Banks in Bahrain are changing… What does that mean for you?
Gulf Insider speaks with Jean-Christophe Durand, Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) on innovation, and the future of the banking industry.
Established in 1957, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) is the Kingdom’s first locally owned bank. It is a multi-award-winning financial powerhouse, with the largest branch and ATM network across the Kingdom. The bank is also currently operating in KSA and the UAE.
NBB is the first bank in the Middle East to earn the Gold status by Investors in People, placing them amongst the top 17% of global institutions to receive the accreditation.
NBB recently ranked 1st in Bahrain and 2nd in the Arab World in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores for Banking Services Companies. How did you achieve this?
Our success is due to the commitment and hard-work of our team. We made ESG a part of our day-to-day activities by supporting the community, giving to charity, and educating youth, among many more initiatives. Our board members adopted and embraced the ESG journey very early on in the process, which contributed to our successful rankings. Governance is implemented within the bank to ensure that the international standards are understood and abided by.
ESG is multifaceted. It encompasses a number of elements including our relationships with clients, adopting digital channels, training and career planning quality, relationships with our employees, and environmental issues.
On an environmental front, we are currently developing solar panels and social housing products, and have replaced the majority of our lighting with energy efficient LED fittings. We have also started reporting our CO2 emissions, and successfully introduced an ISO certified Environmental Management System (EMS) in 2021.
We have created an internal culture around ESG within the bank. Everyone is involved in the development process when it comes to creating new initiatives and products.
How is NBB rising to the challenge of digitalisation?
The direction that the banking industry, and many other industries, are heading in is digital. Clients, specifically the younger generation, are increasingly looking towards digital financial services.
With the support of the board, we decided at an early stage to allocate substantial investments towards NBB’s information technology infrastructure, including the development of a top-of-the-range digital retail platform.
Our digital platform has been very successful and we plan to add additional features including a loan origination option to further facilitate our customers and improve the relationship with our clients.
We are currently developing a state-of-the-art corporate platform where the relationship between NBB and clients will be on a more advisory than transactional level. We will also provide advice on services, such as risk management, financing, and debt, among others.
How competitive is Bahrain’s banking industry, and how does NBB stay ahead?
Bahrain is a small market with many banks, so it is naturally competitive. However, we do have the advantage of being long-established as one of the Kingdom’s first banks, with a very strong balance sheet for support. As an innovator, we are constantly introducing new products and ideas; our goal is to be ahead of the competition and in turn, attract and retain more customers.
NBB acquired Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) in 2020, which has strengthened our position in the industry, particularly within the Islamic Banking segment. This allows us to pool future investments required to adapt to the banking landscape evolution encompassing sustainability, technology, regulation, and product offering, among others.
We invest in initiatives that promote innovation on a local level and allow future talents to develop their innovative, creative, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills. We also enable Bahrain’s FinTech sector to thrive, cementing its position as a FinTech Hub in the region.
What recent innovations by NBB are you most proud of?
We are proud of the results we have seen over the past year with the NBB Digital Banking App.
Through our corporate platform, we aim to further improve the quality of our relationship with our larger clients. In addition to being financiers, we would like to serve as advisors, helping our clients manage their risks.
In the upcoming months, we will be launching a loyalty program that will enable us to serve individual and small business clients, acting as an ecosystem created for the different types of clients within our portfolio.
We are also providing more efficient and digitalised training through webinars tailored to certain functions. With a rapidly changing market, we are working to upskill our employees by equipping them with knowledge that will serve them in the present and the future. So far, we have delivered a total of 38,620 hours of training, with an average of 50 hours per employee.
Of course, we have always been extremely involved in the community. We sponsor social projects and continue to support causes that are aligned with our pillars: Responsible Banking, Serving Our Customers, Nurturing Our Workforce, Community Investment, Preserving Natural Resources, Governance, and Ethical Behavior.
What is your vision for the future of banking in Bahrain?
Customer demands are continuously evolving, however, we believe that the transition towards purely digital banks in Bahrain will require more time.
In addition to changes within the banking sector, we are witnessing some aggressive movement within the telecommunications sector today. Operators are obtaining financial licenses now, and creating more added value, with services such as wallets and direct payment options.
In a way, the telecommunications sector is similar to the banking sector in that it has to move quickly. Costs and revenues can only go down and diversification is growing. However, banking means lending and taking deposits, which is different from affecting payments, wallets, and transfers. The difference between the two sectors is the balance sheet. Perhaps one day, we will witness mergers or joint initiatives between the banking and telecommunications sectors.
For more information on NBB, visit https://www.nbbonline.com/.
