Emirates NBD-Egypt launches new banking services package for major customers

Mother group aims at gaining the trust of Egyptian customers, say bank's leaders

Emirates National Bank of Dubai (Emirates NBD) Egypt launched a new package of banking services for its major customers last week, named the Priority Banking Proposition.
General Manager of Retail Banking and Wealth Management Fredrick de Melker said: "The new proposition reflects the bank's strategy, which places customers at the forefront of our priorities when it comes to launching new competitive banking products or services. Emirates NBD-Egypt believes its customers are not only clients but also key strategic partners within a long-term horizon of cooperation," according to a statement by the bank.
The statement further noted that the bank launched this package to serve its major customers, giving them the opportunity to receive a number of banking solutions and services at lower-than-market prices. This is in addition to giving the customers priority at all the branches.
Emirates NBD-Egypt held a press conference last week to announce launching Priority Banking Proposition for its major customers in the Egyptian market.
The conference was attended by the bank's CEO, Giel-Jan M Van Der Tol, General Manager Retail Banking and Wealth Management, Fredrick de Melker, and AymanGamgoum, head of the Priority Banking department.
De Melker said that the bank seeks to build strong relationships with its customers, and help them to make the optimum use of all the banking services and products that are designed to suit their financial goals, whether they are short or medium-term goals, or long-term investment goals. That is in order to make their daily life easier and guarantee their success in handling their financial issues.
The new Priority Banking Proposition, according to the statement, grants a range of unique banking products, including privileges, credit cards, and access to lounges dedicated to the major customers, adding that the package is for the customers with an average quarterly balance of EGP 350,000, or minimum salary transfer of EGP 20,000.
During the conference, De Melker revealed that the bank aim to increase the growth of the individuals' credit portfolio by 30-35% in 2016, and 30% for the deposits.
He explained that the deposits portfolio of the bank reached about EGP 21.5bn by the end of June 2015, while the loans portfolio reached about EGP 6.6bn.
According to head of the Priority Banking department Ayman Gamgoum, by launching the Priority Banking Proposition, the bank aims to provide all the opportunities to its important customers in order to receive the best banking services in the most efficient manner.
Gamgoum said launching this service comes within the strategy of Emirates NBD Group, the mother group in the UAE, to expand in the Egyptian market and gain customers' trust.
"The new service will help achieve a number of goals, some of which are: raising the service quality offered in the banking sector, encouraging the largest number of customers to deal with the bank and maintain their savings, increasing liquidity at the bank, which will enable it grant personal and car loans, in addition to increasing the competitiveness between banks, which will positively reflect on customer services and the banking sector as a whole," Gamgoum said.
He explained that Priority Banking depends on providing five major elements: relations, cash management, facilitations, protection, and assets.
He said the bank did not stop at these elements, but developed all the banking services and products to encourage customers to increase their savings and open new accounts, in addition to offering a number of free services.
According to Gamgoum, customers' savings will be managed and invested in various investment ventures at competitive prices. The bank will also offer customers personal and car loans. Moreover, it will issue credit cards and arrange different insurance plans in cooperation with major insurance companies – quickly and simply.
He explained that this service enables customers to manage their liquidity through different products. For instance, customers can open current accounts at an interest rate 1% higher than the announced price. They can also choose to set up saving accounts at competitive increasing interest rates of up to 7%. Another alternative is deposits, which are offered with interest rates 1% higher than the announced rates. Customers can invest in fixed income certificates of three to five years. Those certificates are offered in Egyptian pounds as well as US dollars. The most recent investment tool is the 10-year deposits.
The bank has also developed all of its non-financial services, such as building VIP halls at 50 of the bank's branches to improve their customers' experience with the bank.
The bank also provides and facilitates all modern means of communications to customers through call-centres and Internet banking, in addition to a large network of ATMs and a new mobile application, which is a new service provided in Egypt.
Emirates NBD-Egypt is a subsidiary of Emirates NBD. The bank entered the Egyptian market in June 2013, after acquiring BNP Paribas-Egypt.
The bank has nearly 62 branches in Egypt, in addition to seven banking service units, as well as more than 200 ATMs that cover highly populated areas in Greater Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Upper Egypt, Sinai and the Red Sea governorates.
According to Giel-Jan M Van der Tol, CEO of Emirates NBD-Egypt, the bank aims to increase the number of its branches in Egypt to 100 in the upcoming period.
Van de Tol explained in a press conference that the bank considers Egypt a base to boost is expansions in areas of North and West Africa, especially as the Egyptian market is considered the second largest market for the bank after the European Union, in the light of the presence of investment opportunities in various economic sectors.
He added that the bank serves about 260,000 customers in the Egyptian market, and achieved 34% growth in several activities over the past year. It also managed to increase individuals' loans by 49%, and companies' loans by 78%.
The market share of Emirates NBD-Egypt is 1.6%, according to Van der Tol, who added that the bank's long-term strategy targets entering the bank into the list of the five largest banks in the Egyptian banking sector by 2050.
Van der Tol added that the bank occupied 12th place amongst other banks two years ago, and has since managed to move up to ninth place, whereas it occupied seventh place in terms of profits at the end of September.