ING Group: ING reviews strategic options for retail banking operations in Austria
ING reviews strategic options for retail banking operations in Austria
ING is announcing today that it is reviewing the strategic options for its Retail Banking operations in Austria with the aim of exiting this market by the end of 2021.
The scope of the review focuses solely on ING s retail business. ING will continue its Wholesale Banking activities in Austria. We continuously evaluate our activities, including assessing whether they are likely to achieve the preferred scale in their market within a reasonable time frame. In this context we have decided to exit the Austrian retail market, sharpening the focus of our business portfolio on where we can better scale, said Aris Bogdaneris, member of the Management Board Banking and head of Challengers & Growth Markets at ING Group.
BBK, Bahrain s pioneer in retail and commercial banking, continuously strives to present its customers with the latest technological solutions to further enhance their banking experience. As part of the Bank s strategy towards digitization, BBK introduced a seamless and paperless account opening process at its branches in the form of tablets powered by the BBKPLUS app. These tablets enable branch hosts to onboard customers who wish to open accounts with BBK, through the BBKPLUS onboarding app. This initiative minimizes customers waiting time at the branches as every walk-in customer will be greeted by the branch host to assist with the account opening process through the BBKPLUS app. Customers will be able to open their retail accounts - Salary Transfer account, Super Savers Account, Money Maker account in multiple currencies, and an Al Hayrat account with BBK in a timely manner, under 5 minutes, with less signatures and no paperwork included. The app
Japanese health and beauty retailer Welcia-BHG Singapore is focusing on increasing its percentage of Japan-made offerings to differentiate itself from competitors and drive growth of its business.
Welcia-BHG Singapore is a joint venture between AEON subsidiary Welcia Holdings and Chinese retailer Beijing Hualian Group (BHG).
Since it entered the market in 2017, the company has experienced steady growth. Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it managed to unveil more brick-and-mortar stores, growing its retail footprint to 10 outlets across the island.
According to director Masato Ishii, overall sales for the company have been down compared to 2019 because of pandemic-related shifts and economic downturns.