Kuwait Times, Thu, Apr 25, 2024 | Shawwal 16, 1445
Boubyan Bank records net profit of KD 25m for the first quarter
Kuwait:
Boubyan Bank has announced KD 31.7 million in
operating profits for the first quarter of this year as the bank recorded KD 25
million in net profits at a growth rate of 21 percent compared with last year,
while the earnings per share amounts to 5.2 fils. Boubyan Bank’s Vice-Chairman &
Group Chief Executive Officer, Adel Al-Majed, stated: “Our positive financial
results during Q1, 2024 is a testament to Boubyan’s outstanding position in the
local financial and banking sector. Customers of the bank can rest assure that
the management will continue its efforts towards leadership and sustained growth
across all the bank’s areas.”
Al-Majed highlighted the most significant numbers recorded by the bank during
Q1, as the bank’s assets grew to KD 8.7 billion at a growth rate of 8 percent
compared with last year, while the bank’s financing portfolio grew by 8 percent
to reach KD 6.5 billion thus increasing the bank’s market share of local
financing to 11.6 percent and operating income grew by 17 percent to KD 61.6
million.
He added: “The results achieved during this quarter have been closely associated
with an effective strategy that enhanced the financial and operating performance
of the Group as a whole. With steady steps, the bank will be launching a new
5-year strategy to continue boosting growth, positive performance, and upgrade
of our digital infrastructure, in addition to increasing our market shares,
while moving forward towards accelerating overall improvements.”
Excellence in customer
service
Al-Majed highlighted: “Boubyan Bank’s management is always working to improve
the quality of services and products to improve and enrich a banking experience
that meets the needs of customers and becomes part of their daily life, which
led the bank to be in the lead for customer service in Kuwait as it has been
named the “Best Islamic Bank in Customer Service” for the 14th year in a row
since 2010, in addition to being ranked among the top three in Customer Service
across all economic sectors in Kuwait for the year 2023 by Service Hero, the
consumer-driven customer satisfaction index.
“Boubyan managed to become a leading franchise by following a tailored path that
reinforces customer satisfaction levels, leading to receiving a 96 percent
customer-satisfaction score among all Islamic and conventional local banks. The
bank’s market share and its ongoing growth reflect the high levels in customer
service and digital excellence, which are the fruit of the bank’s clear
strategy, professional executive team, and continued investment in our human
resources with special focus on our national cadres”, he added.
He elaborated: “The bank’s sustained growth was the result of a well-studied
approach towards investing in various business sectors, thus leading to
significant growth in our consumer banking and corporate banking businesses,
thanks to our focus on creativity and innovation despite the fierce competition
in the banking sector.”
Nomo - accelerating
growth
During the past period, Nomo Bank, the digital arm of the Bank of London and the
Middle East “BLME”, a subsidiary of Boubyan Bank Group, launched unique products
and services that put it on par with top financial institutions. This aligns
with its strategy that focuses on enhancing and improving its core digital
business in order to ensure offering the best banking experience to individual
customers through the best digital solutions so as to provide easier, more
convenient, and secure digital payment solutions.
Moreover, Nomo Bank has recently hosted Barratt London, a UK property developer,
with the attendance of some of the bank’s customers, along with Great Portland,
and a group of individuals and investors who were interested in exploring
exclusive Sharia-compliant real estate and investment opportunities with
competitive advantages in order to benefit from the best possible investment
value, coupled with the best property finance solutions that cope with the
accelerating growth in the UK’s property investment.
Prominent digital
achievements
Boubyan Bank’s digital transformation strategy gained a significant momentum,
being a real example for succeeding in being highly competitive regionally in
digital services, and in changing the lives of our customers through our
services and products. Our digital services’ journey is very exceptional. It has
seen us excel and climb to the top of the pyramid amid tough competition in the
market for digital banking services which is growing rapidly.
During Q1, Boubyan offered a group of innovative services, products, and digital
solutions, which added value to customers and maintained the bank’s leadership
in innovation to ensure enriching their banking experience, and making things
easier, especially amid the competition across various business sectors. This
reflects the bank’s ongoing approach to develop the digital infrastructure and
to offer the best services in the field of digital payments.
Boubyan continued supporting its human resources and recruiting national cadres,
and was able to reach the highest percentage of national manpower across the
private sector, which now exceeds 81%, and continued its enablement approach for
women, who now account for 30% of the bank’s employees, with many of them
occupying leadership positions.
The bank’s human resources proved themselves to be one of the key pillars of the
bank’s ongoing success, as they embrace and adopt Boubyan’s future vision, which
greatly contributes to the introduction of innovative and creative ideas and
deliverables, while reiterating the bank’s commitment to providing all that is
necessary to support our human resources’ leadership role in a real and
sustained manner to have a positive effect on the future job market and achieve
the desired results in terms of increasing our productivity and the
profitability rates of the bank.
CSR and Ramadan
During the same period, Boubyan successfully concluded a complete program of
initiatives and social contributions during the Holy Month of Ramadan, which
aimed at daily engagement with various segments of the society to reinforce our
leadership role in CSR and sustainable development, being among the key drivers
of Boubyan’s strategy.
Through this program, the bank managed to make a unique social mark that aimed
at reinforcing the meanings of giving, volunteering, and committing to an
unprecedented social engagement throughout the Holy Month, thanks to the efforts
of our Boubyan Team of Volunteers that comprised of a group of our employees
from various departments, with the participation of our customers out of their
keenness on sharing the reward of good deeds.
Why is Boubyan the best?
Boubyan’s choice by Service Hero relied on a group of criteria including a
survey that extended over one year among consumers, who evaluated companies on a
scale of 10 against their service-level expectations, their experience and
satisfaction following the customer-service experience. The evaluation relied on
many elements such as staff’s attitude, location of the bank, speed of service,
confidence in the product, quality of service or product, value for money, the
contact center, and the website of the bank. Service Hero’s survey implements a
strict protocol to confirm the identity of consumers who take part in the
survey.
For the fourth consecutive year, the bank supports CBK and KBA’s Be Aware
Campaign “Diraya” to spread awareness about many banking matters among citizens
and residents. This comes in line with the bank’s CSR efforts.
Boubyan’s
contributions during Ramadan
• More than 4,500 participants walked 168 million steps as a part of Boubyan
Steps Campaign.
• More than 1,000 participants in the 10th “Recite with Boubyan” Competition,
and recognizing 30 winners who memorized the Glorious Quran by heart.
• Distribution of more than 25,000 iftar meals to the visitors of the Grand
Mosque and various areas of Kuwait.
• Distribution of more than 3,000 food baskets as a part of “Neamaty”
initiative.
• More than 250,000 users of Kuwait’s App for the Glorious Quran with the 10
Recitations.
• Offered hospitality services to worshippers at more than 50 mosques across
Kuwait’s governorates as a part of our Mosques Hospitality Program in the Holy
Month of Ramadan.
• More than 800,000 participants in the “Minute Challenge” throughout the Holy
Month.
• 10 new initiatives in collaboration with Bu Jarrah, the known leader of
community initiatives. Moreover, we offered instant and valuable prizes to
anyone who made a mark and led to a significant change in a specific
neighborhood in Kuwait.
• Participation of more than 8,000 customers for a chance to be winners in “Your
Ghabga Is on Us” initiative.
• Attendance of more than 1,500 persons in “Boubyan Girgian” at Al Shaheed Park.