Despite a challenging domestic and global economic climate due to the pandemic, 2022 has been an outstanding year for Baiduri Bank Group. Backed by strong financial performance and all-round delivery against our strategic targets with good progress on multiple fronts, we have demonstrated our resilience and market leadership as a dynamic institution at the forefront of financial innovation.
Global Recognition and Milestones
In 2022, we have a record number of prestigious international banking awards under our belt, including a couple of first-time wins. This level of recognition underscores our commitment as an institution that constantly delivers banking excellence.
Ti Eng Hui, Chief Executive Officer at Baiduri Bank, attributes this achievement to our sound business model and strategy, as well as the hardworking employees whom he considers to be at the heart of our successes.
He said: “This year, one of our proudest moments was when we were recognised as the Best Bank in Brunei during the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2022 in London, making us the first Bruneian bank to win this award.”
Leading international rating agency Standard & Poor’s also upgraded our long-term issuer credit rating from BBB+ to A-/A-2 with stable outlook, placing us in the high investment grade category alongside regional and international peers. On this, Ti said, “This is another important milestone for us as the upgraded credit rating signals the financial soundness and strength of Bruneian banks, paving the way for our access to new markets and other opportunities under the ASEAN Financial Integration.”
Digital Transformation
Speaking on the move towards digitalisation, Ti said: “Since 2020, we have been steadily integrating the digitisation of our services to complement our existing in-person services. We embarked on this digital transformation journey with the aim to enhance customer experience by leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to boost operational efficiency and analytical capabilities.”
As a frontrunner in delivering digital-first experience and financial innovation, we offer a comprehensive suite of digital solutions such as the award-winning Baiduri b.Digital Personal and the all-new Baiduri b.Digital Business. On operational efficiency, we are actively employing artificial intelligence and robotic process automation (RPA) to automate existing workflows.
A strategic and significant investment in this digital transformation journey is the move to cloud banking. “We recently signed an agreement with Temenos, the world’s leading platform for composable banking, to run our core banking services in the cloud based on the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, making us the first Brunei bank to do so.”
Capacity Building
Behind every successful organisation is a dedicated team, and as part of Baiduri Bank Group’s vision to become the leading and preferred financial partner, we invest in employee development through various programmes, recognising talent and providing opportunities for career growth.
Programmes such as the Leadership Academy and Emerging Leaders Mentoring Programme help to foster leadership capabilities, promote lifelong learning and cultivate a positive, value-based workplace culture.
At the same time, we actively support employee well-being by adopting a holistic and comprehensive approach. Our flagship programme, the Employee Wellness Initiative (EWI), offers year-round activities designed to promote wellness lifestyle practices in four key areas – financial, physical, mental and spiritual.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Our commitment to being a strong community partner in co-creating a sustainable future is rooted in our mission to enrich, empower and engage the communities we serve. One of the means for us to contribute towards sustainable development is through our robust CSR programme guided by three pillars – Social, Economic and Environmental.
In the Social sphere, we support causes ranging from the development of local arts and culture to empowering vulnerable and underserved groups in the society. “We actively partner with government and non-government organisations on projects towards the betterment of our community,” said Ti.
On the Economic front, we continue to support the development of skills in finance, data and technology; MSME empowerment and financial literacy through sponsorships such the Brunei Economy Programme and Asia Inc Forum, as well as the Baiduri MSME Empowerment Series and Angel Investing Workshops held in collaboration with Darussalam Enterprise.
In supporting waste reduction and encouraging green practices, we collaborated with Big BWN Project to conduct ‘Zero to Hero’ workshops at 10 schools across all four districts to educate and empower students on low-impact living, so they can be the catalyst for change towards a greener future.
To encourage our employees to give back to the community, we introduced ‘Baiduri Cares’, our very own employee volunteer programme. This platform allows our employees to harness their time, skills and efforts to support our communities. This year, our employee volunteers have contributed close to 600 hours in various community service activities, including participation at partner events such as the YASKA and Thalassaemia Awareness Roadshow and the National Theatre Festival Brunei 2022.
All these achievements in 2022 are testament to the strides we are making, with the support of our customers, employees, business partners and other stakeholders. As we embark on the New Year, we will continue our efforts to accelerate business transformation, enhance capacity building and build a more sustainable society, in line with our national aspirations under Brunei Vision 2035.
