This Too Shall Pass…

26-March-2020

By Hassan Amin Jarrar, Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Islamic Bank

The world has definitely seen its fair share of costly disasters. In the last few decades alone, we’ve had to deal with the aftermath of Gulf wars, 9/11, a global financial crash, H1N1 - the list goes on. Today, we are faced with the hard reality of Corona, a virus that has swept the world so quickly, so fiercely, taking its toll as a global pandemic within weeks. Barely any country has been left unscathed. People are worried, scared, inconvenienced. Businesses are being hit hard, stock markets are in turmoil and oil prices have plummeted, and in the absence of a clear end in sight, the gloom of an economic recession is starting to set its overcast. The question playing in my head is, ‘Is it too early to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or is it already too late?’

I don’t consider myself a pessimist. On the contrary, I believe that in every crisis there is an opportunity, even if it is difficult to see at first. It sounds clichéd, yet experience and age have both taught me that all situations eventually pass, even if the repercussions are more challenging, situations come full circle and eventually stabilise.

The entire world is asking when this will pass. People are desperate to resume a state of normality. Businesses are questioning whether they will survive this. Just a few days ago, the papers were talking about how the world’s biggest companies were set to lose up to 1 trillion euros in brand value. The 2003 SARS outbreak only cost the global economy an estimated 50 billion dollars. The impact of Corona is unfathomed. All industries are being hit to varying degrees – airlines, aviation, travel and tourism are expected to suffer immensely. And at the other extreme, we have the small businesses, the entrepreneurs, who stand to lose everything. But what about the banking and finance industry, is it time for us to panic?

It is still too early to assess the toll this virus will take on banks, but I doubt we will be meeting our financial targets for 2020, no matter what extreme contingency measures we put in place. Can we minimise the impact to business? Most definitely. Are we going to come out unscathed? Most definitely not. The fact that there is no end date makes it that much more difficult to assess the long-term impact on our business, operations and profits. But the main focus right now is getting through this with as little impact to employee health and safety as possible, while maintaining some sort of business continuity to support those customers who need us the most.

I have to say that Bahrain has been very fortunate. Our leadership reacted immediately. They took a strong stance to limit the spread and the socio-economic impact of Corona on its citizens, residents and the business community. The health and welfare of the people has become top priority on the national agenda and the private and public sectors are standing together to support these efforts. We are seeing concessionary measures being put in place daily. The Government is offering relief to individuals and businesses, and they are urging all sectors to do the same. Banks were given a lending hand by the CBB to boost financial capacity and capability so they could pull through and continue to support their corporate and retail customers. Everyone is standing together, united in a battle against Corona.

The quick reaction by banks across the Kingdom has been admirable. They are doing whatever they can proactively and in line with national directives, to safeguard their employees and limit the adverse effect on individual and business customers. Our industry is going through scary times. It is suffering as the global economy has gone into a state of shock.

Yet, it is during these times of crisis that the greatest realisations strike us, as the most essential assets of a company and a country shine through. For me, the impact of Corona has reiterated two key facts - investment in technology and innovation remains a necessity, and the unity of a staff cadre and a community is vital.

During my time as BisB’s CEO, my main business focus has been to simplify the customer’s banking experience through innovative technology. We made that promise four years ago, took the bold steps and never looked back. Our business vision was built on this. Our DNA was born from this. And all our people worked hard to achieve this. Today, as the entire country practices social distancing and people avoid face-to-face interaction, banking behaviours have shifted drastically, and yet, our digital and self-service platforms continue to enable our customers to conduct their personal and business transactions. I am proud to say that we are standing stronger by our customers today than we have ever done, sustaining their banking needs through the help of our technology.

As for the importance of unity, both inside and outside of the work place, this notion is nothing new. We all know that the most successful businesses globally are the ones that practice empathy and put the welfare of their employees first. But we never truly realise how important this is until a time like this. I am proud of my people every day, but during this challenging period, I have seen a side to them that truly makes my heart smile. They have shown resilience, commitment to their peers and our customers, determination to maintain business continuity against all odds, and most importantly, good spirit. To me, this is a true reflection of unity.

Will we survive this? I think we will. Both as a business and as a people. Yes, we will be hit hard, and yes, we may need to put some stringent measures in place. But with the ongoing support of the Government, our nation’s solidarity, and with strong teams in place, we will withstand the storm. Maybe we will not meet our targets for 2020. Maybe it will be too late to make up our losses for this year, even if Corona was eradicated tomorrow. But businesses have contingency plans, and when the dust settles, we can re-assess our strategy and adjust as necessary. The bottom line is, this too shall pass. We will survive it and come out of it even stronger than before.