The Housing and Development Bank (HDB) aims to inject EGP 500m in the bank’s retail loans portfolio during 2016, according to Assistant Managing Director for Marketing and Retail Banking Ashraf El-Bassiouny.
In an interview with Daily News Egypt, El-Bassiouny explained that retail loans constitute 58% of the bank’s total loan portfolio.
He added that the bank seeks to be among the five most efficient Egyptian banks, while the bank is currently studying launching different banking products during 2016 in order to attract new customers. The bank also seeks to expand in the sector of interactive services such as Internet banking and mobile phone services.
What is the size of the bank’s retail loans portfolio?
At the end of September 2015, credit of retail portfolio, including personal and real estate loans, recorded approximately EGP 4.532bn.
What growth rate do you target in 2016 for retail loans?
HDB targets to add approximately EGP 500m to its retail loans portfolio in 2016.
What share do retail loans make up of the bank’s total loans portfolio?
Retail banking loans, including personal and real estate loans, make up approximately 58% of the bank’s total loans and advances portfolio, according to the latest data issued late September 2015.
What are the most prominent retail services offered by the bank?
HDB offers several retail banking services, some related to funding and others to attract savings deposits, in addition to a number of modern technology services.
In terms of funding services, the bank offers mortgage loans to finance the purchase of housing, administrative, and commercial units. In addition, the bank offers personal cash loans, which are provided through guarantees of transferring salary or pension.
Moreover, the bank offers loans to fund marriage expenses, therapy, education, cars, furniture, tourism, as well as funding the cost of membership in sporting or social clubs.
The bank issues passbook savings accounts that offer awards for children and youth, as well as passbooks for housing savings.
HDB also offers saving certificates with different terms, ranging between three and 10 years, in addition to deposits accounts, deposits that are paid in advance, a number of electronic savings accounts, pilgrimage accounts, and land withdrawal accounts.
The bank also provides a number of credit cards, besides Vodafone cash, money transfer service for individuals and automated clearing house (ACH) networks, in addition to launching investment funds.
Furthermore, the bank provides ATMs, which allow customers to withdraw, deposit and exchange money, mobile teller machines (MTM) and kiosk machines, which are used to transfer money from an account to another and to make queries regarding the bank’s services.
What are the new products and services the bank plans to launch over the upcoming period?
HDB is currently studying issuing a new product named the Finishing Loan, which will be a personal loan granted to people who wish to finish or renew their housing units. It can also be used for buying finishing materials and requirements for housing units.
The bank is also studying whether to issue credit card for companies, allowing them to operate their savings accounts through ATMs.
Regarding new savings funds set to be launched by the bank in order to attract new clients, the bank is studying issuing three-year savings certificates in dollars with variable interest rates, as well as issuing a saving account with cumulative interest rates for students. This loan allows students to save a fixed monthly amount for a long period, up to 10 years. The loan will be named For Tomorrow.
The bank is also studying issuing two new saving certificates for terms of seven and 10 years.
HDB also aims to increase the number of mini branches and ATMs across the country.
The bank has begun activating the Elite Students Care programme, which provides literary, technical and financial support for students at the top of their class, which they get to keep throughout university years. The loan offers a fiscal reward after graduation.
What is the bank’s role in attracting new customers to banking sector and achieving financial inclusion?
HDB has a prominent role in attracting new customers, who were not operating with the banking sector or had limited transactions with banks; thus, the bank helps to achieve financial inclusion.
The bank attracted new customers through four stages, the most prominent of which was establishing a specialised unit to finance small, medium and micro projects.
The unit aims to attract new or available projects through providing the necessary funding to initiate operation, on the condition that they are registered with the government as part of the formal economy, or that the bank will begin the procedures of formally registering them.
The bank also offered a number of products, to attract new customers, raise the banking culture and develop a saving sensibility among customers, especially children.
The most prominent products are the passbook savings for children and youth, which provide rewards as well as the Felousy (my money) card.
The bank is cooperating with the Ministry of Finance to automate the disbursal of the salaries and pensions of government employees. The bank currently disburses salaries for a large number of employees, who have not handled financial transactions through banks previously. The bank is also conducting similar agreements with technical syndicates in order to disburse pensions for their members electronically.
HDB has also established a mortgage unit targeting the financing of low and median incomes to buy housing units and to attract new customers for the banking system.
Moreover, money transfer through mobile phones allows customers, who do not otherwise operate through banks, to conduct money transfer operations through the bank.
The bank is following a specific policy to expand geographically through inaugurating new branches, particularly mini branches, in addition to increasing the number of ATMs to reach new segments of customers.
Further, the bank still has several sectors that it aims to expand in and realise financial inclusion.
What will the bank offer in terms of modern technology to serve banking market?
The sustainable goals in the bank’s strategy include the continuous renewal of its services and products, which pushes the bank to renew its operating system.
HDB aims to expand in the sector of interactive services, including Internet banking and mobile phone services.
The bank aims to be one of the five most efficient Egyptian banks; therefore it is taking steps towards renewing and developing its banking performance, in order to offer integrated banking services.
