'We aspire to go beyond'

On September 15 2001, under the supervision of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the institution then known as the Prudential Bank was acquired by the management and associates of the Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company (Pvt) Ltd (SAPICO)
To underline its commitment to the enterprise, SAPICO, which is a joint venture between the governments of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, retained the majority shareholding in the newly formed institution giving it a strong element of stability and security. The Bank is registered at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and has its Central Offices located in Karachi.
The initial challenge was to transform a fragile and weak institution into a stable, secure and progressive financial entity. Backed by the stability of SAPICO and the extended Saudi Pak family, a wide-ranging and extensive recon-structuring of the Bank was initiated, with an aim towards the offering of a good promise and firm hope to the Bank's stakeholders in the form of competitive products and services, backed by the latest cutting edge technology and delivery channels.
The reconstructive process for the Bank which was accelerated in 2005, has been an all encompassing exercise from the induction of a new, highly experienced senior management and the implementation of a performance based professional culture characterised by commitment and a strong business ethic. Additionally, the latest technologies designed to maximise the convenience of the Bank's clientele and enhance the Bank's operational capabilities, are being espoused along with the most efficient service delivery channels.
With these developments, the stage has been set for Saudi Pak Bank to assume a role as a major player in the financial services industry.
PROGRESSIVE LEADERSHIP FOR CONSISTENT GROWTH One of the first and key aspects of the Bank's revival was the induction of a new management team in early 2005. Characterised by a cohesive and focused growth strategy for the next five years, the policies of the new management at Saudi Pak Bank emphasise the importance of a competent and highly trained Human Resource base, the latest technologies to enhance levels of service and client convenience and a professional, customer-centric infrastructure.
As experienced and highly regarded professionals, the new management team at Saudi Pak Bank accentuates and lays direct emphasis on exceptional work ethics, commitment to quality and a progressive corporate culture where the client is the main focus. With a highly trained workforce backed by cutting edge technology and service delivery channels, the new management's progressive objectives for the Bank's sustained growth are well on the way.
2005 - A YEAR OF MILESTONES: The past year has been a significant one for Saudi Pak Bank in terms of encouraging developments. With the induction of the new management team in the early part of the year, the Bank was poised to take up the challenge at hand; to become a significant player in the financial services industry.
A momentous development was the confidence and commitment displayed by our sponsors with the decision to issue 50% Right Shares at par. This decision was taken by the Board of Directors at the 85TH meeting of the Board in Lahore on November 1st, 2005. By virtue of this right issue, the paid up capital of the bank has increased to Rs 3.847 billion, which has not only enabled the bank to meet its minimum capital requirement (MCR) for December 2006 one year in advance, but will also allow the bank to achieve its stated growth plans by providing leverage to carry out its strategies. The commitment shown by the Bank's sponsors is additionally an encouraging sign for Saudi Pak Bank's current and prospective clientele as it implies stability and security characterised by a committed parent organisation.
Another significant and noteworthy development this year was the upgrade of the Bank's long term credit rating to an "A" by the JCR-VIS Credit Rating Agency. Thus, in an extremely short span of time, the Bank has been successful in projecting a stable outlook, an extremely commendable accomplishment.
The rating agency has incorporated the impact of increased shareholding of the Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company (Pvt.) Limited from 54% to around 70% during the last 9 months. Further, the increase in equity through the 50% right issue has also improved the Capitalization level of the bank with capital adequacy ratio exceeding 15%.
The Bank's team building efforts, characterised by a change in the top management and fresh inductions at all levels has resulted in an improvement in policies, controls and risk management. The Bank is now focused towards mobilising and maintaining its core deposit base and improving the quality of its advances portfolio.
No financial institution can aspire towards excellence without having a significant physical presence to enhance the convenience of its clientele. With this in mind, the Saudi Pak Bank initiated a strategic and aggressive expansion campaign to increase its network presence across the country.
The Saudi Pak Bank branch network was supplemented by a total of twelve new locations, bringing the total number of full-service financial centers to 50 real time branches across the country, and thus enabling us to better meet the needs and requirements of our primary resource; our clients.
Additionally, we realise that in today's fast paced world our clients have time constraints and thus in order to give us the leeway to meet the demands of our ever increasing client base, we have introduced more flexibility into our banking hours by initiating 9 to 5 Non-stop Banking Services.
For the appropriate facilitation of our clientele we now remain open throughout the working day, and ensure that there is always someone available to meet the client's banking needs at our fast growing network of 50 real-time online branches, spread over 21 cities in Pakistan.
"Convenience is our Passion" At Saudi Pak Bank we believe in creating possibilities. Our primary concern is the convenience of our clientele and to that end; the management has invested in providing the most advanced technologies in both our operating procedures and the financial services we offer.
In today's fast paced and constantly evolving environment, we have recognised that those institutions which move ahead proactively in line with modern trends, have the tendency to leave their peers behind.
The E-Strategy under phased implementation has an end goal to provide our customers with delivery channels "in some cases, unique to the current market", from which bulk of their need for financial services can be met.
Saudi Pak Bank as opposed to a number of other players, has an advantage of not having a overhang of legacy infrastructure/systems. This can be translated into competitive pricing proposition for the customers.
The front end is one aspect, but to deliver consistently and be a competitive price provider, the internal organisation will be phased into enterprise wide technology platform.
Currently, the Bank is providing a myriad of high-tech services to its clientele which include providing them with Real Time, nation-wide access to their funds across our growing network of 50 branches across 21 cities, as well as giving them the added benefit of the Saudi Pak Power Card, an ATM/Debit card which empowers the client on over 1200 ATM locations and over 3000 Orix Points of Sale (POS) merchant locations through the convenience of switch connectivity.
At Saudi Pak Bank our target market segments are geared for sustained profitability to achieve value creation not only for our stakeholders but also for our customers, shareholders and employees. The Bank is providing numerous online integrated banking services to its country wide client base through our extensive and rapidly expanding branch network and our services are not limited to our existing customers but extended to our prospective clients in a cost effective and secure manner. Saudi Pak Bank is also providing additional alternative delivery channels which will offer our clients an added convenience.
THE MULTI CHANNEL MODES ARE:
-- Internet Banking & E-statement Facility to be launched next month
-- Expansion of ATM network
-- Implementation of Kiosks to be placed at a number of onsite and high traffic off site locations for customer care and convenience
-- Up gradation of Call Centre Facility Introduction of Mobile Banking Facility
We at Saudi Pak Bank believe in moving forward towards centralization of key processes in lending and trade finance to meet our objectives of proactive risk management and efficiency in terms of cost and service delivery in order to effectively deliver services.
Saudi Pak Bank aspires towards being the leader of the financial service industry by introducing new innovative services aligned with cutting edge technology in the near future with a "Passion to go Beyond".
"OUR TEAM HAS ONE DREAM":
At Saudi Pak Bank, we live by the motto that we are all One Team with One Dream. Our credo is that we believe in our people and keeping them motivated and market rich. The management at Saudi Pak Bank places great emphasis on consistent and extensive training programs for our staff and have implemented a performance based remunerative culture within the bank. A staff Training Center has been instituted in Lahore to augment our staff's on the job training with a classroom environment, with plans to establish another in Karachi in the coming months.
We uphold the belief that the high standards we have set for ourselves are only possible through the continued commitment of our Human Resource base towards maintaining exceptional service quality. We have set the bar high for ourselves at Saudi Pak Bank and feel that our clients will be the ultimate beneficiaries of our stringent policies.
Over the last year Saudi Pak Bank has welcomed 200 new members into our fold and given the importance that our management places on Training an0d Development, our clients can look forwards to enjoying the same levels of exceptional services they have grown accustomed to.
"CUSTOMER NEEDS. OUR PROMISE":
Because Saudi Pak Bank believes in providing the best financial services available, our Consumer Banking Division initiated the launch of various liability products to generate core and stable deposits and to increase our customer base.
In August of 2005, in continuation of our promise to provide viable financial services, we introduced our "Highest Returns" rate sheet for small and large depositors alike. An extremely versatile and competitive deposit scheme, this gave smaller investors the opportunity to maximise the returns on their deposits and earn significant profits.
The Rate Sheet was developed with a view towards offering enhanced rates on our existing accounts for our current clientele and to offer lucrative incentives for prospective clients.
In November of 2005 we introduced our next product which was our "Saudi Pak Online Express", a service designed to substantially enhance client convenience.
Saudi Pak Online Express provides Real Time, Nation-wide Access to our current account holders, absolutely free of charge. The basic advantage and significance of this service to the customer is the ease and convenience that it provides them through our standardised banking facilities across the nation. As always, the management at Saudi Pak Bank treats the convenience of our clients as a matter of top priority.
Inline with our commitment to quality and innovation, another substantial product was launched in November 2005, which was our Saudi Pak "Munafa He Munafa" one year term deposit product. This product is designed to provide our clients with the opportunity to earn the highest returns on their deposits.
Recently we launched Auto Financing Facility "Saudi Pak Top Gear". An extremely competitive product, Saudi Pak Top Gear Auto Financing offers more to the consumers than what prevails in the market.
In the coming months, the Consumer Banking division at Saudi Pak Bank aims at consistently developing competitive products and services designed to meet the needs of the consumer. We have in the pipeline, plans on launching Personal Loans, Mortgages, and Credit Cards. We aim to excel and exceed client expectations with our current and upcoming line of products.
With consistent innovations and progressive development in all directions, Saudi Pak Bank is poised to become a significant player in the financial services industry.
"SERVICE AND QUALITY, TOGETHER ALL THE WAY": Service and Quality has a huge impact on any business organisation and assists the management in the development of qualitative standards and monitoring business activities. The emerging trends are to focus on quality, innovation and institutional profitability. We, in Pakistan, have a handful of banks, including Saudi Pak Bank, believing in the quality infrastructure and in imparting exceptional service.
Keeping this in mind, the Service and Quality Team at Saudi Pak Bank is in the process of initiating measures to improve the service and quality structure of the bank which begins with a shared dedication to quality - in every employee, from top to bottom, in all functions, supporting the pillars of quality - being customer focus, total involvement, measurement, systematic support and continuous improvement..
The management at Saudi Pak Bank has placed particular emphasis on meeting our customer needs and giving them a seamless experience. Our focus on training for continuous skills and knowledge of our people, will give them the tools to serve our customers better and providing our employees with the right working environment will encourage the application of their individual discretionary effort. Investing in the measurement of employee engagement and focusing on a high customer loyalty score is the key element of building our business forward.
Process improvement and standardisation will enhance our frontline capabilities with its fully integrated , end to end sales and service processes and tools , enabling customer facing and customer-facing staff to manage customer requests across all locations and channels.
Going forward the establishment of a centralised standardised Complaint Resolution Unit within the Service and Quality team will help us in customer retention, constantly seeking opportunities to minimise attrition, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty thus sustaining and enhancing profitability of the Bank.
By building lasting relationships and responding to our customer individual needs, Saudi Pak Bank aims to provide superior continuous customer service to our consumers at all times and achieve our fundamental objective of growing, deepening and retaining customer relationships.
Our commitment to Service and Quality and to a standardised universal culture will help Saudi Pak Bank become a leading, dynamic and premier financial institution.
"CREATING POSSIBILITIES FOR A BETTER TOMORROW": As Saudi Pak Bank grows into Pakistan's premier financial services provider, our commitment to be a responsible corporate citizen, to support charitable causes and to give back to the communities where our staff members live and work has never wavered.
Saudi Pak Bank prides itself in being a conscientious and responsible corporate citizen with a commitment to the development of Pakistan. At Saudi Pak our employees are encouraged to give back to society and we have made concerted efforts towards the development of healthcare, education and constructive, character building sports activities in the underdeveloped segments of our country.
We believe in healthy communities where progress is a byword.