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Kamran Heydarov: We are looking forward to opening our new office to please our clients

02 March 2009 08:55 (UTC +04:00)

Last week Bank of Azerbaijan was recognized as brand of the year in the field of business loans and awarded the Brand Award Azerbaijan-2008. This award is given to the most popular brand of goods and services offered by companies and organizations popular with consumers. The award takes note of the progress made in a wide range of brands -from the goods of mass demand to financial services and corporate image.

Thus, the prize, awarded with the official support of the Caspian Integration Business Club and the Caspian Energy International Media Group, Ministry of Industry and Energy, Ministry of Taxes, Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies and the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patents was presented to one of the most advanced and reliable banks in the country.
Mr. Kamran Heydarov, Vice-Chairman of Bank of Azerbaijan talks about the future plans and development program for 2009

- It is known that Bank of Azerbaijan will soon move to a new head office in Rashid Behbudov Street and this modern building will have certain positive impact on customer service. Could you please give information about changes associated with the move?

- To get started, let me note that there have been several preconditions for us to make a decision to move to a new office. First, the current office with the exterior, and even its interior, especially its sophisticated interior, resembles an old English conservative bank that does not correspond to the strategy and mission of our bank to be open and accessible to all categories of customers.

On the other hand, the steady increase in clientele and, consequently, growth of business necessitates the need to expand the bankâ€™s staff. Of course, automation of business processes may defer the expansion of human capacity building of the head office, but eventually it is bound to happen.

The new building, in addition to the external appearance, is one of the most modern among existing bank offices in the country, because the building has been designed to provide clients with the highest possible conciliations for services, ranging from the convenience of the location of the building and parking spaces, to special rooms set aside for VIP-clients and depositors.

In terms of institutional development, the move is also a starting point for us to determine the change in business. For example, in the new office the head office and the central branch are functionally separated. By the way, the central branch, which is located on the first floor of the building, will provide clients with a wide range of services. In short, we all look forward to opening a new office in order to please our clinets.

- Does the bank plan to offer new products?

- Despite the fact that the global financial crisis has not had a large impact on the economy of Azerbaijan unlike other CIS countries, we still see troubles that have arisen against a backdrop of falling oil prices, as well as the difficulty experienced by some banks in repayment of external loans borrowed from international financial institutions. While it is clear that local banks will overcome these difficulties, and, in some cases, with logical support from the state, the population continues to caution about the market, in particular the banking sector. In this regard, our Bank plans to launch several new products to increase public confidence in the bank and to strengthen financial confidence. In March we are planning to roll out a product that, I am sure, will interest people. In addition, we are developing a loyalty program for our current customers. With regard to the product line, it seems to me that our present-day offers, for example deposit products are one of the most competitive in the market.

- The bankâ€™s client base is growing year by year. Despite the financial crisis, the bankâ€™s management repeatedly talks about high goals, including those for attracting new individual and corporate customers. Could you please tell us about offers for your potential customers?

- For this year, the main task of the bank is institutional development. We plan full re-engineering processes for internal business, development of new operations, update of software, training for bank employees. In other words, the main aim for this year is to improve the quality of the bank and the efficiency of customer service, introduce advanced banking technologies and apply high standards of doing business. In the end, the high-quality service will help us lay the foundation for long-term reliable relationship with clients.

- Your bank has continued to cooperate actively with international financial institutions, expanding the field and the range of cooperation. What about the international cooperation?

- Although international financial institutionsâ€™ cooperation with Azerbaijani banks continues, but we must admit that the scale of cooperation has slightly decreased. Of course, the global financial crisis is to blame. And if it is the second time we have already mentioned this crisis in the course of our conversation it wouldnâ€™t be right to ignore its impact on the banking sector of Azerbaijan. The decline in funding from the IFIs through the reduction of limits for Azerbaijan, raising interest rates on loans - all these factors hinder integration of Azerbaijani banks with the world financial markets. However, this process didnâ€™t stop completely and in this regard, Bank of Azerbaijan is no exception. The change of management in our bank, to some extent, generated interest from international financial institutions in the bank, and we are currently negotiating with a number of IFIs to get funding for some major projects. This year we also plan to expand the network of correspondent relationships, and begin participating in the programs of foreign development banks.

- Today, Bank of Azerbaijan has a fairly extensive branch network - 18 branches across the country. What are plans for the future?

- As I noted above, our priority is the institutional development this year, and as part of this process, we plan the complete reorganization of the bank sales channels. This process includes a number of activities, including the consolidation of small branches to large branches, large office space, optimization of work of the branches and improvement of the interaction of branches with the head office etc.