Doha, Qatar: Commercial Bank has been awarded a medal in the prestigious Digital Impact Award finals against international giants such as Aviva and Barclays, for its website design which allows customers greater ease, choice, engagement and security in dealing with the Bank 24 hours per day online.
The Digital Impact Awards has been setting standards across the digital communications industry since its launch in 2009 and is now the biggest European celebration of digital stakeholder engagement. Thirty judges at the top competition examined entries submitted by branding-industry professionals for clients all over the world, looking for the most effective, integrated and creative campaigns to merit recognition. Commercial Bank placed as a final medalist winning Bronze in the category 'Best Use of Digital in the Financial Services Sector', alongside Barclays (Gold) and Aviva (Silver), thus setting Commercial Bank in the running with some of the longest-established and most influential international financial entities in the world.
Commercial Bank recently improved and enhanced its website in direct response to customer wishes for greater ease of use, identical pages in both Arabic and English, and 24-hour, digital banking services. The fresh image and functionality have already paid off with greatly increased customer satisfaction and engagement, easier and quicker secure transactions online, and thousands of transactions taking place online that would previously have been conducted in-branch. The Commercial Bank brand is also attracting many new customers to the Bank who want both the reliability of the longest-established private-sector bank in Qatar and also the dynamism and ease-of-use of fully digitised banking services.
"We are delighted at the good news that our improved website has won the Digital Impact Award," said Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi, Commercial Bank's Chief Executive Officer. "This award recognises exactly the qualities we wanted to provide our customers: improved convenience, functionality and access; increased relevance to their needs; and a dynamic, fresh appearance reflecting our 24 hour commitment and our promise that with Commercial Bank 'everything is possible'."
Separately from the Bronze medal awarded to Commercial Bank for its best use of digital in financial services, the awarding judges also highly commended Commercial Bank's rebrand overall. Commercial Bank is planning to maintain its digital lead through further optimisation of the products, services and functionality it offers to its customers online in the future.
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About Commercial Bank
Commercial Bank has total assets of QAR 104.5 billion as at 30 September 2013. As a full service commercial bank, the Bank offers a full range of corporate, retail and investment banking services as well as owning and operating exclusive Diners Club franchises in Qatar and Oman. The Bank's countrywide network includes 29 full service branches and 151 ATMs.
Profitable every year since incorporation in 1975, continual investment in technology and human capital, together with a strong capital base, provides a solid foundation for continued growth. A successful diversification strategy has expanded Commercial Bank's GCC footprint through strategic partnerships with associated banks, the National Bank of Oman (NBO) in Oman and United Arab Bank (UAB) in the UAE. NBO, the second largest bank in Oman with total assets of OMR 3.0 billion as at 30 September 2013, has 66 branches in Oman and 1 branch each in Egypt and in Abu Dhabi. UAB is headquartered in Sharjah, with total assets of AED 20.4 billion as at 30 September 2013, and operates 23 branches across the emirates in the UAE. Building on the successful execution of the Bank's expansion strategy to date, in July 2013 Commercial Bank announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Alternatifbank (ABank) in Turkey.
Commercial Bank enjoys strong credit ratings of (A) from Fitch, (A1) from Moody's and (A-) from Standard & Poor's. The Bank is listed on the Qatar Exchange and was the first Qatari bank to list its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) as well as bonds on the London Stock Exchange. Additionally, Commercial Bank's Swiss Franc bond issuance in December 2010, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, was the first public bond issuance by a Qatari bank in Switzerland.
The Bank is dedicated to supporting Qatar's community and social infrastructure through Corporate Social Responsibility programmes and sponsorship of various events. Title sponsorship of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and the Grand Prix of Qatar Moto GP reflects the Bank's promotion of excellence in sports and its keen interest in enhancing Qatar's international sporting reputation. To reinforce Qatar's flourishing cultural environment, Commercial Bank is the strategic partner of the Katara Cultural Village. This collaboration symbolises the Bank's commitment to supporting cultural activities in Qatar and making the country a regional arts and cultural hub.
www.cbq.qa
About ABank
ABank was established in 1991. Commercial Bank became a majority shareholder in ABank in 2013 following the acquisition of 70.84% of ABank's shares from Anadolu Group. Anadolu Group remains a significant shareholder holding 25% of shares in Abank.
ABank is a mid-size Turkish bank that predominately serves medium-sized companies through a country-wide network of 73 branches in 27 cities (as of 30 September 2013). ABank provides commercial/corporate banking services and products, with a special focus on the growing segment of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. The Bank's main product ranges cover trade finance instruments, working capital finance, cash management, and portfolio management. The Bank has also recently made a strategic decision to re-enter Retail Banking, targeting "mass affluent segment" in terms of customer profile with tailor made products.
At the end of September 2013, ABank had total assets of TL 9.4 billion ($ 4.6 billion), total loans stood at TL 5.9 billion, customer deposits of TL 4.2 billion and shareholders' equity of TL 610 million.
http://www.eng.abank.com.tr/
For more information, please contact:
Qatari media
Mona Abdallah
Head of Corporate Communications
Commercial Bank
Tel: +974 4449 0169
Email: m.abdallah@cbq.qa
© Press Release 2013
