BICICI, BNP Paribas’s subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire, is one of the country’s top banks, committed to providing a wide and diversified range of products and services to a client base that is equally wide and diversified, from SMEs to ordinary citizens who are stubbornly resistant to trusting banks. CEO Jean-Louis Menann-Kouamé discusses how BICICI is part of the advance guard leading the West African banking evolution.
Serbia, in the Central Balkans, may not seem to be at the forefront of the digital revolution. And yet amongst its top five banks is AIK Banka, which is making a determined effort to exploit all of the benefits of modern financial technology to provide top-notch, innovative services and products to its customers while staying true to its traditional core businesses.
Can a bank be a friend to its customers in their times of need? Thailand’s Krungthai Bank thinks so, and that is why it has stood behind all of its customers since its beginnings 50 years ago through thick and thin, including devastating natural disasters. State-owned KTB proves that banking customer service can indeed go that extra mile and still be profitable.
Bank Islam in Malaysia embodies a financial institution that is influenced by much more than the goal of maximizing dollars and cents. New CEO Khairul Kamarudin outlines the many other considerations that go into the bank’s decision-making in its drive to be an ethical value-based intermediary guided by Shariah principles, committed to generating positive results for its community, economy and environment.
NFC Bank aims to make life easy for its customers in the Central African country of Cameroon. In a complex and demanding world, this is a tall order, but as Aelred Fokwen explains, NFC has been remarkably successful, drawing in many members of the country’s enormous population of previously unbanked who benefit from the bank’s commitment to branch expansion and digital solutions.
The familiar adage We learn best from our own mistakes is particularly apt for Bank Islam, which in the past 10 years has completed a turnaround that saw it recover from a state of crisis to gain its current status as Malaysia’s Islamic-banking leader. Its transition from multiple mainly credit-related failures to overwhelming successes is an inspiration for struggling banks the world over.
Ithmaar Bank, a Sharia-compliant Islamic retail bank in Bahrain, recently underwent a reorganization that is ensuring its growth and profitability for years to come. CEO Ahmed Abdul Rahim points to several factors in achieving success in today’s challenging world of Islamic finance.
Economies dependent on oil exports have been devastated by the sharp drop in oil prices, including Africa’s second-largest oil exporter, Angola. Despite the gloom, Banco Angolano de Investimentos, the country’s largest private bank, has swum against the down currents of its banking peers by delivering net income growth and successfully exploiting numerous rewarding market opportunities.
Mauritania, a West African primarily Islamic country, has been served by BMCI, a bank with strong international connections that has grown alongside its determination to allow its customers’ needs to dictate its direction, for just over 40 years. BMCI has become the preferred financial partner of thousands of Mauritanians, propelling it to the top of its industry.
Gulf Bank has served customers in Kuwait, which is as rich in cultural heritage as it is in natural resources, for nearly 60 years. During that time, it has evolved with changing demands, and Laila Al-Qatami, head of corporate communications, explains how the bank is still progressively transforming its business model to adapt to rising challenges such as technological innovation and gender parity.