Implications of the new service of online meetings on the bank’s financial performance:

Covid-19 spread has had drastic negative impacts on the economy in general as a result of
the strict measures and social distancing that the Egyptian government has put in place to
limit the spread of the virus. The banking sector has been affected immensely by these
measures as people avoid going to crowded places and avoid as much as they can social
contact with people, this had a negative effect on CIB’s profitability and this was concluded
after checking the interim (semi-annual) income statements of the CIB for the year 2019 and
the year 2020 after the outbreak of the corona virus as in 30 th of June 2019 the net profit
was 5,358,020 thousand EGP , however the corona virus outbreak lead to a decline in the
bank’s profit as it reached 5,001,609 thousand EGP as a result of a decrease in the number
of clients who physically go to the bank to purchase certificates of deposits or apply for
loans so we have decided that the banks should shift most of its services to online platforms
such as online reservations, online meetings with customer service agents and buying CDs
online without having to physically go to the bank and socially interact with employees. This
won’t cost the bank much as developing an online platform only needs an IT team to make
the platform for online meetings and make them user friendly and secure in order to avoid
the leakage of any confidential information about the clients’ financials the meetings with
the customer service employees will also be recorded to ease the process of internal audit
and guarantee a good quality service for the CIB clients. This would definitely have a positive
impact on the bank’s profitability and would help CIB increase its profits again by allowing
the clients to communicate with the customer service agents and perform their banking
activities from the comfort of their homes. Thus, the launching of the online meeting service
is expected to have a positive ROI as the net returns from this investment will definitely
exceed its costs as we mentioned before it is not very costly to develop a platform for online
meetings. This will also have a positive effect on the CIB’s market share as this would be a
competitive advantage for CIB as other banks don’t have such services so clients will prefer
to shift to CIB because it would be safer for them to conduct their banking activities
efficiently without having to risk catching the virus so it would definitely attract more
clients. With this solution, CIB branches are supposed to achieve two goals at once which
are embracing the digital revolution and differentiation from competition with modern
communication tools. By applying the online meetings platform CIB is intended to go
beyond online banking pure players by providing their clients with remote and convenient
services that preserve human contact.
CIB will also be viewed as a socially responsible bank who cares for the community and is
keen on limiting the spread of the virus which would contribute to enhancing the bank’s
image as a socially responsible bank, which will consequently have a positive effect on the
bank’s profitability.

Suggested model for project implementation:

We suggest that the platform designed for online reservations and meetings would be user
friendly in order for the clients to be able to deal with it taking into consideration different
social classes and ages who will be using this platform especially that most of the Egyptians
are not technologically oriented so the bank should make sure that it is easy to deal with the
platform by conducting experiments and asking the clients for their feedback in order to fix
any errors or bugs and hear the clients suggestions to make an ideal platform that is
intended to serve CIB clients in the best way possible. Regarding the online meetings
platform, each client can access this platform through the mobile banking application or the
bank website after signing in with his username and password. Clients will be asked to fill a
request to schedule an online meeting with one of the customer service agents. The client
will be asked to choose which branch he opened his account, his email, his phone number.
The client is also supposed to choose form a drop down list the purpose he wants to
schedule the meeting whether he wants to inquire about something concerning CDs, loans,
personal banking or commercial banking to save time and effort and inform the agent about
what exactly the client wants. The client has also the option to choose a certain employee
by typing his name in the meeting request. After submitting the meeting request the client
will receive an email or an SMS with a QR code or a link to the meeting where he will be able
to communicate with the customer service agent and inquire about the topics he want to
address these meetings will be recorded and saved to aid in the process of internal auditing
and allow the bank to have strict internal controls to minimize the risks that may occur as a
result of implementing the new platform and trace the errors if any occurred. Regarding the
online reservations there would also be a platform where the clients are allowed to book an
appointment with the employees and they will be given a specific time to go to the bank in
order to avoid the crowdedness and decrease the waiting times for the clients to avoid the
spread of the virus and protect the community. Regarding the online purchase of certificates
of deposits there would be a form on the bank’s website and on the mobile banking
application the client is required to fill a form regarding the details of the certificate of
deposit by choosing the type of CD regarding the period and the frequency of interest
payment whether annual, semiannual or monthly, the client is also supposed to choose the
type of account he wishes to buy the certificate of deposit from. The client will also be
required to enter the sum of money he wishes to allocate to buy the certificate. The client
is also required to carefully read the terms and conditions and the fees in order to agree on
the terms and conditions and be able to purchase the certificate online and not having to go
to the bank, after agreeing on the terms and the conditions there would be a confirmation
page where the client will be able to revise the information he submitted and then he would
be able to confirm the purchase of the CD. No signature will be required from the client and
he will be able to receive his interest as it will be added to his active account so he doesn’t
have to visit the bank in person and risk catching the virus.