With excellent capital adequacy ratio of 19 per cent at end of first quarter 2011, Bahrain-based retail and commercial banking major, BMI Bank, further strengthened of its retail business within Bahrain through product and service innovation.
“The bank continued with the implementation of its strategic vision to become a stronger local Bank, through the launch of a new Branch in Hamala as well as through the introduction of several new customer-centric products and services including the roll out of a new state-of-the-art core banking system to enhance its customer service levels,” the bank in a statement said.
“The net results for the first quarter of 2011 reflect a loss after provisions of BD 1.7 million as compared to a net profit of BD 0.9 million during the same period in 2010,” it added in a statement issued on Thursday while announcing its financial results for the Q1 ended 31 March 2011.
“Although our headline figures are disappointing, we have been very prudent and conservative in our provisioning which helps us continue to focus on our strategy of developing a stronger retail and commercial banking business. In line with our strategy to transform the business into a stronger customer-centric one, we rolled out several new initiatives during the first quarter of 2011,” Jamal Al-Hazeem, the Chief Executive Officer of BMI Bank, said.
“We revised our flagship savings scheme under a new name, Ayadi, and with an increased prize pool of $1.66 million offering our customers an opportunity to win one of the biggest grand prizes on the Island during the two Eids and National Day. We also refreshed the look of our brand to reflect the transformation of our philosophy of togetherness both internally and externally with our customers along with a new tag line ‘better, together’,” he added.
“Being a responsible local bank, and in line with our new tag line, we rolled out a special value added personal loan promotion providing our customers with an opportunity to benefit from one of the lowest interest rates in the market at 6.5% p.a., while getting a chance to win back 12 months of their installments for free. We will shortly launch a new and secure online credit card payment channel that will help our customers avoid long queues and branch visits to pay monthly bills. In addition, we plan to implement a full acceptance scheme for our Diners Club credit card within Bahrain during the year,” he said.
“We have excellent Capital Adequacy at over 19%, and strong liquidity which gives us added security as well as the ability to support our customers. Our business is well positioned for cautious yet steady growth in 2011. We will continue focus on growing the business during the year with an emphasis on expanding the retail network through additional branches and ATMs as well as enhancing the bouquet of retail products and services.”