Companies

The economy of the Central Asian nation of the Kyrgyz Republic has been challenged since the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. Its financial institutions, especially those supporting its commercial entities, have been invaluable in adding fuel to economic growth. In our interview, Mr. Bektur Aliev, Deputy CEO & Chief Retail Officer of Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank, shares how KICB is progressing in its goal to become the country’s leading commercial bank.

Malta, strategically located as a crossroads island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, boasts of having one of the eurozone’s most innovation-driven economies and highest annual GDP growth rates. In our interview, Michael Collis, CEO and MD of BNF Bank plc, describes how this multi-faceted, customer-centric Malta bank is realizing its “re-energised vision of increasing market share, taking the bank across new frontiers, with a desire to build a new future”.

Successful banks know who the boss is: the customer. And today’s customers, especially those who fall into the Millennial category, demand fast, error-free service delivered seamlessly. Banks confronted by the formidable challenge of adapting to both regulation and technology are also finding that up-and-coming fintechs are adept at meeting the demands of bank clients. Banks, more than they ever have before, must listen closely to their customers.

The digitalization of banking has challenged individual banks to unleash their creativity in meeting the needs and wants of their customers, who are growing increasingly tech-savvy. National Bank of Greece, the country’s oldest traditional bank, has taken a no-holds-barred approach to innovation in pursuit of growth. From its i-bank Pay to i-bank genius, NBG is a living example of just how far a motivated bank can go in its digital transformation.

KBC Group, one of Belgium’s top bank-insurers, is guided by its purpose to “help all our stakeholders realise their dreams and protect them”. With core markets across Europe, KBC is imbued by a corporate culture that it has dubbed with the acronym PEARL. Mr. Thijs and Mr. Luts describe how the bank-insurance group is employing its latest digital strategies to actualize its long-standing vision.

Sweden’s Handelsbanken is renowned as one of Europe’s leading and most cost-effective banks. The secret to this well-established bank’s prominence lies in its commitment to maximize customer satisfaction. Through its expanding branch network across Northern Europe, Handelsbanken continues to display the wisdom of its decentralized, local-relationship business model. Our interview with Anders Bouvin, president and group CEO, presents an opportunity to learn more about what’s behind the success of this top Nordic bank.

Ghana is currently experiencing a rapid and massive technological revolution in its banking industry as well as in other sectors of its economy. The innate benefits associated with the use of digital technologies in service delivery have required a myriad of banks to heavily invest in information-technology infrastructure and systems.

Malaysia is amongst Southeast Asia’s most prosperous nations, with consistently high economic growth. It is also amongst the region’s most progressive; one of its top five banks, Hong Leong Bank, is leading the widespread adoption of digital solutions in finance. We were pleased to be joined by two of HLB’s senior executives, Domenic Fuda and Charles Sik, to discuss HLB’s newest strategies toward being “digital at the core”.

Thailand, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, boasts a varied industrial landscape, with all bases covered from manufacturing to tourism. Kiatnakin Bank Thailand is on a mission to pursue operational excellence in each core business in commercial banking and capital markets. Our interview with Mr. Aphinant Klewpatinond, CEO, provides an in-depth look at a multi-faceted bank thriving in the heart of this seminal unitary state.

Thailand, the second largest ASEAN economy, is increasingly at the forefront of the digital-finance push in the region as part of the Government’s Digitization 4.0 strategy. With its citizens readily embracing technology and especially mobile solutions, Thailand’s financial-services providers have been heavily challenged to put aside traditional approaches and transform radically to compete with the tech giants, the new titans of e-commerce. One Thai bank, Siam Commercial Bank, has made great strides advancing in the digital age.