SWITZERLAND
HABIB BANK AG ZURICH Highly personalised services
Habib Bank AG Zurich was incorporated in Switzerland in 1967 and is privately owned and managed by the Habib family. The Group Board consists of Swiss Directors with extensive banking and legal experience.     Habib Bank AG Zurich places a high emphasis on security and personal service. From its head office where it is subject to the consolidated supervision of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission, the bank manages equity and reserves which provide it with a capital adequacy ratio which is more than double that required by the Bank for International Settlement in Basle. Its high level of liquidity provides additional comfort to the customers and regulators alike.	Over the past 34 years, the bank has built up a network of 40 modern branches in the parent company and the three operating subsidiaries. The branches are strategically placed to provide maximum assistance to the bank's international customers. Products The bank provides a comprehensive range of commercial and private services and products. The bank's highly personalised product range includes International Trade Finance, Corporate, Consumer, Retail, Correspondent and Private Banking which offers structured products portfolio management and custodial services, interest rates and credit-	linked structures. These services are backed by leading-edge technology, designed to ensure that Habib Bank AG Zurich is well placed to react swiftly to the ever-increasing pace of change in the world of banking. e-Business solution: Since 1994, Habib Bank AG Zurich had been using hPLUS banking application developed in-house. This Java-based application has over 90 different modules with over 1000 user-friendly banking options. All the application-related data is stored in a Sybase database running on Red Hat Linux operating system on Intel architecture.     e-Banking delivery channels: Habib Bank AG Zurich became the first bank in the Middle East	to offer secure combined web- and WAP banking over GSM and GPRS network along with event-based GSM and tele banking for its customers (www.habibbank.com)     In the year 2001, Banker's ME Magazine selected Habib Bank AG Zurich as the most innovative bank in the Middle East.     In February 2002, the bank won the prestigi- ous Dubai Quality Appre- ciation Program award.     Although its only second year of electronic banking services, the bank has recorded tremendous success in the usage of its external delivery channels with over 49.6 per cent of its credit customers and 46.9 per cent of its deposit customers are using these state-of-art services.
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