure & connectivity: IT was highly
involved in the new building moving project by accomplishing
in the deadlines the setup of the required IT infrastructure and
connectivity between the historical HQ and the new premises
(Leased lines & Wimax)
l DRC and Business continuity: as per the bank’s procedure, IT
backup systems were reviewed and upgraded and successful
testing was conducted to ensure the readiness of our DRC as per
the business continuity plan.
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