Barwa Bank Group Board of Directors holds its meeting

A presentation from the Executive Management on the bank’s current performance and future growth plans

Doha, May 19,  2013–The Board of Directors of Barwa Bank Group, Qatar’s fastest growing Shari’ah compliant banking group, held its Board Meeting chaired by H.E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Barwa Bank.

The meeting follows the election of its new Board Members for the term 2013 – 2015 at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 14, 2013. The meeting included a presentation from the Executive Management during which the Board of Directors were briefed on the Group’s current performance, as well as the bank’s future plans for sustained growth.

H.E Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of Barwa Bank Group said, “Through this meeting we wanted to demonstrate to the newly appointed Board of Directors members what we have achieved in the past years, and what the Executive Management are planning for the future. Open communication with, and continuous support from, the Board of Directors to the Executive Management are key ingredients of successful organisations. We are determined to take full advantage of the expertise of the Board of Directors to provide support and guidance to the Executive Management in maintaining sustained growth and the achievement of the best outcomes for shareholders and customers alike”.

H.E expressed his sincere thanks to the previous members of the Board of Directors for their contribution to the Bank’s achievements to date. H.E also welcomed the new Board Members and expressed his belief that they will invest their energy and experience in both supporting future growth plans and business promotion.

Chaired by Mr. Steve Troop, CEO of Barwa Bank, the Executive Management team provided a summary of the structure of the Group and the plan pursued by the Executive Management to achieve integration between all the components of the Group, including Barwa Bank, The First Investor, the investment banking arm of the Barwa Bank Group, First Finance Company, a leading consumer finance company in Qatar and First Leasing Company, a specialist leasing unit. Mr. Steve Troop also spoke about future plans and the prospects for overall Group expansion.

Commenting on the meeting Mr. Steve Troop said, “One of the many reasons for our success over the past three years has been strong alignment between the Executive Management team and the Board of Directors, enabling us to take decisions quickly and respond to customer needs efficiently, in turn promoting a very positive   relationship. The aim of this meeting is to preserve this formula in order to continue to achieve further growth and value. “

During the meeting, the Chief Executives of First Investor, First Finance and First Leasing and the directors of the various departments in the bank made brief presentations about their department roles and companies covering retail banking, corporate banking, banking services for small and medium enterprises, private banking, treasury management, investment, internal audit, risk management, compliance and operations. They also explained how they contribute to the growth and development of Barwa Bank Group and briefed the Board of Directors about the products offered by their departments and development plans carried out by the Group in order to continue to lead the Qatari banking sector in terms of growth rates and product diversity.

H.E Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Barwa Bank emphasised in his speech to the Executive Management the importance of quality customer service, considering it the most important factor in achieving excellence for Barwa Bank and stabilizing the position of the bank in the Qatari banking sector, “From the outset, we were keen to establish a bank which is able to deliver service excellence in Qatar’s highly competitive banking sector. We are proud of the achievements of the Executive Management so far and we, the Board of Directors, are committed to supporting your efforts in developing products and services in order to achieve our vision to become the most recommended Shari’ah-compliant banking Group among customers in Qatar