KFH maintains stability, growth: Al-Nahedh
KUWAIT: KFH-Group CEO, Mazin Saad Al-Nahedh said: In continuation of its remarkable success, KFH has maintained stability and achieved growth during 2016 despite the challenges encountered during the year. The bank achieved a growth rate of 13.3 percent amounting KD 165.2 million in net profit attributable to shareholders of the bank during 2016 and a growth by 8.2 percent in net operating income compared to preceding year (less non-recurring investment income).
These results have incarnated the success of the policies and plans adopted by KFH and applied by the executive management to establish certain pillars and foundations that would achieve growing ratios of sustainable revenues for KFH Group dependent on sustainable operational performance.
Our achieved goal is an inseparable part of a chain of activities focused on banking business, quality service, technology, customer and employee satisfaction, enhancement and encouragement of innovation and creativity, optimized spending, sound management of risk and governance, expansion of market share . While observing flexibility of organizational structure, enhancement of cooperation and coordination among subsidiary banks, setting a permanent mechanism to ensure smooth inflow of information and unification of procedures, continued structuring of investments given best market fundamentals and build national human resources to lead and bear responsibility.
Goals achieved
We achieved set goals successfully despite the challenges prevailing in the general operational environment in the local market and the markets where KFH subsidiary banks operate abroad. KFH culture is currently focused on products diversification and customer service concurrently through cross-selling which considers customer as an integrated entity and ensures an adequate management of the joint relationship. Professional values and principles are developed, without impacting performance trend, by simplifying service and product provision procedures. Similar activities are consolidated under a single hub to achieve simplicity of procedures and quality control in a parallel effort that would mitigate human involvement in certain cases and increase it in some other cases.
Significant and outstanding integrity was achieved among the various group’s functions, such as, financial control, audit, IT, risk department, and human resources, that contributed remarkably to management’s cost optimization plan successfully. Total operating expenses declined for the second consecutive year by KD 35.5 Million or 11 percent (KD 31.5 Million or 8 percent in 2015 compared to 2014). In addition, 61 percent of KFH Group net profit was realized through entities in Kuwait while the contribution of subsidiaries abroad approximated 39 percent. Remarkable success achieved is underpinned by easing procedures, cancellation of recurring operations, strengthening relations among group subsidiaries and benefiting from their experience in the development, re-drafting, and review of procedures to accelerate task completion process.
Growth in high quality assets, stability of deposits base, expansion of group network and launching of new innovative products were all highly significant factors in achieving a highly distinguished performance this year. On the aspect of focusing on banking business, operational revenues resulting from banking activities represent the main part of the financial statements. We continued to introduce high quality banking products and services to enhance our market share and encounter competition. This was achieved via two angles, the first covering the increase in the number of branches which has reached 65 branches in Kuwait and 481 branches worldwide. We have also developed ATM systems to be a vital instrument for branches to mitigate work pressure. ATM systems were replaced by highly sophisticated and developed systems of Al-Shamel System which provides, in addition to the traditional functions, other services including cash deposit service and retail and corporate cheque deposit. New security programs and applications were launched to protect customer’s transactions and instant bank cards issuance system was implemented at the group level. Needless to say that KFH is the first bank in Kuwait to offer Super-Premium Debit Cards in the State of Kuwait and issued two distinguished cards, Visa Debit Infinite and Visa Signature, to the new high networth tiers of (Elite) and (Pioneers) customers.
High networth customers
KFH launched new products and services including the “Winner” account to attract a new tier of payroll customers. Also reclassified high networth tier customers into (Elite) and (Pioneers) with the introduction of new incentives and advantages for each category by highly specialized relationship managers. New tiers target customers with medium credit. We have also added to the Gold account the facility to trade and open accounts online through KFH website. To align with the needs of the customer, we have introduced Zakat payment service through ATM machines to save their time and effort.
KFH lays great emphasis on customer care, thus aiming to maintain and preserve customer trust. In this respect, we have increased banking services provided to Premium customers and offered them a set of investment funds, such as, variable US dollar Sukuk Fund as well as the Real Estate Fund in USA.
Retail banking services and Private Banking services recorded outstanding results beyond all expectations. These achievements were the result of the implementation of certain initiatives, thus aiming to focus on customers in various group sectors, enhance customers’ satisfaction, conduct researches and studies to obtain opinions, listen to their suggestions and record their complaints through complaints unit.
To enhance IT channels and to foster modern technology as one of the means to provide customer service, mitigate costs, achieve speed and security, KFH has developed telephone banking services, enhanced its technical and human capabilities and transformed it into a marketing tool. We have also developed KFH website as a marketing and introductory hub for KFH group, comprising a set of modern and newly developed free technical services which our customer may benefit from through our website at any time and place. To this end, KFH launched the (PUSH) service for customer banking services and (MY Salary Link) service to inquire about salaries in addition to the operation of a new automated treasury system at the group level and the operation of an integrated automated system to manage customer relations and reiterate KFH emphasis on this aspect.
Direct sale function
To enhance direct sale function role as a hub to increase sales, KFH is in the process of implementing a wide spread program to enhance the capabilities of KFH sales team through the recruitment of employees who are able to develop the group’s ambitious plans. On the retail finance side, KFH has developed highly distinguished products for individuals to fulfil their needs of construction finance. KFH provides several products and multiple solutions in cooperation with accredited suppliers. We have continued to add unique and high quality services to customers in the Kuwaiti market by providing new offers of educational and medical finance services in cooperation with highly reputable and distinguished educational and medical organizations in a way that would contribute to the enhancement of cost optimization and movement of economic wheel. Furthermore, KFH has developed new products in the fields of vehicle finance during the year including finance, operational and leasing finance for various types of vehicles through our showrooms spread all over Kuwait.
Corporate finance portfolio achieved growth by 17.5 percent with a total value KD 293 million as the portfolio value was KD 1.673 billion in 2015 increased to KD 1.966 billion in 2016.
In continuation of our customer care, KFH has launched in 2016 “I Care” program which acts as an extension of the initiative (We Care) launched in the past. This initiative lays responsibility on employees’ shoulders to provide the best services internally and externally. To this end KFH has honored more than 100 employees in this program which will continue its activity and momentum during 2017.