Bahrain-based retail and commercial banking institution, BMI Bank maintains sustained profitability pattern in Q4 of 2011 reporting a net profit of BD0.55 million post provisions for the fourth quarter of the year as compared to a loss of BD7.8 million in Q4 2010.
However, the Bank posted a net loss of BD3.38 million post provisions for the year 2011 as compared to a net loss of BD26.5 million during the corresponding period in 2010.
“The 2011 was a year of transformation for BMI Bank, with an emphasis on transparency, product innovation, stronger levels of customer service and openness; all key elements in realizing our objective of significantly increasing our market share within Bahrain whilst continuing to compete effectively,” Jamal Al-Hazeem, Chief Executive Officer of BMI Bank, said.
“We have begun to witness the rewards of continuing our investment in our people, brand, system, product and services as reflected in both our net profits for the second half of 2011 as well as our position as a key player amongst local retail and commercial banks within the country,” he added.
Our transformation began in earnest at the start of 2011 with the roll out of several customer-centric products and services including the revamp of our flagship retail product Ayadi which witnessed tremendous growth in the portfolio. This was followed by a campaign announcing our refreshed brand identity under a new tag line, “better, together” to strengthen our position as an entirely customer and customer-service driven bank. We also opened three new branches, including one on the 16th floor of the Bahrain World Trade Center to cater to our high net-worth clients growing our branch network to ten and our ATM network to thirty during the year. Further to the launch of our state-of-the-art core banking system in 2010, we launched two new payment channels for our credit card customers as well as several reward based promotions on our bouquet of retail products.
Our commitment to actively support and sponsor community driven initiatives is paramount in our efforts towards managing a cognizant CSR programme. During the year, we continued our support towards a set number of local and community led charities that we partner on a long term basis; Al Sanabel orphans care center, American Mission Hospital’s (AMH) community outreach program, the island classic charity golf tournament and think pink Bahrain by committing in excess of BD80,000 to their causes as well as towards a few other smaller charity foundations within the community at large.
“We have been very prudent and conservative in our lending practices as well as in our approach to provisioning during 2011, which we believe positions us well for the year ahead. At BMI Bank, we maintain an excellent Capital Adequacy Ratio of over 19% with strong liquidity and a portfolio of unique and innovative products and services,” he said.
“We move into 2012 with a renewed commitment to deliver innovative products and services through our retail and commercial banking franchise and will continue to invest in them to better serve our customers. BMI Bank is now well-placed to become a leading retail bank in Bahrain. We have a stable and growing business to leverage on with strong shareholder and customer support. I take this opportunity to thank the Central Bank of Bahrain, our shareholders and customers for their confidence in our capabilities and our staff for their continued commitment and support,” Al Hazeem said.