Bahrain Islamic Bank signs a deal with ITS for the provision of services and solutions

The contract covers the provision of state-of-the-art technologies and solutions that will enable the bank to meet the growing challenges of competition in the regional financial markets.

The solutions covered by the contract include a series of key banking services and solutions, mainly Core Banking, Branch Automation, Islamic Finance system, Internet Banking, as well as technical services associated with human resources, treasury and Sharia'a-compliant investment management.

Core Banking includes all internal and external relations of the bank and all technical matters relevant to customer services, such as credit cards, ATM's and other individual banking services.

The services also include corporate services such as Islamic trade and finance, opening letters of credit, staff salary transmissions, account-to-account transfers and online management facilities between the head office and the branches.

Strategy-based banking competition

Bahrain Islamic Bank's Chief Executive Officer, Yousif Saleh Khalaf, said that with further developing the Bank's services in mind, the contract will provide more customer satisfaction through such sophisticated technologies and co-operation with ITS.

"Conventional and Islamic banks race for providing latest technologies to ensure a higher market share, better banking performance and real-time services",

Khalaf pointed out.

"With the tremendous increase in the number of the internet users and the possible access to accounts and other banking services from any where in the world, it has become imperative for banks to introduce the internet banking service", Khalaf added.

He explained that the significance of the new introduction lies in the fact that the Bank always keeps abreast of latest banking technologies and the Bank's tendency to make a further step forward in the customer service facilities.

As to why the Bank has selected ITS to provide such banking technologies, Khalaf pointed out that ITS is a reputed high tech company with long experience in providing banking systems.

ITS's Managing Director, Khalid Faraj Al Saeid, said after signing the contract that the selection of ITS solutions and systems by the Bahrain Islamic Bank emphasizes the longstanding relationship between the two establishments which started in the early 1980's. "This", he said, "underlines the trust of the bank in the advanced technological services provided by ITS".

"ITS is proud that its solutions and technological services are part and parcel of the development strategies of Bahrain Islamic Bank, which is one of the leading financial institutions offering Sharia'a-complaint banking products and services in the region", said Al Saeid.

"We believe in the importance of the link between information technology and the banking sector which has now become more dependant on state-of-the-art technologies in offering services and enhancing performance. ITS has been offering advanced services and applications to the banking and financial institutions sector in the region over a long period of time".

Al Saeid went on to say that the ITS solutions in the field of banking and financial institutions are part of the strategies and plans of these institutions to win a larger market share and to enhance their businesses.

After-sale services

ITS's Regional Manager, Tarek Hassanein, pointed out that the company is interested in helping the bank achieve its current and future goals which aim at meeting the client requirements. He said that the technologies to be provided to the Bank would attract more new customers and offer better services to existing customers. "This will provide faster services to customers and enhance the competitive ability of Bahrain Islamic Bank to compete now and in the future", he pointed out.

Hassanein said that ITS would work on offering after-sale services to Bahrain Islamic Bank through ITS's office in Bahrain, which has expertise that will be placed at the Bank's disposal round the clock.

The signing of the contract, said Hassanein, is the first phase of the agreement. He explained that the second phase is expected to start later this year and includes documental endorsements, treasury & portfolio management and investments.

Hassanein admitted that ITS had faced major challenges in the implementation of the project, especially in the transfer of data from the old to the new systems in a record time while keeping the information intact and without any interruption to the Bank's normal operations or to the customer services.

The Bahrain Islamic Bank was established in 1979 as the first Shariah compliant commercial bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Since then, it has developed and, as of the end of 2005, the Bank had nearly BD 72 million as shareholders' equity and more than BD 320 million assets.

Listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange, the Bank acquires a chain of leading local and regional financial institutions, and is governed by the Bahrain Monetary Agency regulations. The Bank also runs a network of 12 local branches, including a unique branch in Bahrain dedicated for women.