Standard Chartered launches its first dedicated mortgage centre

Officially inaugurated by Owen Belman, Head of Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered, UAE & Oman and Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director - UAE, Emaar Properties, the new branch serves to improve and expand consumer banking services for customers.

"Market-leading consumer banking initiatives focused on innovative distribution channels are a vital part of Standard Chartered's vision of becoming the regional international bank of choice," said Belman.

Managed by a team from 8am to 8pm on all working days, the mortgage centre will allow customers to apply for home finance and enquire about the broad range of Standard Chartered services.

"Providing increased convenience and turbo-charged customer service are a prime focus for us - we have partnered with Emaar to identify strategic locations to enhance our branch and ATM locations, to ensure we are where our customers need us to be, when they need us."

The new, spacious Emaar Business Park branch is open from Saturday to Wednesday 8:00am - 3:30pm and 8:00am - 2:00pm on Thursdays. This new branch provides customers with a full range of services including opening of current, saving and investment accounts; a 24 hour auto lobby for ATM and CDM withdrawals and deposits; and a fully dedicated mortgage centre - the first of its kind for the bank in the UAE.

"Emaar Business Park, which also serves as the headquarters of Emaar Properties, is one of the key commercial properties in Dubai, which offers easy access to a large pool of professionals who are based in New Dubai," said Mr Al Matrooshi. "The dedicated mortgage centre at the Emaar premises will be of great convenience to potential home-owners, who have a large roster of property options currently available in Dubai."

The closure of the relatively smaller Dubai Internet City branch and opening of the spacious Emaar Business Park branch marks the tenth Standard Chartered outlet throughout Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Northern Emirates, making it the largest operator of branches of any international bank in the UAE. The Bank's ATM network has now also increased to 50 ATMs, up from 22 in 2006, with significant and strategic additions to follow within the next 12 months.

Standard Chartered has embarked on a dynamic expansion plan to increase its regional distribution footprint, with the introduction of new distribution channels such as conveniently located mini-branches, news sales & service centres focused on delivering ultimate banking access for all customers, and the Bank's first mobile ATM - a unique solution to provide customers with banking access at outdoor events across the UAE.

"We firmly believe that offering innovative services and providing easy and convenient banking access for our customers makes us stand out from other competitors in the region, and leads the way for us becoming the regional international consumer bank of choice," Belman concluded.