Qatar’s growth expected 2.82% in 2019, as rising energy receipts help ease fiscal constraints, spending on the multi-year infrastructure upgrade ahead of the FIFA World Cup continues.
Though government spending will be maintained at current levels, partly also to offset the costs emanating from the restrictions imposed on Qatar, key tax policy and administration measures, including the introduction of a VAT and excises during 2018 are expected to further contain the fiscal deficit over the medium term.
A recovery in imports, in particular capital goods related to infrastructure spending, should keep the current account surplus modest in the near term.
Dr. R. Seetharaman brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and integrity to his valuable achievements.
He is a prominent personality in the banking industry throughout the Middle East, an economic expert who has achieved remarkable success for his contributions to Banking, Trade, Investment, Economics, Environment, Social responsibility, Philanthropy and Charity. He is recipient of multiple doctorates from leading universities of the world, including PhD in Green Banking and Sustainability from Sri Sri University and PhD in Global Governance 2013 by European University.
He is a Chartered Accountant and holds certificates, in IT systems and Corporate Management, whilst being a Gold medalist in his graduation Bachelor of Commerce.
He is recipient of multiple doctorates from leading universities of the world, including:
- PhD in Global Governance by European University
- PhD in Green Banking and Sustainability from Sri Sri University
- Doctorate of Laws by Washington College for his unique and valuable contribution to society in the field of banking and knowledge management,
- Doctorate of Honoris Causa from European University for his contribution to global governance and social responsibility
- ‘Doctor of Philosophy (Honorary) by Arts, Science and Technology University, Lebanon (AUL) during the annual graduation ceremony for his valuable contribution to Banking and Finance.
Dr. R. Seetharaman, CEO of Doha Bank was honored with the “Green Economy Visionary Award” in 2016 by Union of Arab Banks (UAB) for his outstanding contribution of close to two decades towards environment friendly activities thereby promoting green economies.
He has also been conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by The Banker Middle East in 2015 “to honor his contribution to the industry, not only as the leader of one of Middle East’s most dynamic banks, but also for his personal contribution to the greater understanding of the economic development of the region and his support for the environment and the business”. He has been named “Best CEO in Middle East” 4 times in the last 12 years and “World Leader Business Person”.
He has received the “Business Man of the Year Award” in 2015 from Qatar Today, “Life Time Achievement Award” from the Institute of Directors’ at the Global Summit 2014 and The “Man of the Year” at IAIR Awards 2014.
As a leading top-tier Bank CEO, he has transformed Doha Bank as one of the best performing Banks in the Middle East region.
He is a high profile economist and is invited on a regular basis by international media such as BBC, CNN, FOX, CNBC, Sky News, ABC and Bloomberg to share his views.
Looking for more perspectives and insights from one of Qatar’s most influential bankers, BUSINESS LIFE reporter conducts the following valuable interview with Dr. R. Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank.
BL: You possess a unique way to address the crowd and share valuable knowledge, how did you develop this power?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: I believe knowledge sharing is the best way to provide value to people. I understand the passion of knowledge sharing has brought this unique way.
BL: 2018 has been a tough year for all the GCC member countries and the banking sector but Doha Bank has shown remarkable resilience and progress, could you please detail the achievements that Doha Bank accomplished throughout the 2018?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: Doha Bank’s growth and accomplishments are driven by its core revenue streams. Through initiatives such as changing the asset allocation model, periodic re-pricing of its portfolio and managing low cost deposits, the bank continues to maintain its Net Interest Margin, which is currently the highest among all the Qatari banks. In line with its innovation strategy, the Bank launched Qatar’s first Exchange Traded Fund (QETF) as a tool for investment. In continuation of its international expansion strategy, after successful establishment of Mumbai and Kochi branches in India, Doha Bank inaugurated its third dedicated branch in Chennai. This is in addition of its branches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. The Bank further augmented its large representative office network of Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, South Korea, Australia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Bangladesh by adding Sri Lanka and Nepal. In 2018 Srilanka and Nepal representative offices have been inaugurated. This will further help the Bank to capture the synergistic opportunities within its network. Over the years, Doha Bank has diversified its business strategy with a focus on fee income to add more value to its shareholders.
BL: Now that the year 2018 is over with recording remarkable success and glorious realization of goals, what are your plans for the year 2019?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: The entire banking industry in Qatar went through challenges which were used as an opportunity to convert from conventional to digital banking. The banks will continue to demonstrate resilience in terms of performance ratios as the country heads for preparation towards 2022. The government has also lifted the moratorium towards increasing the LNG capacity from 77MTPA to 110MTPA, this will further boost the government spending and benefit the banking system in the years to come. According to 2019 Qatar Budget, new projects valued at QR48bn are expected to be awarded out of a portfolio of committed projects worth QR421bn. This will be spread across health, education, infrastructure and various other sectors.
BL: Doha Bank is recognized for its unique growth model which has been successful in the past need to accommodate new challenges. Could you please elaborate on this point?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: As a leading financial institution in the region, Doha Bank continually looks to set the industry standard and explore innovative financial instruments that drive maximum value for investors in Qatar and around the world. Several products have been identified as “First-in-Qatar” – Qatar Exchange Traded Fund (QETF), Biometric authentication on Mobile Banking, Ladies Banking package, Al Dana Savings Scheme, to name a few. With a wide international network, the Bank is able to tap into trade finance opportunities with countries it has a presence and also procure low cost funding from the various locations. Doha Bank would further continue with its customer centricity leveraging on Big Data, distribution channels, simplification, cutting edge technology and see to it that customer needs and lifestyle demands are engrained in every offering.
BL: How do you implement intervention policies, innovation, productivity, and Doha Bank growth while monitoring and adopting global good practices?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: Doha Bank has implemented robust risk management policies and procedures designed to identify and analyze the risks inherent in the Bank’s business. The Bank’s risk management systems are continuously monitored and improved and are overseen by the Bank’s senior management to ensure good global practices. For example, the Bank has introduced internal rating systems for corporate and SME exposures. The Bank’s senior management believes that the effectiveness of the Bank’s risk management represent a key strength of the Bank, which has contributed to its continued profitability amid the challenging global economic backdrop.
BL: What is the importance of innovation, global linkages, networks, good managerial practices, and access to good finance in enabling high-growth?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: Doha Bank is ideally placed in a position of strength to challenge its peers and competitors. The key differentiating factors, which provides Doha Bank a competitive advantage are its systemic importance, international footprint, and innovation.
- Systemic Importance: Doha Bank is regarded as one of the Systemically Important Banks (SIB) in Qatar as its continued functioning is critical for the uninterrupted availability of essential banking services to the real economy. Their systemic importance arises from their size, cross-jurisdictional activities, complexity, lack of substitutability, interconnectedness and good managerial practices.
- International Footprint: Doha Bank has one of the largest international networks of the Qatari banks and operates in 18 countries with effective global linkages. The bank continues to embrace this strength and looks to expand its operations to minimize geographical and regional risk.
- Innovation: Doha Bank excels in innovating new products and services, which is key to maintaining a competitive advantage when compared to its peers. Several products have been identified as “First-in-Qatar” – Qatar Exchange Traded Fund, Ladies Banking package, Al Dana Savings Scheme, Biometric authentication in Mobile Banking, to name a few.
BL: What is the link between Doha Bank productivity and the bank’s high growth?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: Due to competition from new entrants, narrowing profit margins and tighter regulatory requirements, the Bank perceives innovation as the key to growth through alternate channels. The Bank will improve its productivity and efficiency by leveraging on strong distribution channels to expand loan book and generate incremental revenues. Furthermore, The Bank will continue with its digitization program to increase the overall efficiency. In line with banking industry trends, areas of focus, contributing to productivity, include collaboration with Fintechs, adoption of cutting edge technology, consolidating mobile and online applications, upgrading security features, and developing call center, which make use of sophisticated voice recognition technology.
BL: Though in many instances, high growth episodes are tough to sustain and difficult to predict, you managed very smartly to move Doha Bank always forward locally and internationally. How did you that throughout the long years?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: We have grown through Organic growth opportunities in Qatar and selective Gulf markets. We have also built International presence in those countries which are major bilateral partners with Qatar. We have aligned our business model taking into consideration the economic and business conditions. The bank is expanding its services to major bilateral partners.
BL: How did your strategic policies improve the bank’s dynamism in supporting job creation need?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: The banks in Qatar are looking at higher contribution from its international, wholesale and retail functions, the diversity of talent needed towards this will support the job creation. Globally the modus operandi for the banks is changing and shifting towards new rules and regulations, this needs highly skilled talent.
BL: Qatar’s banking sector has witnessed a great expansion, and credit growth picked up speed in 2018, how did that happen and why? What is driving the banking industry trends in Qatar? What about Qatar’s Real GDP growth and interest rates?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: Qatar’s foreign exchange reserves gained 1.7% month-on-month (m-o-m) to reach $46.5bn in September. Qatari banks’ asset growth was 5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in October. Bank deposit growth was 1.5% y-o-y while credit growth was 2.7% in October. Private sector deposits grew 1.2% m-o-m in October, while the public sector and non-resident deposits declined 4.5% and 1.7% respectively. Inter-bank rates went slightly up in September following global monetary tightening. Qatar Inter-bank Offered Rates (QIBOR) and London Inter-bank Offered Rate (Libor) three-month interest rates converged further, it said. Qatar Sovereign five-year credit default swap (CDS) spreads remained stable at around 75 bps. Qatar’s fiscal account surplus widened to 3.5% of GDP in the second quarter (Q2) due to higher oil prices. In Q2, the country’s current account surplus “widened” while net capital and financial flows were “positive”. Exports grew 30.2% y-o-y in September as a result of higher oil prices, while imports grew 37.0%. Broad money supply grew marginally by 0.1% in September. Brent crude prices rose to an average of $80.6 for a barrel in October; Qatar’s oil production fell to 570,000 bpd in September from 612,000 bpd in August. In terms of Qatar’s economic activity. Non-hydrocarbon GDP growth was a solid 6.1% y-o-y. Booming construction output, up 15.3% y-o-y, remained the key driver of activity in the non-hydrocarbon sector. Manufacturing gained 14.1%. CPI inflation was broadly flat at -0.4% in September; housing inflation slightly picked up. Industrial Production rose 4.7% in August from 1.4% the previous month. The real estate price index is signaling prices are stabilizing. The 5-star and 4-star hotel occupancy rates stabilized in September to stand at 54% and 60% respectively. Qatar’s population increased 2.8% y-o-y to stand at 2.74mn in October; women made up close to 25.5% of the population. According to IMF Oct 2018, Qatar real GDP growth is expected to be 2.82% in 2019 Qatar’s banking system needs no further support from the central bank and sovereign wealth fund as the decline in non-resident liabilities of lenders have subsided. In response to the economic blockade Qatar has emerged strong and has brought various reforms to transform itself into a self-reliant economy.
The interest rates in Qatar are as follows( Source- QCB website )
BL: In the face of Brexit uncertainty, how do banks prepare for maximum change?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: The Global banks have to rework their strategy with Brexit, but still the negotiation of Brexit is ongoing which may result in delay of bank’s reshaping their business model. As far as Qatari banks are concerned they have minimal exposure in terms of Pounds and Euro. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 29th March 2019. The terms of the UK’s withdrawal have been under negotiation since June 2016 following a referendum in which 51.9% voted to leave the EU.
|
Name |
Current Value |
|
Required Reserve Percentage |
4.5 |
|
QMR O/N Deposit |
2.25 |
|
QMR O/N Lending |
5 |
|
Repo Rate |
2.5 |
BL: How can banks best manage the portfolio of technology assets to deliver the most impact for businesses?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: •Focus on value adding business outcomes in everything you do and the Technical Capabilities you need to deliver them.
- Have an Enterprise Architecture Approach to designing your IT Landscapes and Ecosystems. This should be based on standard Industry principles.
- Use frameworks like Gartner’s Five Platforms of Digital Transformation to guide you.
- Start with the end in mind and create roadmaps that build increasing value over time.
- Select Platforms that will be ‘gifts that keep on giving rather than ‘Stovepipe’ solutions.
- Use ‘Cloud’ based solutions wherever possible.
- Hire or develop exiting people with the new skill sets you will require to ‘build the future’. Don’t rely of legacy IT Skills and people.
- Build long term partnerships with a small number key vendors to leverage scale and speed to market.
BL: Cyber risk is a top concern for financial institutions and even it is only getting more complex, what are your comments?
Dr. R. Seetharaman: There were threatening mails for Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) for some of the organizations, SQL Injection based attacks across the Qatar Banking and Financial Institutions in the first half of 2018. However, these attacks were successfully handled by the industry with the help of Internal monitoring systems and Telecom service providers. Cyber-attacks are capable of deteriorating institutions performance and economies’ growth. Cyber security Governance is an important area to be focused and Pragmatic cyber security governance is key for Qatar’s sustainable growth.
