BCIMR Opens First Commercial Bank in Somaliland

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Hargeysa, Somaliland, February 07, 2009 (SL Times) - The Banque pour le Commerce et l’Industrie - Mer Rouge (BCI-MR), the partly-owned subsidiary of French bank BNP Paribas, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sunday in Hargeysa to officially open the first commercial bank ever in Somaliland.

It is the first bank to open in Somaliland and is expected to boost Somaliland banking services and connect the unrecognized republic to the global market. It will also create new jobs for the locals.

The bank will issue a letter of Credit (LC) to it’s clients that can be used for international trade for both import and export transactions.

Participants in the ceremony included Mr. Thierry Choinier – First Secretary of France’s Embassy to Djibouti, business executives, traders, traditional elderly, Parliamentarians, Central Bank officials, varies organizations from NGO’s and special guests.

BNCI-MR (Djibouti) Managing Director Mr Ould Amar Yahya said the Bank’s program of branch openings was a solid indication of its confidence in the region and today is the most respected bank in the Horn of Africa.

“BNCI-MR opened the first branch in Djibouti 1954 and has since opened over 71 branches world wide - today it’s the most respected bank in the Horn of Africa and has contributed greatly to the development of the Horn of Africa,” he said.

Somaliland Finance Minister, Hussein Ali Duale (Awil) - who was also present described the event as a milestone for his administration who he said took a lot of efforts to make this possible and for Somaliland as a nation.

“The world economy heavy relies on financial institutions that lets them borrow capital and issue them LC without them all businesses are crippled,” he said while addressing the guests.

He added that anyone who wants to open a bank in Somaliland is welcome as long as they will meet the country’s standards and terms.

The Banque pour le Commerce et l’Industrie Mer Rouge (BCIMR) is a subsidiary of the French group Bred Banque Populaire, which is present in 71 countries, with well known names such as NATIXIS, COFACE, Banque Populaire, etc. The BCIMR is the largest bank in the Horn of Africa, representing between 65% and 70% of deposits and 45-50% of the credits distributed. From its base in Djibouti, the BCIMR has played a significant part in over fifty year’s of economic development of the region; including Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen, and Eritrea.

Subsequent to the new merger of Banque Populaire/Caisses d’Epargne, the group has now emerged as the leading French bank in terms of asset management, with over 500 billion Euros managed around the world, 40 billion Euros of stockholders’ equity, 8200 branches and over 100000 employees.

The BCIMR, supported by its intra-group synergies, offers a diverse and complete range of services in three fields:

- Retail Banking, from current account services to the most complex financial engineering services in the areas of corporate financing and asset management,

- Financing and Investment Banking, to meet the development requirements of major economic players,

- Trade Services, for all operations involving documentary credit, international guarantees and stand-by letters of credit.

The BCIMR is connected to all of the principal financial markets around the world for its investment needs and its financing operations in international trade. It is the ideal partner for investors in the Horn of Africa. With subsidiaries of its international banking group, the BCIMR participates in sophisticated corporate finance and estate management solutions to finance large scale-projects.

The BCIMR has begun to make inroads for its long term strategy for diversification of its commercial operations and its adaptation to the regional economic environment. Based on acceptable conditions of risk and profitability, the BCIMR continues to offer its clients even more innovative products and services. This diversification of its products and services is a decisive factor in reducing the volatility of the profit margin.

Its objective is to maintain a positive margin between the growth rate of its net banking income — which concerns its interest margin and commissions — and that of its management expenses. This enables it to pursue a policy of reducing its working coefficient or indicator of operational efficiency, without any reduction in the cost necessary for revenue growth.

Place Lagarde, HP 2122, Djibouti

Republique de Djibouti

Tel: (253) 35-08-57

Fax: (253) 35-42-60

Telex: 5821/5870, Djibouti RDD

Email: contact@bcimr.dj

Swift Code: BCIMDJJXXXX

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