Bank of Maldives is at its strongest position - says CEO Tim Sawyer
BML profits increased in 2021 to MVR 1.9 billion after tax.
Source: Bank of Maldives
Following a year which saw record-breaking performance for Bank of Maldives, CEO and Managing Director Tim Sawyer says the Bank is in the “strongest position it has ever been in.” Speaking to shareholders at the 39th Annual General Meeting held on 29 May 2022, Tim highlighted the successful trajectory of the Bank over the past three years during a turbulent time globally.
“We survived Covid. We were able to continue lending, continue providing key services and continue to provide substantial debt relief to keep the country going. When the Maldives was at its most troubled, BML stood firm and ensured the economic survival of the country.”
At the same time, Tim noted the Bank’s strong financial performance over the last year. “Despite price reductions on key lending products, profits increased with a substantial rise of over 470 percent to MVR 1.9 billion after tax, which means the Government, as our biggest shareholder, benefits with more than MVR 543 million in tax and MVR 131 million as dividend.
“We now have a set of new strategic pillars – Financial Stability, Operational Excellence and Customer Experience – and goals that we have committed to achieve in the next three years. Attention to customer service is of course, not new. Despite Covid, improving customer service has been a key priority with the expansion of our nationwide footprint, digitization of our back-end-operations and introduction of new services such as the wallet feature on our App. We have also increased resources to expand our capacity and ensure business continuity. Much more remains to be done but customer surveys show that we are starting to succeed.”
Speaking about the team at the Bank, Tim recognized the growing talent saying “It has been pleasing over the last 3 years to see new Maldivians coming onto the Executive management team, be it through promotion or through recruitment. Today, the Bank is operating with 99 percent Maldivians and the next generation of leaders are starting to make their mark too which means it will remain Maldivian led in the future. It is something we should be proud of.”
