Standard Chartered Bank (Brunei) has been named Best Retail Bank in Brunei for the year 2009 in the ninth Asian Banker excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards Programme, according to a press release.
The bank received the award at The Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards 2010 ceremony, held in conjunction with the region’s foremost retail banking event, the Excellence in Retail Financial Services Convention.

The ceremony was held at the JW Marriot in Shanghai on the evening of March 18. About 120 senior bankers from award winning banks in 22 countries across the Asia Pacific, Gulf and Central Asian regions attended the formal gala dinner, the industry’s celebration of the region’s best retail bankers that recognises their efforts in bringing superior products and services to their customers.

The awards programme, administered by The Asian Banker and refereed by prominent global bankers, consultants and academics, is the most prestigious of its kind.

A stringent three month-long evaluation process, based on a balanced and transparent scorecard, determined the winners and the position of the different retail banks in the region.

For the third consecutive time, Standard Chartered Bank (Brunei) won the prestigious award having maintained its market leadership in a difficult year and for its strong performance in 2009, outperforming its peers surveyed in the programme.

Mr Danny Quah, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Brunei received the award on behalf of the Bank at the awards ceremony in Shanghai. He said, “Coming into 2010 where the financial climate continues to recover and is still slightly shaky, I am extremely proud and delighted to be able to pick up this award on behalf of Standard Chartered Bank Brunei.

“The award is proof that we have a solid and credible strategy which has seen us through good times and bad, both globally and even locally. For over 50 years in Brunei, we have run our business with one vision in mind – our customers’ success is our passion – and I want to thank our customers and stakeholders for their invaluable support. I am also very proud to be working with such a talented and dedicated team of professionals at the bank who share the same vision and worked hard to bring this award home for us in Brunei.”

Standard Chartered Bank Brunei continued to achieve sustainable and balanced growth in all areas of its business especially wealth management and SME. Following its new diversification strategy, the bank succeeded in achieving SME assets and liabilities growth of more than 50 per cent compared to 2008. The bank also showed high cost efficiency with a best-in-class cost to income ratio of around 35 per cent, which is considerably lower than that of its peers.

In 2009, the bank upgraded its core banking system infrastructure and standardised its application systems. The objective was to be able to operate on the same platform and have the same application as other counterparts in the region. The bank also increased and restructured its sales force resulting in higher cross sell ratios.

“Standard Chartered Bank, Brunei is well known for its customer centricity, which paid off in highest customer satisfaction scores across products and services delivery and allowed the bank to grow in this saturated market, despite the economic downturn,” said Mr Chris Kapfer, Head of Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards Programme at The Asian Banker.

Over 120 banks and financial institutions from 23 countries across the Asia Pacific, Gulf and Central Asian regions were evaluated as part of the Excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme

“This year over 120 banks and financial institutions in 23 countries across the region were evaluated as part of the Excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme. It has become the single, most prestigious, comprehensive and anticipated awards programme that recognises the pursuit of excellence amongst retail financial institutions available almost anywhere in the world today,” said Philippe Paillart, Chairman of The Asian Banker Excellence in Retail Financial Services Programme.

The transparent award evaluation process uses a balanced scorecard approach and a comprehensive methodology to evaluate the strength of individual banks’ retail banking businesses that involves extensive research and probing interviews, and taps on the combined experience of a team of experienced researchers.

Paillart, formerly the vice chairman and CEO of DBS Bank and a pioneer in the retail banking industry in the Asia Pacific region, added, “The Asian Banker Excellence Programme was instituted in 2001 on the premise that an outstanding player in the retail financial services industry should build business franchises that are sustainable, competitive and profitable over a period of time.”

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