(MENAFN- Gulf Times) I'm delighted to say that Commercial Bank recently won an award for the best retail bank in Qatar at the Asian Banker's Excellence in Retail Financial Services 2015 Awards held in Singapore this year. Applicants for the award were subject to a rigorous three-month evaluation process involving 37 different criteria, with judging conducted by prominent global bankers, consultants and academics.
I believe this independent international recognition is a just reward for the hard work of our staff and Commercial Bank's continued investment in retail banking. Commercial Bank's mission is to create a world-leading banking institution for Qatar. To succeed in this mission, we must continue to support the National Vision 2030, not only in terms of economic development through our day-to-day banking activities but by acting as an outstanding corporate citizen to advance human and social development too. Specifically for retail banking, to be world-leading banking institution we must differentiate ourselves in the Qatari market by driving innovation and raising service standards.
Technology is undeniably the primary source of innovation in our society today and is making a big impact on the banking industry. We are in a new digital era where our customers increasingly experience Commercial Bank via Internet banking and mobile banking, as it suits the way they want to bank with us: anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Our job is to harness changing technology platforms to deliver benefits for our customers. We were the first retail bank in Qatar to offer an Internet banking service and an online savings account, and we continue to invest heavily in our digital channels.
We also use technology in the back office wherever possible to streamline our processes, drive efficiency and redirect resources to other parts of our business.
Successful innovation starts with understanding customer needs and we take a customer centric approach at Commercial Bank by placing a huge emphasis on the customer experience and respond with retail banking products and services tailored to meet or exceed our customers' needs.
We listen to, interact and communicate a great deal with our customers. By using a robust research survey every quarter, we ask our customers what they like and dislike about our services and how their perceptions of us as a bank are changing. We then use this feedback, and more specific research, for innovation and improvement.
Digital innovation and use of convenient, faster and more effective electronic channels has been a strategic priority for retail banking as our customers increasingly choose to use Commercial Bank's digital banking services. Indeed digital banking has transformed the way we do business and last year saw a 25% reduction in customers using Commercial Bank branches due to migration to digital channels and also through extensive automation of our processes, both of which have actively reduced the cost of serving our customers.
Digital banking, however, does not suit all of our customers and people will always be a vital part of Commercial Bank's retail banking business. Innovation in the way we hire, manage and train our staff is every bit as important as using new digital technologies.
We achieve this through our own proprietary programmes refined over years of experience and by partnering with some of the world's best universities. This investment is not just for the benefit of our staff but ultimately our customers too. A common saying goes: "if you want to best serve customers then you must first serve those who serve the customers."
To conclude, since introducing the concept of modern banking to Qatar 40 years ago, Commercial Bank continues to be at the forefront of bringing innovations to the market in the same spirit as our pioneering founders in 1975.
Meeting our customers' needs through innovation and quality of service has been crucial to Commercial Bank's retail banking success and I believe our recent award is well-deserved.
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