(MENAFN - Arab Times) The Burgan Bank on Wednesday held its Annual General Assembly Meetings and Shafafiya (Transparency) Forum for Shareholders at the Chairman's Club in the Head Office building complex.
The Annual General Assembly Meeting with the bank's shareholders was held to put out the bank's performance figures in a very clear and transparent fashion to its shareholders as well as take care of share holders' questions and concerns. Present at the meeting were the bank's top executives including Eduardo Eguren, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Majid Issa Al-Ajil, Director of Administration as well as other executive members.
The were also a large crowd of shareholders and media personnel present. Burgan Bank has four majority owned subsidiaries: Gulf Bank Algeria - AGB (Algeria), Bank of Baghdad - BOB (Iraq), Jordan Kuwait Bank - JKB (Jordan) and Tunis International Bank - TIB (Tunisia), (collectively "Burgan Bank Group").
The Bank has continuously improved its performance over the years through an expanded revenue structure, diversified funding sources, and a strong capital base. The adoption of state-of-the-art services and technology has positioned it as a trendsetter in the domestic market and within the MENA region.
Burgan Bank's brand has been created on a foundation of real values - of trust, commitment, excellence and progression, to remind us of the high standards to which we aspire. 'People come first' is the foundation on which its products and services are developed.
The Bank was re-certified in 2010 with the ISO 9001:2008 certification in all its banking businesses, making it the only Bank in GCC to receive such accreditation. The Bank also has to its credit the distinction of being the only Bank in Kuwait to have won the JP Morgan Chase Quality Recognition Award, twelve years in succession.
Burgan Bank won the prestigious "Banking Web Awards" prize in the commercial and corporate Category for Kuwait. In 2010 Burgan Bank was awarded with the "Best Internet Banking Service award" from Banker Middle East Awards.
Burgan Bank, a subsidiary of KIPCO (Kuwait Projects Company), is a strongly positioned regional Bank in the MENA region.
In 2010 the operating income increased from KD 155 million to KD 165 million.
In 2010 when a reduction of provision coverage was forecast, there was rather an increase from 87 percent to 157 percent.
There was a quantum leap in net profit for 2010 from KD 4.7 million to KD 6.2 million
Strong
360 million Burgan Bank shares were issued in 2010 at a price of 280 fils per share, with a premium of 180 fils per share.
All share issues were fully subscribed, reflecting a strong and continued support from the bank's shareholding community
All subsidiaries of the bank which include Jordan-Kuwait Bank (51.1% owned), Gulf Bank Algeria (91.1% owned), Bank of Baghdad (51.8% owned) and Tunis International Bank (86.6% owned) recorded positive growths in all portfolios of their various operations for the 2010.
Kuwait, which represents 60% of the group's total income, has a stable environment conducive to its being the center of Burgan Bank's activities.
Kuwait's 4-year Development Plan worth KD 30 billion will drive growth in the coming years, with Real Estate and retail sectors already showing signs of recovery as sales volumes were up 50% year on year in 2010.
The financial sector in Kuwait improved its asset quality with higher coverage of Non Performing Loans and better financial performance.
"The near term is challenging due to the ongoing volatility which is likely to impact private sector investment and risk, but the out look over the long term is still positive with oil based investments by the government set to continue", said Eduardo.
"Generally, it can be safely said that the bank was able to successfully "sail through the global economic crisis, with figures from all subsidiaries attesting to that fact", added Eduardo.
The past year (2010), saw majority shares achieved in all of its subsidiaries with a built up sound balance sheet.
The bank is set to support the Kuwait Development plan implementation through its client support, as well as enlarge its product offering and improve sales effectiveness. It is also embarking on its human capital development, upgrading existing technology to ensure they are a step ahead of competitors.
While strategizing on lowering cost to drive up profitability, Burgan has plans in place to diversify its products, businesses as well as geographical locations.
As part of its 2011 forecasts, the bank intends to enhance its risk architecture, provide superior customer experience, as well as expand its retail network to grow the operations in Kuwait and all subsidiaries.
Maintaining a strong balance sheet, developing brand equity and increasing relative ratings are also on the strategy list.
By: Iddris Seidu
