HSBC nominated for IFS Financial Innovation Award

HSBC Bank Malta has been shortlisted by the Institute of Financial Services (UK) (IFS) in the Most Effective Back Office Initiative category of the Financial Innovation Award.

This is the first time an IFS award is being given for this category. The other finalists are Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Halifax General Insurance, Nationwide Building Society and National Savings and Investments.

HSBC Bank Malta won the prestigious Best Bank in Malta award by the FT's The Banker magazine for two consecutive years.

Its successful entry highlighted the achievements under the highly successful internal project 'Wisdom Tooth'. This initiative, which saw the centralisation of a substantial amount of work from the branch network to the Business Support Centre, was born from the imperative to allow more time for the bank's front office staff to focus on providing a superior service to its customers.

The implementation of this ambitious project was a team effort co-ordinated by banking services. It required a firm commitment from staff and involved complex planning, upgrading IT infrastructure and a reconfiguration of the work floor to achieve even more synergies.

The project culminated in the completion of a new state-of-the-art operations centre and roll out of a fully-fledged call centre earlier this year.

HSBC chief executive officer Shaun Wallis said: "It is very encouraging to receive this nomination as it is a sign of recognition for the excellent work done by the team involved in this back office project and the co-operation and commitment of all staff members who ultimately made it such a success," he said.

"As a result we are now providing a better quality service to our customers and have greatly increased efficiency. The bank will continue to build on this achievement and is committed to remain the leader in setting new standards in the Maltese banking sector by offering innovative products and introducing new work practices."

The IFS Financial Innovation Awards, now in its seventh year, recognises organisations which meet and exceed the constantly evolving needs of their customers and drive business forward. Although HSBC Bank Malta has achieved many milestones over the years, this is the first time the bank was nominated for an IFS Award.

Apart from HSBC Bank Malta's entry, members of the HSBC Group from other countries are also nominated this year in the categories of Best Internet Service, Most Innovative Marketing/Advertising Campaign, and Most Effective Outsourcing Partnership Initiative. This year's ceremony will be held on November 24 at the Guildhall in London.