Retail News CRM

Tag: bank

  • Small banks avoid being merged or acquired

    Small banks avoid being merged or acquired

    Small-sized banks are making great efforts to grow and avoid being merged or acquired, however, it is not easy, according to the Đầu tư chứng khoán (Securities Investment) newspaper.

    VietA Bank, for example, plans to promote retail sales and focus on individual customers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

    Although VietA Bank’s non-performing loan ratio in late September 2016 reduced to 1.17 per cent from 2.25 per cent in early 2016, its provisions for risky loans rose by 82 per cent to VNĐ71 billion (US$3.12 million), strongly affecting the profit result. Following the first three quarters of 2016, VietA Bank posted pre-tax profit of only VNĐ101 billion.

    Another case is Kienlongbank, which was transformed from a rural bank to an urban bank. The bank aims to become a retail bank targeting SMEs operating in agriculture and rural areas. However, Kienlongbank is also facing difficulties like other small banks in the banking system.

    The bank failed to complete its 2016 profit plan, with pre-tax profit of only VNĐ19.8 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2016, a decline of 90 per cent compared with the same period of 2015. Kienlongbank’s bad debts increased from 1.12 per cent in the beginning of 2016 to 1.46 per cent by late September 2016.

    Financial expert Trần Du Lịch said the more important task for small banks, at present, is to find solutions to successfully carry out restructuring and improve financial capacity, thereby avoiding being merged or acquired.

    In an attempt to avoid M&As, small banks also plan to raise capital and have conducted self-restructuring in recent years through internal resources, however, many have repeatedly been unsuccessful.

    Saigonbank, for example, has not fulfilled its plan to increase charter capital to VNĐ4 trillion following its refusal to merge with Vietcombank.

    VietA Bank also managed to raise its capital to just VNĐ3.5 trillion in early 2016 and no further progress has been recorded since then.

    Following the failure of the merger deal with Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank), according to insiders, NamA Bank has also been unable to increase capital as expected. The current charter capital of the bank is just more than VNĐ3 trillion.

    The central bank recently also allowed VietBank to increase charter capital from VNĐ3 trillion to VNĐ3.249 trillion. With this level of charter capital, VietBank remains at the top of banks with the lowest charter capital in the market, along with other banks whose legal capital has reached only VNĐ3 trillion, such as Kienlongbank, VietCapital Bank, NCB and Saigonbank.

    Experts said small banks which wanted to survive without conducting M&As, must raise their financial capacity.

    However, foreign investors are not interested in weak domestic banks if the controlling regulations are not relaxed. As long as the ownership limit of foreign investors is still less than 51 per cent, foreign shareholders cannot take control of the bank.

    According to economist Lê Xuân Nghĩa, since weak and small banks are finding it difficult to increase financial capacity to accelerate the settlement of bad debts and restructuring, it is in their interests to find potential partners to conduct M&As.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • HSBC closes 62 more UK branches, but all Hong Kong outlets to stay open

    HSBC closes 62 more UK branches, but all Hong Kong outlets to stay open

    HSBC is shutting 62 more British branches this year, meaning the bank will have closed 340 outlets across the country within the past two years.

    But in a divergence of strategies between two of its most significant retail banking markets, the bank said it had no such plans in Hong Kong.

    “While individual branches relocate from time-to-time, there is no programme of closures in Hong Kong,” insisted HSBC spokesperson Gareth Hewett.

    The bank has about 100 branches and more than 300 standalone express bank centres in Hong Kong. It blamed the UK closures on the changing habits of its customers, adding HSBC will still have 625 branches in the country by 2018.

    “More customers are using mobile and internet banking than ever before … and fewer people are using branches. More than 90 per cent of our interactions with customers are now through our digital channels – an increase from 80 per cent last year,” said Francesca McDonagh, HSBC’s head of retail banking and wealth management for UK and Europe.

    Last year HSBC halved its branch network in India, again citing the move to digital as an important factor in the decision.

    While the lender is pursuing a digital strategy in Hong Kong, which includes digital peer-to-peer payments systems and virtual assistants for its corporate clients, these new initiatives have not led to a need to reduce its branch network here.

    More customers are using mobile and internet banking than ever before … and fewer people are using branches. More than 90 per cent of our interactions with customers are now through our digital channels – an increase from 80 per cent last year

    Francesca McDonagh, HSBC’s head of retail banking and wealth management, UK and Europe

    Across the board, branch networks in Hong Kong have remained broadly solid, though last June Bank of East Asia said that its brokerage business, East Asia Securities, would close its 22 retail outlets.

    As has become standard practise, BEA too noted the vast the majority of its transactions were now being conducted via the internet or over the phone.

    The new closures mean HSBC has shut more branches than any other major UK high street lender, but the closures are by no means unique.

    Last week, the Yorkshire and Clydesdale bank group said that it would close 79 UK branches, and, in 2015 and 2016, more than 1,000 banks were closed across Britain according to consumer group Which?

    Dominic Hook, national officer at UK’s largest trade union Unite said in a statement: “Unite is again calling on the banking industry to rethink such branch culling exercises, which do nothing to reassure customers or staff that banking is accessible and open to all.

    “Without doubt customer service in financial services will suffer if our high streets are left with no local branches.”

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • BNI prepares Indonesia-Hong Kong worker card

    BNI prepares Indonesia-Hong Kong worker card

    State-owned PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) will be launching Indonesia-Hong Kong Worker Card (KPIH), a multi-function card for Indonesian employees in Hong Kong.

    The Bank had previously launched Indonesia-Singapore Worker Card (KPIS) in November 2016.

    The dissemination and soft launching event of the card was carried out in the presence of 500 Indonesian migrant workers in the Banks Hong Kong branch on Jan 22, and was attended by BNIs Vice President Suprajarto.

    “There are savings acquisition potentials, which reached 25 thousand Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong. This card has many functions. Apart from being a debit card, it can also act as a Worker Identity Card,” Suprajarto said in an official statement received by Antara here on Monday.

    The cards functions include Internet/Mobile/SMS banking facilities that ease transaction processes, access to the Banks programs information and remittance and/or bill settlement to Indonesia through BNIs Hong Kong branch or ATM machines.

    The card can also be used as a shopping card in stores with a MasterCard logo in their EDC s.

    Card holders also get a chance to join an entrepreneurship training program called “KAMI bersama BNI” (We are with BNI), as well get home credit facilities for new residential purchases or renovations through BNIs Hong Kong branch.

    As an appreciation to the Banks consumers, BNI is having a remittance fee discount program for money wiring services through the Hong Kong branch, in which transfer costs are being exempted for transactions among BNI accounts, he continued.

    Customers can also move their savings balance into a deposit account once the amount is considerably high, and they can also propose for the Worker Retirement account and auto-debit system for health and work insurances.

    For migrant workers who wish to start their own business in Indonesia, BNI also offers financial support through their Peoples Business Credit (KUR) program.

    They can simply contact the Banks small credit centers across Indonesia to submit their proposal.

    One of the programs selling points lies in its low interest rate, which is noted to be at 9 percent annually as per 2016.

    Until the end of 2016, BNI had given out credits to 386 migrant workers in Hong Kong through seven credit centers, with the loan reaching Rp5.3 billion.

    The loan is also being disposed to migrant workers who had been employed in Singapore, Japan and Taiwan.

    As of December 2016, there are 2,463 debtors, with the total amount reaching Rp38.9 billion.

  • Standard Chartered makes CEO appointment for Hong Kong

    Standard Chartered makes CEO appointment for Hong Kong

    Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (SCBHK) announces the appointment of May Tan as the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer for Hong Kong, with effect from 1 July 2014.

    May joined SCBHK in January 2009 as Global Head, Equity Corporate Finance and also as a board member of SCBHK Ltd, and has since become the Bank’s Vice Chair, Asia. With over 30 years of experience in the financial industry, May has been instrumental in deepening the Bank’s client relationships and in enhancing its equities capability, providing a comprehensive suite of services for clients.

    Before joining Standard Chartered, May was the CEO of Cazenove Asia Limited since 1993, and was a partner of Cazenove and Co. Cazenove Asia Limited became part of SCBHK in January 2009.

    With international banking experience covering Europe, Asia and Hong Kong, May has made significant contributions to Hong Kong through numerous public roles she has held. May is a member of the Listing Committee of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and was also a member in the Takeovers and Mergers Panel and the Takeovers Appeal Committee of the Securities and Futures Commission from 2001-2013. She is also an Independent Non-Executive Director of The Link Management Limited since February 2013.

    As an advocate of gender diversity and a champion in supporting charitable causes, May is the Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Internal Network of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), and Vice Chairman of Oxfam (HK) as well as a member of the charity’s Finance and Audit Committee.

    In her new role, May will report to Benjamin Hung, Chief Executive Officer for Greater China. Commenting on the appointment, Ben says, “I am excited to see May taking the helm of Standard Chartered Hong Kong. A well-respected veteran in the banking and finance industry, May has immensely strengthened our franchise through her extensive client relationships. I very much look forward to working with May closely in her new role.”

    Lees ook:

  • BSP Approves New Bank Service Channels

    BSP Approves New Bank Service Channels

    The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has relaxed rules governing service channels for banks and deposit taking activities outside bank premises.

    BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said in a chance interview the changes would allow banks to expand their reach and serve clients more efficiently.

    Under the newly approved regulations, banks are now allowed to serve clients through cash agents. Cash agents will accept and disburse cash on behalf of the banks, facilitating online self-service deposits, withdrawals and fund transfers, as well as bills payment.

    Furthermore, cash agents can also perform Know-Your-Customer procedures as well as collect and forward application documents for loan and account opening.

    They may also sell and service insurance products as authorized by the Insurance Commission.

    Cash agents are typically cash-rich third-party entities with many outlets that conduct regular business in fixed locations anywhere in the country, such as convenience stores, pharmacies and other highly accessible retail outlets.

    The BSP said the cash agents enable banks to leverage on innovative digital solutions to serve a wider client base, particularly in the low-income and rural areas where the commercial incentives to set up a full branch or even a micro-banking office are limited.

    The new regulations are seen to help serve the large base of unbanked and low-income segments.

    Data from the BSP shows more than 36 percent of all the municipalities in the country have no banking presence although most of these are served by a variety of non-bank financial institutions like pawnshops, cooperatives and lending investors.

    Likewise, the BSP also relaxed existing regulations on offsite deposit servicing. This was done by removing highly prescriptive operational requirements and conditions for banks.

    With the new rules, banks have more flexibility in designing appropriate and cost-efficient ways to render deposit pick-up and delivery services and as a result, enhance client experience.

    However, despite the relaxed rules, the BSP said banks must ensure the safety and soundness of the banking system as well as uphold consumer protection.

    It said the recently approved guidelines emphasize banks’ responsibility for ensuring the adequacy of risk management and internal control systems for the liberalized deposit servicing activities.

    As such, the BSP would evaluate the quality and sufficiency of the risk management

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Bank Indonesia Keeps Benchmark Rate

    Bank Indonesia Keeps Benchmark Rate

    Bank Indonesia (BI) has kept its 7-days reverse repo rate at 4.75 percent. Other monetary benchmark rates such as deposit facility rate and lending facility rate have also been kept at 4 and 5.5 percent. “The decision was made by BI to preserve domestic macroeconomic stability,” Bank Indonesia spokesman Tirta Segara said yesterday.

    As such, the BI has maintained its benchmark rate since October 2016. Tirta did not deny that economic policy uncertainty in the United States future following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election in November have also come into play. However, he said that domestic inflation rate is positive at around 3.02 percent.

    Indonesian economy will also be affected by China’s economy. The United States and China are Indonesia’s major trade partner. “BI and the government will continue to collaborate to monitor every development,” Tirta said.

    Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indarwati said global economic outlook may not improve this year. “Economic growth in developed countries, such as the United States, Japan and European countries, may not be as rapid as expected,” Minister Sri said.

    Sri said the United States is the only developed country that may recover from the economic downturn. However, at the same time, the US economic recovery may pose new problems to the global economy. The Fed, according to Sri, may increase interest rates should the US manages to achieve economic growth.

    The Fed itself had said that it plans to increase interest rates. However, it would await Trump’s policy on tax cuts and increased infrastructure and defense spending that may lead to increase in inflation.

  • Greenpeace Claims HSBC Helped Financing Deforestation

    Greenpeace Claims HSBC Helped Financing Deforestation

    Greenpeace International launched a new report on Tuesday, January 17, 2017, accusing British HSBC of supporting deforestation. The report stated that British HSBC provided financial services to palm oil companies that are causing rainforest destruction and human rights abuses in Indonesia.

    The report titled “Dirty Bankers: How HSBC is financing forest destruction for palm oil“, claimed that HSBC has been involved in arranging US$16.3 billion of loans and credit facilities to six palm oil firms. In addition, the is also said to have raised US$2 billion bonds for these firms.

    The palm oil companies listed in the report are Malaysian firm IOI; Indonesian Bumitama Agri and Salim Group; Singapore incorporated Goodhope Asia; Hong Kong-based and Singapore-listed Noble Group; and Korea’s Posco Daewoo Corporation.

    Greenpeace argued that HSBC has violated its policies of responsible lending by helping to finance the above-mentioned companies.

    Annisa Rahmawati, Greenpeace Southeast Asia senior campaigner said that although HSBC claimed to be a respectable bank with responsible policies on deforestation, “somehow these fine words get forgotten when it’s time to sign the contracts.”

    Not only HSBC, the report also listed several other banks claimed to be related to case studies in the report, including Japan’s Sumitomo and Tokyo Mitsubishi banks; Singaporean bank DBS; and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

    Despite the heavy criticism, the report did acknowledge HSBC as a “relatively progressive” bank that has shown a willingness to engage with criticism, and noted that the bank has a responsibility to set high standards for the rest of the sector.

    Lees ook:

  • Krungthai Bank to transfer tax refunds via Prompt Pay

    Krungthai Bank to transfer tax refunds via Prompt Pay

    Krungthai Bank has announced it is now fully ready to utilize the National E-Payment system ‘Prompt Pay’ and will starting January 4, 2017 use it to transfer senior citizen and disability stipends as well as tax refunds for the public.

    Vice President for Business Finances at Krungthai Bank Songpol Cheewpanyaroj has announced that from January 4 2017 onward, Krungthai, as the bank tasked by the Revenue Department with forwarding tax refunds to citizens signed on to the Prompt Pay system, will begin doling out the funds through the e-payment method. He noted that citizen can continue to register for the system between January 1 and March 31 so that they may use it to receive their refund.

    In February, the bank will also be using Prompt Pay to distribute government stipends to the elderly and disabled and urged those eligible for the assistance to register for Prompt Pay soon.

    At present, over 2.2 million citizens are in the Prompt Pay system, which was already used to disperse low-income earner aid to some 300,000 people.

  • Massive Failure of KBANK before New Year

    Massive Failure of KBANK before New Year

    Kasikorn Bank says it is working to fix the complete outage of its services Friday before New Year, which comes just before a bank holiday.

    On a day many say they need access to their money the most, K-Bank’s ATMs as well as online and mobile banking systems have been offline since Friday morning and were still unavailable as of 5pm.

    The bank has yet state the cause of the error, but responded to complaints on its Facebook page and Twitter account it was trying to solve the problem.

    The bank said it could not provide the specific time its website and application services would be working again.

    K-Bank’s mobile system was also disrupted briefly Thursday evening.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Banks post higher performance for 2016

    Banks post higher performance for 2016

    Several commercial banks have in the early days of 2017 posted positive business performance for 2016, with profits much higher than the previous year.

    The Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) was the first bank to report pre-tax profit in 2016, which hit a record high of 8.2 trillion VND (362 million USD). Its profit surged by 23.4 percent against 2015 and also exceeded the bank’s target for the year by 2.7 percent.

    In 2016, Vietcombank mobilised nearly 600 trillion VND from its depositors, up 19.4 percent from the previous year, while lending an estimated 470 trillion VND, up 18.9 percent.

    Vietcombank Chairman Nghiem Xuan Thanh said in 2016 the bank brought its rate of non-performing loans (NPLs) to 1.44 percent, down four basis points compared with the end of 2015.

    The bank’s capital adequacy ratio, which measures its capital to its risk, was 10.29 percent, higher than the minimum of 9 percent set by the State Bank of Vietnam.

    On solid ground in 2016, Vietcombank has targeted a pre-profit figure of 9.2 trillion VND in 2017, 12 percent higher than last year.

    The bank also expects its total assets to rise by 11 percent in 2017, while it has forecast that its credit growth and capital mobilisation will be 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively. The bank aims to keep its NPLs under 1.5 percent.

    The Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) also reported a high profit of 8.25 trillion VND in 2016, 4 percent higher than the plan set by the bank’s general meeting of shareholders.

    Nguyen Van Thang, Vietinbank Chairman, said that as of December 31, 2016, the bank’s total merged assets were estimated at 947 trillion VND, up 22 percent from the previous year; while total mobilised capital reached 862 trillion VND, up 21 percent.

    Also in 2016, the bank’s total outstanding loans posted 720 trillion VND, a year-on-year rise of 18 percent, fulfilling the set target. Credit structure witnessed positive transfer with credit for prioritised industries growing 22.4 percent, higher than the common credit growth of the whole system.

    By the end of 2016, the bank continued to effectively manage the quality of assets with bad debt ratio of less than 1 percent.

    Le Duc Tho, General Director of Vietinbank, said in 2017, the bank set a target of a 15-17 percent rise in total assets and an 18 percent increase in outstanding credit.

    In addition, it strives to control the quality of debts, manage the bad debt ratio and ensure profit growth to achieve or exceed the year’s plan set by the general meeting of shareholders.

    The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) also estimated a pre-tax profit of 7.5 trillion VND in 2016, a rise of 7 percent against the previous year despite its deduction for the risk provision fund being quite high. In the first nine months of 2016, BIDV spared nearly 7 trillion VND for the fund, jumping 80 percent year-on-year.

    Positive results of BIDV in 2016 came from optimistic credit growth. Its total loans reached over 935 trillion VND, in which 758 trillion VND was offered to economic institutions and individuals, up 17.85 percent compared with 2015, while its deposits totalled 939 trillion VND, up 20.45 percent. The bank could control its bad debt ratio to 1.47 percent of total outstanding loans over the past year.

    Meanwhile, many other banks also surpassed their 2016 pre-tax profit targets, such as ACB, VPBank, Techcombank and VIB.

  • As Vietnamese banks digitise, customer service key

    As Vietnamese banks digitise, customer service key

    Customers must be at the centre of banks’ attention as they make a move towards digital transformation in an effort to adapt to a changing landscape of financial innovation and disruptive technologies.

    This was said by head of Retail Banking at VP Bank, Sandeep Deobhakta, at a conference held in Hà Nội on Thursday, titled, ‘The Future of Finance in Việt Nam 2017.’

    Deobhakta, who has been holding this position since May 2015, said customers in Việt Nam are very open to new technologies and the nascent retail banking industry in Việt Nam can also adopt these technologies faster than other markets if they put customers first.

    In the future, traditional banks might lose business to companies that employ disruptive innovations if they failed to deliver better, simpler and faster solutions to customers, Deobhakta cautioned.

    VP Bank has been working with Timo, Việt Nam’s first mobile-only bank, giving customers better solutions to manage their money, bills and the ability to top up their mobile cards through the Timo app. At Timo Hangouts, one can forget about a typical bank branch and instead enjoy a coffee as one opens an account and uses bank services.

    Timo has about 4,000 customers in the HCM City and opened a Timo Hangout in Hà Nội last October, looking to attract more than 100,000 users by next year.

    Việt Nam has a huge untapped market for financial innovation, with only 20 per cent of the population having bank accounts and 3 per cent owning credit cards, Foo Boon Ping, managing editor of The Asian Banker, said at the conference.

    “The stable GDP growth of around 6 to 7 per cent, low wages, a large population with a high savings and strong innovative approach are crucial factors that will accelerate the financial and industrial development in the Vietnamese market,” he said.

    “Digital transformation is driven by real business needs to transform to become more cost efficient and to serve your customers as their behavior and preferences change,” he added.

    There are only about 36 fin-tech companies in Việt Nam, with most focusing on providing consumers and merchants with online and digital payment solutions.

  • Maybank Indonesia sells stake in WOM Finance to Reliance Capital Management

    Maybank Indonesia sells stake in WOM Finance to Reliance Capital Management

    Private lender Maybank Indonesia has sold all stakes in motorcycle financing firm Wahana Ottomitra Multiartha (WOM Finance) to Indonesian financial services provider Reliance Capital Management in a deal worth Rp 673.8 billion (US$50.71 million).

    Maybank announced on Thursday that it had signed a conditional share purchase agreement with Reliance Capital Management on Jan. 11 to sell 2.39 billion shares—equal to 68.55 percent stake—in WOM Finance.

    “The transfer of shares is one of the company’s strategic initiatives to maximize the company’s capital allocation and to streamline customer segmentation, so they can contribute to the optimization of the company’s resources,” Maybank wrote in a statement submitted to the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX).

    The share transfer is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2017, after both companies fulfill all terms listed in the agreement.

    Data from Maybank said the automotive slowdown in the past few years had dragged down its own financial performance, as WOM posted poor results.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Airtel launches India’s first payments bank

    Airtel launches India’s first payments bank

    India’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel has launched the nation’s first payments bank in all 29 states, using its extensive network of retail stores as banking points.

    The operator will invest an initial 30 billion rupees ($440.3 million) to develop a pan-India banking network and payments ecosystem for its mobile customers. Customers’ mobile number will serve as their banking numbers.

    At launch, the Airtel Payments Bank will use Airtel’s retail network of around 250,000 stores in all 29 states of India as banking points. This is more than the total number of ATMs currently operating in the country.

    Airtel plans to develop a nationwide digital payments ecosystem consisting of over 5 million merchants. The operator said 1 million are already on board.

    The bank offers an interest rate of 7.25% per annum on deposits in saving accounts, and Airtel mobile customers will receive equivalent talk time for every rupee they deposit at the time of opening a savings account.

    Airtel also rolled out its payments bank app for Android and iOS, accessible via the MyAirtel app.

    “Just like mobile telephony leapfrogged traditional telecom networks to take affordable telecom services deep into the country, Airtel Payments Bank aims to take digital banking services to the unbanked over their mobile phones in a quick and efficient manner. Millions of Indians in rural areas will get their first formal banking experience with Airtel Payments Bank,” Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said.

    “We are fully committed to… Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call to build a Digital India and lay a strong foundation for India’s transition to a cashless economy. Airtel Payments Bank will invest towards building a vast digital payments ecosystem with millions of merchants, and allow customers to make convenient cashless payments for good and services with their mobile phones.”

  • Kasikornbank expands in China with local incorporation

    Kasikornbank expands in China with local incorporation

    Kasikornbank will soon be Thailand’s second bank to be locally incorporated in China, with hopes of cashing in further on the growing trade between the two countries.

    Thailand’s fourth largest bank by assets is currently going through the final procedures with the Chinese authorities, with official approval to be completed by mid-2017, Chairman Banthoon Lamsam told reporters on Thursday. Incorporation in China will enable Kasikornbank to operate on the same conditions as a local bank, including offering full-scale renminbi services to local clients. It would become the second Thai bank to incorporate in the country after Bangkok Bank.

     Also in 2017, the bank will open a new branch in Shanghai, its fourth in Chinese territory after those in Chengdu and Shenzhen on the mainland, and one in Hong Kong.

    “China is a super power country, especially at a time when so much change is going on in the global political landscape,” Banthoon said. He added: “The trading power of the West will be more difficult to rely on. We must lead on the East in which China stands as an important country.”

    Neither the economic slowdown nor the massive shadow banking industry in the country seems to bother Banthoon. “China does have its own problems but they have the system to adjust and control so the situation will remain manageable and can go on,” he said.

    Currency settlement

    Additionally, Kasikornbank on Thursday signed an agreement with Chinese fintech firm International Business Settlement to develop a baht-yuan cross-currency settlement system using blockchain technology.

    It will be based on an IBS platform which the Chinese company claims will be a cheaper, quicker and safer alternative to the dominant SWIFT settlement system. IBS Chairman Luo Feng said that his company is working with central banks in Europe and other regions in the world to develop the new settlement and clearing network.

    “IBS has the technology and network to facilitate international settlement that is not based just on the U.S. dollar, at a time when the yuan’s international presence is increasing,” Banthoon said.

    The system IBS is developing will enable direct settlement of transfers between baht and yuan, without the need to use U.S. dollar conversions at any point in the procedure.

  • Baiduri receives ‘Bank of The Year’ award

    Baiduri receives ‘Bank of The Year’ award

    Baiduri Bank received the coveted Bank of The Year award from The Banker magazine, during an award ceremony in London.

    This achievement marks the fourth international banking award this year for Baiduri Bank. This is also the eleventh time that the bank has received this particular award. The Banker’s 17th annual Bank of The Year awards were presented at a gala black-tie dinner at the Hilton London Bankside, London on Wednesday, December 7. On hand to receive the award was Ti Eng Hui, Deputy CEO of Baiduri Bank.

    This year, The Banker Awards took on a special meaning as it celebrated it’s 90th anniversary, making The Banker the longest running international banking title in the world.

    The Bank of The Year awards goes beyond data and figures as it looks for evidence of banks setting new standards for their local industries.

    The recognition of being named Bank of the Year in the country by The Banker is testament to the strong management, sound business model and prudent risk approach of the bank.

    Speaking on receiving the accolade, Ti Eng Hui said, “We are proud to be recognised as the Bank of the Year for Brunei from The Banker for the 11th time.

    Ti Eng Hui (centre), Deputy CEO of Baiduri Bank, after receiving the ‘Bank of The Year 2016’ award. - BAIDURI BANK

    Ti Eng Hui (centre), Deputy CEO of Baiduri Bank, after receiving the ‘Bank of The Year 2016’ award. –

    “We are delighted to conclude 2016 with this wonderful achievement. This year, we have made strides in the banking industry through our innovation and strong commitment, but it is because of our faithful employees as well as our loyal customers and partners that we are able to be the bank we are today.”

    The Banker Awards was attended by representatives from 149 countries, a reflection on the importance and significance banks put on winning The Banker’s Bank of The Year awards.

    In 2016, Baiduri Bank received three other international awards, the ‘Domestic Retail Bank Brunei 2016’ from the Asian Banking and Finance magazine, the ‘Best Banking Group 2016’ from World Finance magazine and the ‘World’s Best Emerging Markets Bank in Asia-Pacific for Brunei 2016’ from Global Finance.

    Baiduri Bank is proud to be associated with these leading international banking awards, the bank said in a statement.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook: