Safety first
NATIONAL BANK OF ABU DHABI ( NBAD )
complex IT infrastructure to handle all this data . So , not only does procurement source the data , it manages it and controls it within the bank . Jason and his team are able to work closely with the IT department , as NBAD ’ s IT is mostly in-house . “ It is our largest spend unit that we deal with within the bank ; they ’ re accountable for over 40 percent of NBAD spend ,” Jason adds .
Safety first
NBAD may invest a lot in IT , but Brown stresses that operating costs must be kept as low as possible . Among other results , this contributes to NBAD ’ s ‘ safest bank ’ accolades . It has been ranked by Global Finance as the
Safest Bank in Emerging Markets and the Safest Bank in the Middle East .
“ We ’ re the safest bank because we have high capital , we meet the certain requirements in terms of how much capital we have in reserve in certain areas , in case there was a run on the bank and things like that ,” Brown says .
“ By keeping costs low , procurement helps maximise that return to the bank . The less money we have outgoing , the more we can reinvest into capital and assets . And by having a strong asset base and a strong capital base , that helps us be a safe bank . So , the more influence we can have on our operating costs and keeping our operating costs down , the more that influences our position on the bottom line .”
46 March 2017