global practices
27/09/2016 04:35 AST
The National Bank of Kuwait continues to position itself as the premier bank of choice for both domestic and foreign corporates doing business in Kuwait. NBK’s role reflects its prestigious reputation and its leadership position in the banking sector locally, regionally and globally.
NBK is also known for its strategic client relationships, making NBK the first choice for expansion plans of major corporates increasing the Bank’s market share. Moreover, the development of human talent remains a top priority for NBK. The Arab Times in this interview with the Head of Consumer Banking at NBK, Suresh Bajpai gives you a comprehensive view of NBK’s consumer banking operations, latest products, services and offerings, digital solutions, expansion plans, millennium customers and some good news in the coming year for its vast clientele.
Bajpai who joined NBK in January this year is a career banker with deep domain expertise in Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Consumer Finance, Credit Cards, Digital and Mobile Payments, e-Commerce and Remittances. Prior to joining NBK, Bajpai was the Head of the Retail Banking for Doha Bank in Doha, Qatar since July 2012. He was previously based in New York with Citigroup where he worked for over 20 years and has held a number of senior management positions in Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa in both Consumer and Institutional Banking, managing across more than 50 countries globally. Bajpai who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and Masters in Business Administration from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute Management Studies has also served on the board of Micronotes, a digital company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He has been a visiting faculty member in many prestigious management institutes.
Bajpai shares to the Arab Times and its readers the success story of NBK and how it keeps pace with the digital age, leaving a lasting imprint of excellent service to its customers.
Question: How do you find Kuwait in terms of your job as the Head of the Consumer Banking at NBK?
Answer: Honestly, it was a very refreshing change having work in the other parts of the GCC. When I worked across different continents and here, when I compare Kuwait and compare the opportunities here vis-à-vis other GCC markets, it is a very refreshing change. Of course, it’s nice to have joined one of the safest 50 banks in the world. That’s good, especially after the 2008 turmoil and at that point of time I was in the heart of it in New York. I’ve seen it very closely. I’m very impressed with the professional approach that NBK has, its dominant position in the market and also its real commitment to customers and building the infrastructure for the country and of course the Kuwaiti people have been very nice and I find them very friendly.
Q: What is the biggest challenge that you have faced when you joined the Bank?
A: I think the bank itself has been very customer-focused so I didn’t really have that challenge from that point of view. As I look back and look at the dominant position that the bank has, my biggest challenge is how to make the already successful bank much more successful. The bar is very high and I think the opportunities that the country presents and the strengths that the NBK has, having grown franchise to such a dominant position, I feel excited that it will be easy to take it forward and yet the bar is very high.
Q: What do you think is the secret to NBK’s success?
A: The success of the consumer bank and the bank itself, it has got itself interwoven into the fabrics of the country. The NBK leadership itself is very, very strong, having being led at the top by Mr Isam Al Sager, Ms Shaikha and Mr Salah, that has provided a very strong leadership and stability to the bank which is reflected in the different lines of business including consumer banking which I am a part of. The first one is interwoven into
Arab Times
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