Dubai Bank unveils its conversion strategy

The strategy highlights the plan for the Bank as it prepares to implement its conversion process from a conventional to a Shari'a compliant institution and aims to complete the conversion cycle over an 18 month period.

The Bank has revealed that it will strengthen its focus on the retail banking sector in order to capture a larger market share of the UAE. The first step in this process will be a significant increase in its branch network across the country to provide greater presence and easier banking access for its clients.

Mr. Mohammad Al Shaibani, Chairman of Dubai Bank, commented,

"We are aiming to gain a leading position in the Islamic banking sector. To do this, as the Bank enters this arena, we are ensuring that we deliver superior levels of products and services with the highest standards of Shari'a compliancy and ethical practices. The demand for such institutions has been increasingly prominent in recent years with surging global growth and an estimated growth rate of 17.5 % in the U.A.E alone over the last five years."

Although we realize that we have a lot of work ahead of us and there are some well established Islamic banks internationally, we believe that with Dubai Bank's highly qualified team we will build on and further develop the existing products and services being offered in the Islamic banking arena today" he concluded.

Mr. Abdulaziz Al Muhairi, Dubai Bank's CEO acknowledged that there are a number of challenges facing Dubai Bank as they enter and exit the conversion phase and that this is a large undertaking. Mr. Al Muhairi also stated that Dubai Bank will commence its product and service offering with standard products that exist in today's market but that these would follow the highest Shari'a standards.

Addressing the expansion plans, Mr. Al Muhairi highlighted the Bank's commitment to the retail banking market and confirmed that a number of new branches will be launched across the UAE. These will provide a variety of financial services and will include a Shari'a compliant property financing product that will be launched in the near future. He stated that this step will open new horizons for the Bank's clients and added: "Dubai Bank will maintain the quality of its services during and following the conversion process. In line with the Bank's tradition, we are going to develop the areas that the other Banks have neglected".

The Bank was recently permitted to offer Shari'a products from an Islamic window in the Bank. Mr. Al Muhairi described this milestone development as the first step towards becoming a Shari 'a compliant institution.