During an interview with Banks Magazine, Mr. Ibrahim Al-Naqeeb, Deputy General Manager of Operations at SBYB explained that the bank is one of the most prominent banks that provide services in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia, and seek to strengthen the national economic development and investment role by granting funding and providing various financial, banking and community services, noting that the reality of Islamic banking in Yemen witnesses remarkable development and promises hopeful future prospects. More details are in the following context: Dialogue: Fuad Ahmed Yahya, at the beginning, could you give the reader a brief idea about the Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain (SBYB), the number of branches and its development and investment role?
-------------- Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain is an Islamic bank, established in 2002 with a capital of Two Billion YER, and increased to Six Billion YER in 2007. The bank seeks to achieve leadership in providing financial and banking services under the Islamic Sharia principles, through qualified staff and advanced technology. The bank has 15 branches and offices across the various main governorates of the Republic of Yemen, which provide all financial and banking services to customers, to make the bank one of the leading banks contributing to the promotion and development of the country's national economy through a range of distinguished financial and banking services. ____ The bank also works to enhance the development and investment role of the various business and service sectors by granting various funds according to organized procedures for the investment field. Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain (SBYB) is one of the banks that provide services to customers through Islamic banking.
How do you view the present and future of such type of banking in Yemen according to your known experience in this field?
____ Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain (SBYB) is one of the most prominent Islamic banks that provide services in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia. By observing the changes taking place in the banking sector, this type of Islamic banking in Yemen witnesses remarkable development and promises hopeful future prospects, as they have proven remarkable success in obtaining a large market share, especially since culture and general orientation play a major role, and modern technology has helped in promoting the concepts of Islamic banking and electronic banking services have emerged, which contributed to the spread of Islamic Sharia principle-based banking services. In respect of the contribution and support for small enterprises/projects, what has the bank provided in this aspect in terms of the volume of funds and number of enterprises/projects? ----------In fact, Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain has a prominent role in financing industrial projects during the past twenty (20) years, as the volume of financing amounted to more than one hundred and ten million dollars (USD110000000), and among those projects: Radfan Ceramics Factory, Fodder & Poultry Factory, and Iron & Steel Factory. The bank also has established a special unit for financing SMEs of all types, such as service, industrial, business and consumer projects, according to competitive benefits in the market, where these financings are granted with a profit margin suitable for customers and with various guarantees, and there are many small and medium projects have been financed and the bank has contributed to their development. What is the extent of the Bank's commitment to and application of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing programs?
__________ In this context and to meet the relevant legal and regulatory requirements and international recommendations, the Bank has established a set of efficient and effective programs to combat financial crimes, including money laundering, terrorist financing and combating fraud. These programs are governed by a set of approved policies, procedures and controls in an appropriate manner and provide the necessary human and material resources promoting the functioning of such programs efficiently and effectively. The bank's policies to combat financial crimes, in essence, are to effectively and optimally applying the instructions of laws and regulations, the instructions of control and supervision authorities, and establishing the highest principles of ethics and proper professional conduct, in addition to applying international best practices and recommendations, including the recommendations of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Basel Committee. The most important policies established and adopted for this purpose include: Anti-money laundering and terrorist financing policies and procedures, Anti-fraud policies and procedures, Record-keeping policies and procedures, and Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct.
What has the bank provided in the context of advancing its social responsibility toward the community?
in the context of advancing its social responsibility towards community, Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain (SBYB) has an active contribution to support many rehabilitation and training courses and programs for university graduates, which are rehabilitation and training programs aimed at providing them with practical skills enabling them to get suitable job opportunities. The bank has also provided many job opportunities and absorbed many human cadres, and this had its positive impact on society, in addition to the foregoing, the bank worked and is still also working to provide soft services that meet the needs of community members, such as the e-wallet service (Shamil Money), which provides an opportunity for all members of society to engage in the process of financial inclusion and get facilitated financial services at nominal prices to promote a financial culture among community members, as well as grant funds to support and develop small and medium enterprises that improve the income level of community members.
E-money service is one of the services provided by the bank to its customers, could you familiarize and inform the reader about the type of this service? How many customers use it? The e-wallet service (Shamil Money) is one of the e-cash services provided by the Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain (SBYB) under a permit issued by the Central Bank of Yemen, which enables subscribers (Customers subscribed) to pay the value of purchases and transfers, and pay all bills directly from their phones, to save time and effort without the need to open a bank account, since the customer's phone number is his account number in the e-wallet to make it easier to save and use in the financial transactions provided by the wallet service. This service also uses e-cash instead of paper or traditional cash, which in turn leads to reduce the circulation of using cash and its exposure to damage, and adverse effects on the expenditure paid by the state in printing new money. This also helps in avoiding the transmission of diseases caused by banknotes, and the e-wallet service "Shamil Money" works through a special application in which it provides many services, such as transfer between subscribed customers or sending a transfer to a customer who is not subscribed to the service, in addition to the service of paying the value of purchases. We have more than 2000 points of purchases of malls and shops of various activities. The service also offers the feature of paying all telecom, internet, commercial and government electricity, and water bills. Since the service is modern, we look forward to spreading the service and getting as many users as possible during the coming period. What is the extent of the bank's interest in training and qualifying its cadres, especially in light of the technological developments in the banking sector? Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain (SBYB) pays special attention to the process of training and qualifying its cadres, and focuses on keeping pace with various developments in all financial and banking aspects by organizing various specialized courses, whether inside or outside the bank, as well as participating with the Institute of Banking Studies in nominating many of the bank's staff to attend training courses. The bank's human resources Management (HR) lists all the training and qualification needs of its staff, and works to meet these needs in the form of various training courses throughout the year.
