Operational Review | Consumer Banking
Innovative leadership drives consistent and sustainable growth

The Consumer Banking Business once again delivered an excellent financial performance in 2011, underlining its strength as a sustainable franchise, built over the last five years with a relentless focus on business fundamentals, driven through a value management framework. Proactive customer engagement shaped by predictive analytics and customer segmentation supported by an award-winning loyalty programme (TouchPoints), Price Optimisation, Multi-channel sales and distribution, Strategic Cost Reduction and Effective Risk Management initiatives have been the pillars of success.

ADCB was adjudged as the ‘Best Retail Bank in UAE’ by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards for the fourth year in succession (2007-2011) and ‘Best Retail Bank in the Gulf States’ for the third time.

The erstwhile RBS Retail Banking Business in the UAE acquired in October 2010 was integrated seamlessly over a period of just 12 months. The acquisition, which added over 200,000 customers, 300,000 credit cards, 51 ATMs, 3 branches and a modern call centre facility, strengthened the mass affluent franchise and positioned the ADCB credit card business as a market leader. The integrated business now stands as a retail banking powerhouse with a domestic network that extends to 48 branches, four pay offices, and 294 ATMs.

Despite a difficult operating environment, intense competition, and new regulations that stymied asset growth and curtailed fee income, the Consumer Banking Business achieved a record 25 percent growth in operating income and 21 percent growth in operating profit. A superior branded customer experience continued to be the fulcrum of the ADCB consumer banking strategy. As in 2010, 93 percent of Excellency customers were satisfied with ADCB, while customer satisfaction scores for the Privilege segment increased from 74 percent to 80 percent and that of the Aspire segment remained steady at 76 percent.

A ‘Service Excellence’ programme was initiated and the state of the art CRM system (ITQAN) was further enhanced to consolidate ADCB’s service-driven competitive advantage.

ADCB broke convention to introduce ‘Free Banking’ in October 2011, effectively doing away with all account-related transaction and maintenance fees, once again demonstrating its commitment to customers and ethical banking practices. The introduction of Prepaid Cards and the launch of the new offshore branch in Jersey added to the customer value proposition.

Liabilities grew by three percent with current and savings accounts now constituting 55 percent of consumer deposits (up from 49 percent in 2010), while assets marginally declined by five percent. Investments made to strengthen the mass affluent franchise led to 65 percent growth in the customer base, with Investments AUM and Bancassurance subscriptions growing by 17 percent and 178 percent, reflecting ADCB’s buoyant wealth management business. Spends on ADCB credit cards grew by 85 percent, with the immensely popular Etihad Airline and Lulu Supermarket co-brands being the hallmark of success. Right-pricing of assets and granular management of key accounts drove strong top-line growth in revenue for the Private Accounts business.

The Islamic Banking window of ADCB was re-launched in 2011 with a new brand identity and a refreshed positioning platform. Recognised by Euromoney as the ‘Most Improved Islamic Bank in the Middle East’, Islamic Banking was a strong contributor to the growth of the consumer business in 2011, led by the popular Millionaire Destiny Savings Account.

Inauguration of the Sheikh Zayed Road Branch, February 2011






‘Excellency magazine’, an ADCB publication for high net worth clients


ADCB Islamic Banking re-launch campaign