For the third consecutive year, Baiduri Bank has been awarded the Best Banking Group for Brunei 2011 from World Finance. In March 2011, World Finance named Baiduri Bank as the Company of the Decade for Brunei for the period 2001 – 2010 reflecting the Bank’s outstanding performance during the decade.

Baiduri Bank came into existence in 1994, followed two years later with the establishment of Baiduri Finance, its wholly-owned subsidiary. Although considerably young, the group has established itself as one of the largest providers of financial products and services in Brunei, alongside branches of foreign banks that had established roots in the country for more than half a century.

The bank’s shareholders include three leading home grown corporations: Baiduri Holdings, Royal Brunei Airlines and Royal Brunei Technical Services in addition to BNP Paribas of France.

With a strong combination of local commitment and global expertise, the Group has been acknowledged as one of the leading banks in the country with a track record of financial innovations and pioneering activities.  Its core business includes banking services to institutions, corporations, retail banking, consumer financing and wealth management.

Synergy through shared platform
The group utilises a common service platform to share resources by centralised key support functions, IT infrastructure and delivery channels.  The integrated group approach to achieve best-in-class cost structure and grow revenue through synergy has proven to be crucial in enabling the group to operate under very challenging environment and generate strong financial performance in 2010. The group has demonstrated again a strong resilience in all its core businesses while being responsive to market challenges. New opportunities are always being explored to expand and widen revenue base.

Strategic partnership
Through strategic positioning and partnership with international financial institutions and payment brands such as American Express, Visa, MasterCard, China UnionPay and Western Union among others, Baiduri Bank Group has managed to build an international image and has been consistently rated highly among its peers in regional banking surveys.

Strong performance and financial strength
Despite new challenges in the local retail economy, Baiduri Bank Group managed to achieve strong financial results in 2010. Profit before Tax for Baiduri Bank recorded an increase of 6.6 percent to BND39.4m ($32m). The Capital Adequacy Ratio increased from 13 percent to 14.96 percent, well above the requirement of Brunei’s Banking Order, 2006.

Baiduri Bank’s 100 percent owned subsidiary, Baiduri Finance, had a successful year. Its Hire Purchase portfolio grew from BND651m ($529m) in 2009 to BND695m ($565m) in 2010 – a seven percent increase – an outstanding achievement under the current economic conditions.

At the group level, Total Equity increased 17.9 percent to BND201m ($163m). The Group’s total assets exceeded BND2.6bn ($2.1bn), which makes it amongst the top banking groups in the country in terms of balance sheet size.

Widest choice of payment products
Baiduri Bank’s payment card business has the largest card member and merchant base in the country.  It is the first and only bank in Brunei to hold franchise for four major card brands, namely American Express, Visa, MasterCard and China UnionPay offering the widest range of payment cards to meet the needs of different customer segments.

Multiple service delivery channels
Baiduri Bank has one of the largest branch and ATM networks in the country providing wide and easy access by the public.  ATMs are equipped with cash and cheque deposit functions in addition to cash withdrawal, bill payment and fund transfer functions. In addition, the bank offers a very user-friendly yet secure internet banking service, and FAST, a mobile phone authentication and transaction platform for payment and value-added services, giving extra convenience to meet the needs of specific customer segments.

International operating standards
Baiduri Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary Baiduri Finance obtained the internationally recognised ISO9001 quality certification in 2003 and was recertified in 2009. In 2007, the Bank’s Credit Administration Department became the first department within the Bank to have obtained this prestigious certificate.

Corporate social responsibilty
The Baiduri Bank Group is committed to helping community development. Among others, the Group regularly provides financial support for child development programmes in the country. The annual Baiduri Masters charity golf event is a fundraising initiative in support to these organisations.  Included in Baiduri Bank Group’s CSR calendar are the Universal Children’s Day, the World Blood Donor Day and an SME Partnership Programme which aims to nurture Brunei SME’s.  The Bank also provides educational grants to deserving children from under-privileged families to help them realise their education goals.

For more information Tel: (673) 226 8300; Email: bank@baiduri.com; www.baiduri.com