Like other industries, the banking industry is also affected due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the slowdown of the economy due to lower oil prices.

However, due to prudent policies as well as strong credit and liquidity management, banks can easily navigate this situation in a very effective way. 

I remember back in 2009 when the financial crisis was looming, many institutions had globally merged and banks such as HSBC exited from few markets. At that time, Oman was quite unique and HSBC were in the discussion stage to acquire Oman International Bank (OIB). After three years of deliberations, HSBC acquired 51% of shares in OIB and the bank became fifth largest in assets with a network of 90 branches. 

Among the international media, this news was widely publicized, while this was one of the excitement and lifetime experiences for me. I was really honoured and obliged that being the CFO of the bank at that time, I was also one of the key decision makers in that acquisition. HSBC made a huge investment in resources and training new recruits. From 350 staff at that time the bank recruited almost 1,350 employees.   

My second stint was with the Standard Chartered Bank where I worked as head of governance as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) globally introduced small country governance wherein CEO was responsible for business and the rest of the function was headed by COO/CFO. Again, Oman was selected as pilot for this newly created structure and the result was encouraging and gradually this was rolled out to other GCC countries. 

While in SCB we hired the best Omani talents in Finance, Corporate, Real Estate as well as other functions. These Omanis are now leading their department/function in the same as well as in other organizations.

Both organizations really live with values and this is one of the reasons for their success globally. Definitely a tough decision has been taken but was purely for the best interest of the organization. In June 2019, I joined for my third stint in Oman at HBL. The organization at that time was going through turbulent times. To uplift the bank, we hired branch managers from top financial institutions as it was vital for customer services as well as for the reputation of the bank. We replaced a good quality team in Corporate, Operations and Trade to increase the efficiency as well as enhancing connectivity in the corporate world. With these recruits, the Oman branch was in compliance with Omanisation ratio and was also appreciated by the regulators. 

We had also heavily invested efforts in people development and Oman was one of the top countries internationally to achieve the highest number of trainings. The finance team outperformed and we managed to submit all regulatory returns on time. From day one of my tenure, I started meeting with CEOs of other banks, financial institutions, insurance firms, ministries and several diplomats to reestablish ties and it also helped to uplift the franchise in Oman.  

As a result, we gained confidence in government institutions and started getting deposits. New corporate clients came on board to do business with the bank including high end retailers. 

Decisions on rates were centric and for the first time we established treasury links with most of the banks. 

Oman always supported liquidity to other GCC networks. During my tenure, we had introduced staff quarterly awards /shukran awards to staff and people were recognized on a regular basis. 

We had also prepared a five-year strategy in the beginning of 2020 and the President of HBL had visited Oman and approved the same. Our continuous efforts resulted in reduction of more than 90% of all outstanding issues. We worked very closely to ensure our KYC/AML requirements were met. All these efforts helped us to achieve profit in 1H20 for the first time. 

COVID-19 situation has been a big challenge for all the banks. During the time of pandemic, at HBL, we had invested heavily on digital including adding more components such as laptops and other systems in place to ensure the safety of both customers and staff. As part of the preventive measures, we also reduced the staff strength in office to as low as 45%, while others worked from home. 

What I believe is that staff engagement is key for any successful business. One has to open and discuss all opportunities and challenges, which will help in winning the trust and confidence of your management. We should believe in connectivity from “P to P e.g. Peon to the President”, that is the approach I learned and is still practicing the same strategy.

About the Author : Adnan Haroon is the former Country Manager of HBL and worked for HSBC as CFO and was also head of governance, CFO/COO at Standard Chartered.

Disclaimer : The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of TAS and TAS does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

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