Al Khaliji Bank to launch office at DIFC
Al Khaliji Bank is trying to establish itself as a regional bank with the launch of its first office outside Qatar in Dubai International Financial Centre. Within the GCC, the key target markets of the bank are the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The UAE was our obvious choice and we feel great to have moved so quickly, says Al Khaliji's Chief Executive Officer, David Proctor.
Al Khaliji does not want to be just another bank. The aim is to be different from the rest of the established ones in an over-banked UAE. Tagged as a 'cool' bank, Al Khaliji is trying to differentiate itself to become the next-generation lender, explains the CEO in an interview with Emirates Business.
The UAE is considered an over-banked country. What made you set up shop here?
We opened in January 2007 so we are relatively a new bank. When we set base in Qatar, people asked 'aren't there too many banks in the world'? I was the first one to say 'absolutely yes', and that's why we are not trying to be just another bank.
Our aim is to be different and we do that in a number of ways. Firstly, we have an unusual set of values and we are the first one to be a 'cool' bank. We are yet to meet a bank that is cool and we thought it was about time that we had one.
The second element for us is technology. We've invested very heavily in it and it is helping us build a proposition that our customers like. Even though our technology is at a very early stage it will allow people to do certain new things.
For example, when people use ATMs they will be able to see the share price of stocks on the machine. I've seen that many people here are reluctant in depositing cheques in the machines. So for their benefit, we show the image of cheque on the screen and it's printed on the receipt. If you go to a bank and open an account it will take several days to get the cheque book, pin number and various cards from the bank. But if you open an account with Al Khaliji you get all this on the spot. These things are a reflection of doing things differently.
In the DIFC you will be competing with a number of large, multi-national banks. What is your USP?
We are here for different reasons. The first is to establish a regional centre for some of our support functions. For example, it makes sense for us to base our head of corporate affairs here and the same holds for regional head of physical security. The second reason for our presence here is to have a base to begin integration for acquisitions, pending regulatory approval. A few months ago we had agreements with BLC Bank from France. It has branches in Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, so that expands our network.
In Qatar you changed focus from being an investment bank to a retail bank. What were the reasons?
I don't know where that perception came from because from day one we intended to be a fully rounded bank, conventional, plus Islamic, with wholesale investment banking on the one arm and retail and premium business on the other.
I think what perhaps confused people is, that we didn't try to do all things for all people from day one. Our first business that we launched was corporate wholesale business, treasury, debt capital markets businesses and Islamic banking business. Our first transaction was within the range of $3-4 billion (Dh11-15bn) facility for Qtel and by the end of last year we did our first Islamic deal of $700 million for a company called Barwa. Since then we've done sukuk issues, corporate and wholesale business as it was first launched. But we've now launched our retail business, small- and medium-sized sector is where we see very strong growth potential.
Will you be looking at cross-listings on DIFX in the future?
No. We have authorised a capital of $2bn and issued a capital of $1.25bn, so it's enough to support growth. We believe having multiple listings have benefits but it also brings administrative and bureaucratic requirements and we like to keep things simple.
Which other countries are you looking at for operations/expansion within the region?
The bank aims to be a regional GCC bank with headquarters in Qatar. Our key target markets are Qatar, UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The UAE is the largest banking market and is our first target outside Qatar and we are delighted to move this quickly.
Do you have plans to launch an Islamic subsidiary?
It's a step-by-step approach. We have our Islamic license approved in Qatar and we've already started our Islamic banking activity but the focus of that has initially been on the wholesale side. We would look at retail propositions and perhaps the possibility of a separate Islamic subsidiary, but we don't feel the need for it now.
David Proctor
CEO of Al Khaliji Bank
Proctor joined Al Khaliji in January 2007. Prior to which he was the CEO of Standard Chartered in the UAE and had governance responsibility for the bank's operations in Oman, Iran and Iraq.
He joined Bank of America in 1985 and finally became the CEO of the bank's operations in Thailand where he was also Chairman of the Foreign Banks' Association during the 1997 Asian crisis.
In 1999, David joined Standard Chartered in Singapore as global head of its client relationships. He moved to London in 2003 to become global head of risk strategy and was appointed Europe CEO the following year before moving to Dubai in 2006.
Proctor was educated in the UK at Peterhouse, Cambridge University.