Taking note of Islamic banking’s rise at the global level, the ratings agency also said that the sector represented about 76% of the Gulf major’s banking assets.

From a retail-led model, S&P found Islamic banks expanding into corporate, project finance, and small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) in order to support the ongoing diversification efforts and mega-projects.

“The development of Islamic finance is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives and broader capital market reforms, with the country being one of the largest sukuk issuers globally,” S&P said.

“Over the past five years, the combined total assets of the four major Islamic banks more than doubled (2.1 times), outpacing the six largest conventional peers (1.8 times),” it noted further.

S&P also said that since 2018, Islamic banking’s growth in the Gulf nation has been driven primarily by the rapid expansion of Sharia-compliant residential mortgage financing.

“Islamic banks have also increasingly expanded into corporate financing, linked to the development of non-oil sectors, and large-scale government and infrastructure projects,” it added.

“SME financing has also gained traction, supported by the Kafalah guarantee program, with SMEs now accounting for more than 11% of total credit. At year-end 2025, Saudi Islamic banks’ loan books were largely exposed to the retail segment (about 53%), followed by corporates (38%), S&P remarked.

“This large share reflects mainly Al Rajhi’s dominant retail franchise, while peers (in particular Alinma) maintain a more corporate-focused profile,” according to S&P.

While talking about the strong influence Islamic banks having in Saudi’s retail segment, the ratings agency said, “Customer deposits accounted for approximately 87% of Islamic banks’ funding as of March 31, 2026, compared to 82% for conventional banks. Wholesale funding remains contained at about 14%, compared with 21% for conventional banks, despite Islamic banks’ faster expansion.”

Profitability, on the other hand, remains broadly in line with that of conventional peers, based on both types of banks having a return on average assets of about 1.8% at the end of March.

“Islamic banks’ net intermediation margin (NIM) reached about 2.8% at year-end 2025. Concerning asset quality, the rating company said the average nonperforming financing (NPF) ratio across both types of banks was about 0.95% at year-end 2025,” S&P said.

Direct exposure to cyclical real estate and construction is estimated at less than 10% of loans for Islamic banks.

S&P expects Islamic banks, in the coming days, to focus on balancing growth with capital requirements, given tighter funding conditions and the relatively lower availability of Islamic liquidity.

The post Saudi’s Islamic banking continues to expand due to ‘Vision 2030,’ says S&P appeared first on International Finance.

Apart from this, the bank has also decided to shut retail banking operations in Tanzania and Ivory Coast. The bank wants to fully concentrate on corporate and commercial banking.

According to the company, this step has been taken to improve profits by narrowing its focus to faster-growing markets situated in the region.

On the other hand, the Standard Chartered Bank is also trying to make its presence felt in some of the fastest-growing economies. The bank has recently opened its branch in Saudi Arabia and at the same time has obtained preliminary approval for banking in Egypt.

The CEO of the bank Bill Winters said in a statement, “We remain excited by a number of opportunities we see in Africa and the Middle East region, as illustrated by our new markets, but remain disciplined in our assessment of where we can deliver significantly improved shareholder returns.”

The post Standard Chartered shuts operations in many Middle East, African countries appeared first on International Finance.

According to a study by market research firm Propeller Insights nearly three-quarter of UK consumers engage in online banking, 77 percent of them are considering switching over to a neobank and only 21 percent of them might continue to visit a bank branch.
“In the UK especially, where the financial services market is quite developed, consumers are more willing to at least test banking alternatives. The culture of the UK consumer is vital to the success of new digital banks, says Koen Vanpraet, who is the CEO of PXP Financial, a complete end-to-end payments provider. To second Vanpraet’s view, Propeller Insights’ statistics showed that 65 percent of the country’s younger demographic between 18 years and 34 years use neobanks as alternate banking avenues.

As it appears, neobanks have changed the era where retail consumers traditionally preferred to visit bank branches for paperwork. “Over the past two years, we’ve seen an influx of consumers choosing neobanks or challenger banks as an alternative to traditional banks that we are all so familiar with,” Ian Wright CEO of SmallBusinessPrices.co.uk tells in a statement given to International Finance.

Perhaps the growing popularity of neobanks suggest that they are filling the digital expectations gap in the country. “They are helped by the fact that many of their consumers fall under the bracket of ‘digital natives’ — those who have grown up using technology. And their digital services go a step beyond what many of the traditional banks are offering,” says Ian Bradbury, CTO for Financial Services, Fujitsu UK, in an email interview with International Finance.

A study conducted by Finder on digital banking in the UK on how people might perceive banking in the future, found over one in 10 Brits have fully switched over to a neobank and 47 percent of them keep less than £1,000 in a neobank. Also, two-thirds of consumers have expressed interest to fully adopt neo banking services in the future. Certainly, the numbers highlight that neobanks are doing things differently. “They have agile ways of working, relatively cheap, stable to run and equipped with the latest technology,” Bradbury says.

Digital innovation: The hallmark of digital banks in the UK

Last year The Forrester Banking Wave: UK Mobile Apps, Q3 2019 report reviewed four traditional banks and three neobanks, which attest to Bradbury’s view. The report found that neobanks are competing with traditional banks on the back of intuitive services and retail consumers are experiencing a paradigm shift in the country’s financial landscape.

The first approach that neobanks have taken is to determine what financial tools and services consumers actually need, and then to find more meaningful ways to deliver on the potential. For example, Monzo, Revolut and Starling are making an impact on older consumers and those left vulnerable by bank branches closing down in the country. Starling and Monzo have partnered with the Post Office and PayPoint respectively to allow consumers to deposit cash in person. Here the idea is to equally serve those who find it cumbersome to use digital technology. Revolut has launched a Plain English customer contract to ease the signing up process.

For businesses, Amaiz is targeting sole traders and small business owners underserved by the banking industry. “Our research shows that this group has particular needs and we want to focus on that,” Steve Taklalsingh, managing director of Amaiz tells International Finance.
While traditional banks are busy carrying big trading assets on their books, neobanks have become more consumer-centric across demographics and are fixated on technology innovation. “Ultimately, digital innovation will be crucial in an increasingly competitive market and neobanks will have to stay ahead of their rivals on this front,” Bradbury says. “So their overall success lies on how well they can innovate — and those who attract the most consumers are those who can differentiate their products in the most creative ways.”

Simplicity and transparency is what these neobanks have been tapping into in the last two years. Amaiz has developed a mobile banking app that provides a 24/7 phone service — a unique selling point in the market today. The app uses smart analytics to manage and track all payments. “We do that because our customers are not typically people who sit in front of a computer all day. They are serving their customers — and therefore, are more likely to want to talk to someone,” Taklalsingh says. “We’ve integrated voice recognition software for top level security and to give our customers the best experience.” Neobanks integrating human touch into their sophisticated digital services have an important stronghold that is missing from much of the traditional banks’ offerings.

Gen Z wants speed and convenience

But what might seem like a quick win for startups is often a lot more to do with hype than substance, Vanpraet explains. The continuous and often advanced neo banking services are changing the traditional understanding of retail banking, but they have a long way to go. “This comes down to the majority of customers who are still sticking with traditional banks. When a new digital bank is introduced, those interested in the industry may look at what they offer and switch services if they think it is beneficial, but the vast majority of ‘casuals’ will stick with what they know.”

PXP Financial carried out a research on Gen Z payment habits in the high street and their top requirement was convenience. Today, customer experience necessitates transaction methods that are the most convenient and fastest. The research highlights that personal data security is of utmost importance for UK consumers. “Despite challengers providing a speedy and slick user experience through digital apps, many consumers still do not feel they are secure,” Bradbury says. This observation is compatible with statistics showing that 40 percent of UK consumers don’t trust neobanks to keep their data safe, and a further 49 percent plan to bank only with a traditional bank unless neobanks can demonstrate they have the right technology to protect them.

This point is debatable. Globalwebindex’s survey last year found that neobanks are more likely to be used by the country’s top income groups. The UK consumers who have used at least one service of Monzo, Starling, Revolut or Atom increased by 83 percent — an impressive growth rate since the third quarter of 2018.

Together, the neobanks in the country are expected to triple customer count to 35 million over the next 12 months, compared to 12 million users last September, according to an Accenture report. In the first half of 2019, five million consumers opened an account with them — resulting in percentage gains in primary account holders. The average account balances increased five-fold to $422 in the first half, from $84, the report noted.

Arguably, this trend could work against traditional banks if they are too slow in rendering advanced digital services. In fact, Vanpraet points out that “change can be slower for traditional banks.” The past two years have seen neobanks demonstrate robust financial performance broadening the competitive playing field of banking in the UK.
Neobanks create significant cost advantage with the average operating cost per customer ranging between £20 and £50, compared to over £170 with a traditional bank.

Performance analysis of top neobanks in the UK

Last year Monzo surpassed 2 million total users — and is expected to add 200,000 new accounts every month, compared to 60,000 a month in the previous year. Monzo crossed £40 million of annual run-rate revenue last May.

Another top neobank Starling aims to break-even by 2020 — targeting 6.7 percent share of the UK SME banking market in the next five years. Since November 2018, it has seen a rise of 110 percent in customer numbers and 200 percent in deposit base.

Revolut, one of the world’s biggest fintech unicorns, was valued at £1.3 billion last year. In 2018, it recorded £58.2 million revenue and cost of sales grew at 247 percent, improving the gross profit margin. Recently, it raised $500 million in a series D funding with a $5.5 billion valuation — and has set an ambitious goal to onboard 100 million customers in the next five years.
Revolut’s global expansion testifies the success of neobanks business model designed to take on big players in the industry, Bradbury says. “But they have a challenging future ahead of them — and it’s certainly an interesting space to watch.”

Neobanks are fighting layers of complexities

Despite the numbers, their market share is low as they are relatively new. Consumers still require their banks to have a physical presence. In fact, 56 percent of consumers show concerns over bank branches closing down in the next five years, says Bradbury, reinstating that neobanks are under strain to build trust and value.

The challenges for neobanks are not subtle. Many of them struggle to churn revenue from existing customers who are used to free services. Following that is their greatest test to prove to investors their ability to make profits — or they might not reach the level of funding received by traditional banks, Bradbury says.

Traditional banks versus neobanks: Threat or hype?

The creation of neobanks has the potential to challenge traditional banks, but for now, “they are still being seen as an add-on service, rather than a primary service,” Vanpraet says. It is impossible to turn a blind eye to the credibility and trust that traditional banks have established over the years. This should be worrying for neobanks, says Vanpraet, pointing to the fact that they are often used for smaller, less important payments. However, “neobanks proving themselves over a sustained period of time will lead to consumer trust on par with traditional banks,” Bradbury says.

The allure of going digital has increased among UK traditional banks. “As neobanks become more popular, traditional banks will hit back,” Bradbury explains. And the big news is “traditional banks already see neobanks as competitors, and this competition will only grow as more UK consumers start to use them as their main current accounts,” he adds.

The post Do high-street banks have to fear the rise of neobanks? appeared first on International Finance.

Africa is prime for banking innovation — and the African banking market is the second-most profitable globally. The retail banking sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is now exposed to new business models as a result of low banking penetration and heavy use of cash. 

Standard Chartered has digitised its wealth management offering for its digital-only banks platforms — and the number of accounts have risen by more than 150,000. Based on the bank’s Africa and the Middle East performance, it is reported that the underlying pre-tax operating profit of $684 million increased 29 percent and underlying operating income of $2.56 billion dropped 2 percent. However, the underlying operating income was 3 percent higher on a constant currency basis demonstrating good performance in the bank’s financial markets across the regions. 

Although the bank’s performance in the Middle East and Africa market has reflected strong performances in financial markets and corporate finance, the results are offset by margin compression in retail banking and lower wealth management in the UAE. Its markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan remain flat, while Africa was down 3 percent. On the customer front,  loans and advances increased 5 percent and accounts were down 2 percent. 

Sunil Kaushal, Regional CEO, Africa and Middle East, said in a statement, “For Africa and the Middle East, we were well-positioned for growth moving into the year and this is clearly illustrated in our results. Our strong performance demonstrates the transformation of the Africa and Middle East franchise despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop across the region.” 

The bank’s global performance in the fourth quarter of 2019 reported that its pre-provision operating profit increased 8 percent to $4.9 billion. Its earnings per share rose 23 percent and asset quality remained stable. The bank’s credit impairment grew $166 million — and is still at a historically low level. 

Standard Chartered has had a good start in 2020. Its regional operations are focused on driving its growth strategy — and is determined to help clients achieve prosperity, Kaushal concluded. 

The post Standard Chartered launches 8 African digital-only banks within a year appeared first on International Finance.

Maybank Islamic is Southeast Asia’s largest Islamic bank by assets. The bank’s branch in DIFC will offer Islamic financing to the GCC countries and Asean, according to media reports. 

Maybank Islamic’s new branch in Dubai will have a team of nine, with a large focus on wholesale banking including corporate financing, treasury and capital markets and trade finance. It is reported that Maybank Islamic will focus on the GCC markets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. 

Maybank Islamic CEO Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican during the launch of MIB Dubai, told the media, “With Dubai being a leading Islamic economic centre, it was timely for Maybank Islamic to be here to tap into the increasing demand for financing in the global halal economy and to become a link between the GCC countries and the world’s fifth largest economy that is the Asean economic community.” 

The Maybank Islamic’s primary focus in Dubai will be wholesale banking and not retail banking. Maybank Islamic had ranked first on Bloomberg’s Global Sukuk League in 2019 for Sukuk issuance. 

Maybank Islamic is the Shariah-compliant division of Malayan Banking. Malayan Banking is Malaysia’s largest financial services group and the top banking group in Southeast Asia. 

Maybank Islamic is among the 2,300 active registered companies that chose the DIFC as their preferred location to gain access into the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (Mesa) region. 

The post Maybank Islamic launches first overseas branch in Dubai appeared first on International Finance.

Vietnamese banks also stepped up focus on retail banking in line with the increase in interest in retail banking services as well as keeping up with the policy priorities of the State Bank of Vietnam, the nation’s central bank. Today, most Vietnam banks consider retail banking as an essential part of their development strategy. However, technology integration in retail banking services remains a key challenge for Vietnam banks. Quite a few banks in Vietnam that offer retail banking services lag in data mining and processing, product development, as well as synchronisation of databases and IT infrastructure.

Speaking to International Finance, Rebaca Tan, associate vice president – analyst, Moody’s Investors Services, said that retail lending in Vietnam is relatively young with around a ten-year history. She added that at the end of 2018, the country had an estimated total loan size of around $60 billion which represented about 25 percent of its GDP. Between 2014 and 2018, retail loans had witnessed a rapid growth, registering a compounded annual growth rate of around 59 percent, she added. This, she explained was because of higher incomes and greater penetration of banking services. She has a high opinion of the country’s credit infrastructure. Citing credit bureaus as an example, she said these were evolving with time and had seen good progress in the last few years.

Citibank, the consumer division of American financial services company, Citigroup too said it had seen considerable growth in its Vietnam operations. A Citibank Vietnam company representative told International Finance that it had established the consumer bank in Vietnam in 2009 and had since been developing its momentum and growing its market share in key business areas such as credit cards, personal loans, cash advances, and insurance.

With regard to its cards business, the representative said the introduction of a suite of Citibank PremierMiles World Mastercard, Citibank cash back Visa Platinum card, and Ready Credit, had allowed its credit card customer portfolio to increase substantially, making it the major premium credit card issuer in Vietnam. With regard to loans, the representative said that Citibank Vietnam emphasises on flexibility and convenience of credit management for the customers, by offering cash advance services at ATMs or unsecured loans with competitive interest rates.

Meanwhile, the growth story of South Korea headquartered Shinhan Bank, in Vietnam further accentuates the progress Vietnam has made in developing retail banking. In this regard, Trinh Bang Vu, head of retail and corporate banking at Shinhan Bank Vietnam, told International Finance, “Over the history of nearly 26 years, Shinhan Bank has expanded its network across the country, from the north to the south, with 36 network units nationwide until August 2019. With a wide network of branches and ATMs across Vietnam and a modern ebanking service, Shinhan Bank is serving 1.4 millions of customers by the end of August 2019.”

Challenges to future growth

Moody’s Tan said she believed the future of the banking industry in Vietnam is positive, just like its past, although it came with a few challenges. This, she said could be in the form of increasing competition from new entrants as well as asset quality challenges stemming from rapid growth in previous years.

Meanwhile Shinhan Bank’s Bang Vu specifically mentioned there would be two challenges. “The first challenge is new standards and conditions required for the capacity, organisational structure, and operation of financial institutions to play in the market. The second challenge arises from the business model in the finance and banking industry in Vietnam in the new era,” he said.

With regard to the second challenge, Bang Vu explained that Vietnam was developing in lines with the developed economies in the sense that conventional retail banks would be forced to change in order to survive, as going forward, an increasing number of financial transactions could largely be done through the digital banking applications and platforms.

Technology is key in Vietnam retail banking

Both Tan and Bang Vu said they believed that technology is key and will play an active role in solving some of the challenges. Apart from this, Tan also said that risk management procedures would help. “To address these challenges, good technological and risk management procedures such as scorecards, credit checks, and borrower validation are key.”

Meanwhile, Bang Vu was of the opinion that “..retail banks must strive to strongly invest in technology, cooperate with fintech firms, train human resources, and restructure the business towards the lean, modern, and flexible approach.”

A PwC Retail Banking 2020 report too highlights the importance of technology in the overall retail banking segment going forward. It expects the segment’s landscape to change significantly in response to various factors such as evolving customer expectations, regulatory requirements, and technology among others.

And banks, it said cannot stand to remain the same and had to choose, either to be a shaper of the future, a fast follower, or to manage defensively, putting off change. “We believe that the winners in 2020 will not only execute relentlessly against today’s imperatives, but will also innovate and transform themselves to prepare for the future. This future will require institutions to be agile and open, ready to explore different options in an uncertain world,” the report said.

With regard to role of technology specifically in Vietnam’s retail banking space, Moody’s Tan said, there was a strong potential for fintech development in the country. This, she said was because of Vietnam’s low banking penetration – wherein only one-thirds of adults in the country possessed a bank account. “Together with the increasing use of mobile devices and the internet, fintech could provide tools to improve access to financial and banking services for individuals, especially those in rural areas”.

She further added that because of this potential, Vietnam was witnessing two developments. On the one hand, there was an emergence of several fintech startups especially those offering digital payment services. And on the other, banks in the country were building up their online and mobile banking platforms to enable existing customers handle more transactions online, she explained.

Shinhan bank’s Bang Vu too said that technology would play a key role in Vietnam’s retail banking future considering both the rapid growth of the internet and the non-cash payment policy implementation in the country. “Therefore, the development of digital banks not only meets the needs of the majority of customers but also serves the needs of the banks themselves in expanding the distribution channels, changing the competitive environment and saving its costs,” he said.

Bang Vu added that technology would also bring in various advantages such as enhancing customer experience, retaining and attracting more customers, thanks to mobile banking and internet banking, and also helping improve the security for customers in transaction processing.

Current use of technology in Vietnam retail banking

Suggesting that adoption of technology by retail banks in the country was already underway, Bang Vu said that it had launched an online product last year called the Mobile Banking SOL application. This, he said, came with features that ensured convenience and optimal security for customer transactions.

Bang Vu added that Shinhan Bank Vietnam, as part of its focus towards technology, had partnered with fintech companies such as Momo, Moca, VnPay, Payoo, Zalo, and FPT to introduce digital banking and financial services to meet the diverse needs of its customers. He further said they were seeking more such partnerships in this space through fintech organisations and clubs.

Finally, Bang Vu said his bank was continuing to invest in technology infrastructure. This, he said, included upgrading its core banking system, credit scoring system, customer identification system, data analysis system, and applying new technologies such as big data, AI, Open API, and so on in an effort to build a digital banking ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Citibank too seems to be a frontrunner in the application of technology in its retail banking operations in Vietnam. Speaking on the same, its company representative, said that in an effort to support its digital transformation for customers in Vietnam, it had pushed forward several digital services aimed at improving the digital experiences for retail clients in the country.

“Citi is a leading financial institution to use biometrics technology in Vietnam to enhance customer’s experience, as well as security for its consumers. We introduced Touch ID, a technology that uses finger print to verify customers using mobile banking on the smartphone. Citi also introduced a snap shot feature on mobile banking, provides customers the quick view brief summary of all their accounts with Citi without having to log on. We are also exceptionally proud to be the first bank to introduce voice biometrics technology in Vietnam,” the representative explained.

Other technology achievements according to the representative included, Citi Vietnam becoming the first country globally to accomplish the milestone of 100 percent penetration with clients for e-statements, recording an 82 percent year-on-year growth in downloads of the Citi Mobile App in 2018 and finally Citi’s active app users increased by 47 percent year-on-year.

Government and foreign banks play a key role

So while the future potential for this segment is positive it is also important to note that the government has played a key role in the development of retail banking sector of Vietnam. So when, Moody’s Tan told International Finance that the government was striking a balance between financial inclusion and systemic stability. As an example, Tan said that while the government is pushing towards greater financial inclusion, they are also wary of asset quality issues that could stem from rapid loan growth.

“To this end, the State Bank of Vietnam has recently proposed stricter regulations on unsecured consumer lending for both banks and finance companies which, in our view, are credit positive because it will alleviate asset quality pressure by curbing excessive growth, which will lead to stronger risk-adjusted returns and support internal capital generation in the future,” she said.

Meanwhile, with regard to foreign banks that have till date played an important role in Vietnam’s retail banking space, Tan indicated there was scope for more foreign banks to enter this segment. She said such banks had an opportunity in the form of partnerships with local banks or acquisition of finance companies in Vietnam, or subsidiarisation. She cited the example of Shinhan Card Company that had completed its acquisition of Prudential Vietnam Finance Company Ltd – the fourth largest consumer finance company in Vietnam by assets – in early 2018. She also gave the example of Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank selling 49 percent of its stake in its consumer finance subsidiary to Shinsei Bank in 2017.

Meanwhile, Shinhan Bank’s Bang Vu said that considering there was a huge demand for retail banking in Vietnam but only a limited supply, there was a lot of potential in the country not just for Shinhan Bank but also other foreign banks and investors. He further added that Vietnam’s comparatively better environment further attracted foreign banks. “..demographic structure, stable political and social environment are also important factors in attracting foreign banks to Vietnam, especially when the global financial market become unpredictable,” he explained.

Huge unbanked population promises further growth

Overall, the future outlook for retail banking in Vietnam is positive according to the report by Ant consultants. The report explained that there was a large scope for the development of this segment in the country and the primary reason was that 87 percent of the population were under the age of 54. Citing the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the country’s central bank, the report further revealed that while 20 percent of more than 90 million citizens in the country held bank accounts, just three percent of the population possessed a credit card, further highlighting the scope for retail banking in the country.

Moody’s Tan too had similar views. She said loans to the retail segment in Vietnam will continue growing over the next two to three years, buoyed by the country’s young and urbanising population, whose wages were increasing steadily, and because of the increasing use of credit by consumers to make purchases.

The post Vietnam retail banking: Technology is key to success appeared first on International Finance.

Des Crowley, Bank of Ireland UK Chief Executive Officer, said:  “In 2017 we have continued to invest in new customer propositions and extend our distribution reach, with the priority of putting our customers, colleagues, communities and our partners, at the centre of everything we do.”

The Bank’s Annual Report findings for the end of 2017 underpins factors that shaped its financial and business forefront. The profit before taxation of £151mn has reflected an increase in business investments, changes to product portfolios and ongoing competition in the UK consumer lending market.

Financial Highlights

• Over £4.5bn in new customer lending: a 12% increase on 2016
• Impairment charges: £26mn (2016: £23mn)
• Strong net interest margin 2.02% (2016: 2.07%)
• £160mn dividend paid to Parent
• Strong organic generation of capital: CET 1 ratio 14.7%. with a total capital ratio 20.5%

Business highlights

•  £3.2 billion of new mortgage origination in the year across all channels: c.15% increase on 2016
• Successful longstanding partnership with the Post Office, serving 2.4mn customers, and savings balances of c.£13.9bn
• Second year of partnership with the AA, with over 150,000 new customer relationships and lending book of c.£350mn
• Excellent year for Northridge Finance with 7 percent growth in total business lending, and acquisition of Marshall Leasing Limited, a complementary car and commercial vehicle leasing and fleet management company
• Northern Ireland business sustains profitability, reflecting strong margin performance, strict cost control and ongoing management of impairment charges on commercial loan portfolio

“Our financial performance reflects the increased investment we have made in our business, as we have continued to transform the customer experience through technical innovation, digitisation and product development.  We have grown our personal loan and new mortgage business, significantly reduced our funding costs, acquired a strategically important and complementary car leasing and fleet management business, Marshall Leasing Limited, and continued to win many industry awards.

Looking ahead, our strategic priorities are focused on transforming our business, serving our customers brilliantly and growing sustainable profits.  I am confident that given the momentum in the business, combined with a strong risk and cost culture and our clear focus on value-add customer and partner offerings, that we will build on our trading performance and deliver sustainable returns for all our stakeholders,” Crowley added.

The post Bank of Ireland UK builds on unique partnership approach to retail banking appeared first on International Finance.

Helping the Iraqi economy
The main objectives of Trade Bank are to meet the humanitarian needs of the country, contribute to rebuilding the Iraq economy through financing projects, reactivate the Iraqi economy and stimulate long-term growth.

“Since inception, our aim is to maintain our leading position in the Iraqi banking sector, and remain as a pillar of the Iraq national economy through offering the best banking products and services to our customers, to maximize our returns while complying with local and international best practices, continuous investment in our employees and systems, and the expansion of our international banking branch network.”

Suite of Banking Services
The bank offers a wide range of banking services widely spread across retail banking and commercial banking. With retail banking, Trade Bank of Iraq offers current accounts, saving accounts and deposits, Certificate of Deposit (Testahel) and Priority Banking (Jumar) for select highly-ranked clients. In addition, customers have easy access to car loans (Sayarati), credit cards, personal loans as well as remittance facilities.

To cater to a growing market with professional banking requirements, Trade Bank of Iraq offers commercial banking services as well. These include current accounts & deposits, remittances, Letters of Guarantee, project finance options, trade finance, SME finance and syndication. It is the first Iraqi financial institution to receive (ISO/ 9001-2015) certification for the Remittances, Letters of Credit and Letter of Guarantee Departments.

Investing Through Trade Bank of Iraq
As a leading banking solutions provider, Trade Bank of Iraq also offers a host of lucrative investment options through investment banking, as well as sovereign bonds through IPOs, private equity and wealth management. The Trade Bank of Iraq is proud to announce its involvement as a Co-Manager in the successful closure of the first Iraqi Government International Bond Issue. The Iraqi Government raised US$1bn from the international capital markets for a five-year bond at 100% issue price with a yield of 6.75%. The Trade Bank of Iraq has increased its capital by 53% to reach US$2.3bn for the year end 2016.

The Net Profit of the bank has increased by 267% over the 2015 net profits of US$124mn to reach US$453.9mn in 2016. This marks the highest net profit that the bank has achieved in its history. The Trade Bank of Iraq has been ranked among the largest 1000 Banks worldwide in terms of TIER 1 capital exceeding of US$3.1bn, ranking 33rd among Arab banks and 318th internationally.

The bank has 24 branches in Iraq and has opened a representative office in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). For the first time in Iraq, TBI gets facilities from Euler Hermez, and one of the biggest milestones for the bank was the signing of a financing MoU with GE and Standard Chartered Bank to accelerate power and infrastructure projects in Iraq.

Recognition
The sustained efforts of the bank to provide services have not gone unnoticed. Trade Bank of Iraq was awarded Best Trade Finance Bank and Best Brand Re-Launch by Banker Middle East, as well as Best CEO and Best Trade Bank in Iraq by International Finance. TBI has received two special awards by EMEA Finance magazine – Best Local Bank and Best Investment Bank.

The post Trade Bank of Iraq a national pillar for economic growth appeared first on International Finance.

Banks are facing a loyalty problem. Consumers are becoming accustomed to having more seamless and connected customer experiences than retail banks provide today. Banks have struggled to modernize, bogged by disparate systems and operating in silos even within their four walls. As a result, over one-third of banking customers are “hidden defectors,” meaning they purchase products or services from a competitor of their primary bank. Meanwhile, disruptive new entrants in the financial services sector, such as Venmo and Earnest, are also taking slices of business from banks and earning customer loyalty.

“Banks are no longer just competing against one another. They’re being compared to any company providing a convenient user experience that builds loyalty,” said Rohit Mahna, SVP and GM of Financial Services, Salesforce. “With Financial Services Cloud for Retail Banking, Salesforce is making it possible for customers to love their banks again.”

Introducing Financial Services Cloud for retail banking

Two years ago, Salesforce introduced its first Financial Services Cloud application to transform the way wealth managers engage with their clients and their families. Today, the company is reimagining how retail banks engage with customers, with new innovations including:

• Retail banking data model and console: All customer data—such as education background, employment status, the broader household’s financial holdings, bank accounts, loans and personal identification documents—is surfaced and managed within a role-based banking console that maximizes productivity and facilitates highly personalized engagements with customers. The console also enables bankers to stay on top of critical tasks throughout the day by aggregating information from multiple systems to create comprehensive banker to-do lists, including proactive alerts for referrals and tasks. Additionally, personal bankers can capture customer needs and intent, enabling immediate routing of customers to the right bank employee who can recommend relevant solutions that will help customers achieve their financial goals.
• Intelligent needs-based referrals, powered by Salesforce Einstein: With the power of Einstein’s data science and machine learning capability, bankers can automatically identify and take action on their highest priority referrals based on intelligent scoring and insights. New record types, components and referrer profiles also help bankers manage referrals and collaborate across different banking divisions to address real financial needs based on the financial products and services customers have expressed interest in. For example, if a customer’s monthly direct deposits increase, and they express interest in financial planning, a personal banker can easily create a referral that will be routed to a financial advisor within the bank who will immediately have context about the customer’s needs.
• Flexible banking platform and ecosystem: Now, bankers no longer need to toggle between disparate systems and silos to manage different banking workflows and processes. With flexible APIs and a rich partner ecosystem, banks can easily extend the functionality of Financial Services Cloud to meet their evolving needs. For example, they can quickly integrate nCino’s Bank Operating System for originating and funding financial products, such as loans and deposits, with workflow embedded in Financial Services Cloud. Now, if a customer is interested in applying for a personal loan, a banker can start the process directly within Financial Services Cloud. Banks can also leverage the platform to build customer-facing apps.

About Financial Services Cloud

Financial Services Cloud enables retail banking and wealth management institutions to bring together disparate lines of business, geographies, and channels to put customers at the center of every interaction. With Financial Services Cloud, financial institutions can take a meaningful step toward collaborating together as one team to guide customers and their families along their financial life journeys.

Availability

• Financial Services Cloud for Retail Banking is expected to be generally available in October 2017.

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Whereas the technology had been slow to initially take off, there can be no doubt that thanks to advancements in mobile payments and banking apps, we’re now well on our way towards a cashless society, thanks to smartphones. The reasons for this profound shift in consumer behaviour are simple as the technology has advanced to a stage whereby consumers can easily manage their day-to-day finances around the clock, irrespective of the day of the week it is, in less than 60 seconds.

Now, more than 40,000 of these applications are downloaded a day, while on average, UK consumers login 11 million times a day to their banking apps. In tandem with this trend, there has also been a steady decline of 32% of bank branch visits per day from 2011 to 2016.

A key trend in terms of mobile banking that we’ll increasingly see impacting upon consumers in the coming years is ‘marketplace’ banking. This is where a bank integrates third-party services into its own platform, effectively turning itself into a marketplace, where consumers can access products from across the entire market in one place.

Sophie Guibaud is VP of European Expansion at Fidor Bank

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