Dignitaries cutting a cake on the occasion.
Doha: Commercial Bank, which adds to its recent accolades being ranked by Euromoney as a Leader in Qatar in Digital Solutions, Corporate Banking, and Corporate Social Responsibility is progressing well on its long-term strategy, an official said yesterday.
Speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the bank’s launch of its second Premium Lounge at Place Vendome Mall, Group CEO of Commercial Bank Joseph Abraham said the Commercial Bank will carry on improving more digital innovation and expanding its various business streams as part of its strategy and expansion plans post-World Cup.
“For next year, basically we are very clear with our strategy which we have already laid out. And it’s about fulfilling that strategy where we’re progressing well. And that is to improve more digital innovation, more expansion in our various business streams, and we continue to manage ourselves efficiently and with proper risk management,” said Abraham.
It may be noted that Commercial Bank had previously announced its long-term strategy with some of its outlined objectives: a further uplift in future business performance, including digital leadership through investment in end-to-end process automation, artificial intelligence and robotics; reshaping the branch network aligning to a changing customer footprint; and developing new products in Wealth Management, Transaction Banking and Cash Management.
Abraham said: “We are completely digital. We can do almost every transaction that you do in a bank, you can do it digitally or self-service. You can even deposit a cheque digitally and send money anywhere in the world instantly online, so we’re very well advanced. In fact, we won the Euromoney Award for Being the Market Leader in Qatar in Digital Solutions.”
Asked on whether a full-pledged digital bank was on the horizon, he said: “Many locations have done that. And this will also depend on the Central Bank granting approval. But for us, at the end of the day, if you can provide a full-pledged digital experience to customers, then the need to go to a fully digital environment is different. You always need to cater to the different segments. The younger segments are very digitally oriented, and we give them that digital experience. I think that will suffice it. It doesn’t have to be a pure digital bank to provide digital experience.
“At the end of the day, we should not forget that bank customers want safety and security. And if the banks have the capital and the system, the operational risk processes all of which are very strong, and the governance of the Central Bank which ensure the safety and security of the customer’s money, that’s the fundamental. As long as banks provide that, plus you add on a completely digital orientation and digital services, then I think they would meet a happy merger of meeting all the needs,” added Abraham.
