bank notes
“Best years
ahead for Qatar"
By Sindhu Nair
l
Louis Scotto
Head of Retail Banking at
Doha Bank
ouis Scotto, Head of Retail
Banking at Doha Bank is not in
the least modest when it comes
to expressing his accomplish-
ments. With 36 years in the field
of retail banking of which 20
years were in the region, he needn’t be.
“When I got here, I was under the im-
pression that Qatar would be similar to
Kuwait and the Emirates, more like Abu
Dhabi and less like Dubai; but seven
14 Qatar Today may 10
months later, I think that the country is
quite unique, both in terms of opportuni-
ties and challenges,” he says.
The opportunities are all in the numbers
says Scotto, in the budget figures and the
analysts’ predictions.
“The Qatar market is the most robust
in terms of growth and growth potential,
which makes it most ideal for a retail
banker.”
“The challenge is in the size, it is a
small but high quality market that is sup-
porting way too many banks. That brings
in the competitive challenge. The other
institutions under the Qatar Financial
Centre brings in another layer of com-
petition vying for this relatively small
market, though not in the same realms of
traditional banking but in insurance and
other wealth management services. Qa-
tar also has a heavy expat market like in
Dubai with some banks vying for the lo-
cal Qatari market and others for the expat
market. There is the need for two different
business models to handle the diversity."
But the best years are still ahead, pre-
dicts Scotto, adding that the he couldn’t
have asked for better market fundamen-
tals than the one he is currently privy to.
Competition abets services
Owing to the increasing competition in
retail banking, customer service is an im-
portant part and banks should be rethink-
ing improving customer satisfaction with
respect to service quality. This was the
finding of a recent survey on retail bank-
ing. Scotto agrees, “There is increasing
competition from the local conventional
banks, the international ones and from the
ground swell demand for Islamic banks
that have joined the fray. Hopefully, the
Qatari market will remain market-driven
rather than regulatory driven, which opens
the competition for products, services and
interest rates.”
But having said that he also agrees that
most banks offer the same products.
How do you then differentiate your
Bank from the rest?
“In this scenario, you not only want
customer satisfaction but customer loy-
alty too. With a shrinking pool of new
customer base and with increasing com-
petition, there begins poaching. So it is
critically important that once you have
spent a lot in retaining your customer
base you make sure that they also remain
loyal to you.”
Doha Bank has identified numerous
specifically built customer care strategies
to retain customer loyalty.
The Customer Care Centre or Tawasol
(Staying in touch) is just one of them.
“It is not a virtual call or complaint
centre where you talk to a faceless per-
son about any issues you have with the
bank. This is a holistic centre of expertise,
a physical place where you have people
handling your complaints with a strict
tracking system in place that monitors the
time taken for finding solutions for each
bank-related problem. ”
Bold look, new thrust
Doha Bank started out as a commercial
bank with little space to accommodate
the growing customer base. With the
changed business model, all that is going
to change.
“Our Bank is 30 years old; when we
started we were more into commercial
business than retail banking. And when
we took a leadership role in retail bank-
ing, we had to undergo a lot of change to
fit into the new business model. The first
thing we have planned to do is to remer-
chandise and redesign our branches. We
have the top designers who use the best in
class designs in our branches. Our Salwa
branch will be the prototype branch for
the new design. The customers and our
"Our customers are
extremely protected.
We have been in
internet banking for
15 years with an ex-
cellent track record
and seem to satisfy
our technology sav-
vy consumer."
employees too will love the new look,
everyone who uses it will feel the differ-
ence,” he promises.
With the facelift and a new-age design
of banking interiors with the latest tech-
nology, the consumers will benefit the
most.
“There will be minimum waiting pe-
riod, there will not the need of any PIN,
but we will have latest fingerprint or eye
scan. You can walk through your transac-
tion in a faster way.”
Technology has always been Doha
Bank’s driving forces and now the Bank
has also taken a leadership position in
greening technology.
“Go Green Credit cards, a Go Green
accounts are all services that increases
awareness levels and increases partici-
pation. Credit cards made of recyclable
products, rewards programme on the
cards with one percentage of spend di-
verted to charity are all innovative ser-
vices we have taken a lead in. This is a
philosophy which was pioneered by our
CEO, R Seetharaman, who started talking
green here in Doha much before it was
fashionable to do so.”
“We have signed a partnership with
UNESCO and have numerous environ-
mental friendly initiatives lined up for
2010.”
On the latest QCB directive on unified
service charges across all banks in Qatar,
Scotto remains sceptical, he says, “It is
always difficult for a regulator to reach a
proper balance between customer protec-
tion and having an open market economy.
If it is fully towards consumer protection
you take out the competitive edge from it,
particularly in the banking sector wherein
we are pretty homogeneous to begin with.
The choice should be with the custom-
ers and having said that we have always
looked at it from the customer’s side. Our
pricing have always been balanced, nei-
ther too low nor too high.”
Online banking is another strong point
for Doha Bank with more than 40 percent
of its customers using the online services
at least once a month. On the issue of pri-
vacy, he says that hacking is nearly zilch
with security much better now than in
earlier times.
“Our customers are extremely protect-
ed. We have been in internet banking for
15 years with an excellent track record
and we seem to satisfy our technology
savvy consumer.”
Cashing in on the F&B section
Doha Bank is the bank you see most, in
the papers, on roadside hoardings, new
products, fun run, green talks etc.
Scotto agrees, “We are certainly the
most visible bank. And what we offer is
value added, we don’t sell junk. But we
can’t keep everyone happy all the time,
but we do try our best.”
The food and entertainment section is
the most popular sector in Qatar, and the
Qatar Today Restaurant Awards 2010 is
cashing in on this popular segment with
Doha Bank being the presenting sponsor
of the Award.
“I was involved in a similar event at
Dubai and it was very popular. It is a huge
market that we intend to tap into. Not just
with the Awards but even after this we
will focus n this segment with discount
offers with the winning establishments,
and marketing solutions to be identified.
“We are happy with the partnership and
intend to keep the relationship going with
the Awards and build new ones with those
who will be awarded,” says Scotto on the
partnership with Qatar Today.
“What do you do in the Middle East?
You go out and eat. And these awards
make it special; people like to know what
the majority prefers. It is already a popu-
lar event and we hope it gets better and
better.”
A lesson learnt
This is not the first and this will not be
last too, says Scotto, speaking about the
financial crisis that is on the way out.
“Economies work in cycles. It was
tough while it lasted; it was a vital wakeup
call for banks and regulators to make sure
that the proper governance is in place. A
good learning lesson for all,” he says.
On the regulatory tightening on expo-
sure of banks in certain sectors or client
segments he says, “The government has
bailed out the banks with real estate port-
folio, and now the Central Bank limits
how much real estate segments you have
in your portfolio. This is manageable and
will mitigate the risks if more such crisis
arises.”
But then GCC was less affected in the
crisis and in the GCC, Qatar was the least
affected.
Scotto looks ahead and says, “Look at
the robust figures projected by the gov-
ernment now. The adjustments have been
done, business models have been modi-
fied, if something like this happens hope-
fully the banks will be more resilient and
this is the time to look forwards and not
backward.” n
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