Belgian Bank Awarded Double Honours

The International Banker held its annual awards acknowledging top banking institutions within Western and Eastern Europe. KBC Group NV received awards in two categories: Innovation in Retail Banking Belgium and Private Bank of the Year Belgium.

The International Banker offers a global view of banking and financial services. Each year through the Banking Awards it recognises the best banking institutions (and individuals), which have set the bar for industry excellence. The 2014 Banking Awards acknowledge the institutions that drive global economic commerce, create capital and opportunities for economic growth within their regions, whilst maintaining high levels of regulatory compliance and corporate governance. The standout institutions working within retail, commercial, investment and private banking are recognised with these awards.

Honoured with dual awards to acknowledge and celebrate its innovation and leadership in the areas of both retail and private banking in Belgium, KBC Group NV has achieved a prominent position on the 2014 International Banker Western and Eastern European Banking Awards list.

The first award, for Innovation in Retail Banking Belgium, has been awarded to KBC Group NV based on a culture across the bank of striving to provide services that meet customer needs in innovative and increasingly efficient ways. KBC Group has become renowned in serving the needs of retail, SME (small-and-medium enterprise) and mid-cap customers effectively. By providing new products and services to meet the changing demands of the Belgian retail-banking client base, KBC Group has demonstrated itself to be a leader in this area. By applying determination and diligence in providing effective and innovative banking solutions to customers, KBC Group has earned this award. In addition, from autumn 2014, KBC Group will launch its first impact-investing fund for retail investors in Europe. Clients participating in this fund will achieve a dual objective: invest to achieve a measurable, beneficial, social and environmental impact whilst at the same time generating a financial return. The bank has furthermore driven innovation with technological developments and has committed itself to offering a combination of tailored solutions with an engaged and accessible service range incorporated into a fully connected and transparent environment. The bank is committed to maintaining human contact as customer needs require whilst enhancing electronic access options. Additionally, by providing a wide range of loan and deposit-account solutions to its customers, KBC Group NV has become a standout in Belgium’s retail-banking sector. The ability to serve customers effectively and efficiently in today’s diverse markets and economic conditions is one of the many productive attributes that has led to the group’s consistent success over past decades.

The second International Banker award for KBC Group NV is Private Bank of the Year Belgium.

The International Banker has been quick to highlight KBC Group’s commitment to superior private-banking services, which has underpinned the bank’s success over the years, differentiating it from its competitors. The high client entry level (one million euros investable income) for the bank’s customers ensures superior private-banking services to individual clients and enables the group to keep the number of clients per private banker low. Subsequently the services and levels of attention to clients are exceptionally high, leading to its reputation as one of the most proactive private banks in Belgium. The bank offers a broad and comprehensive range of private-banking services, including advisory and discretionary portfolio management, tax optimization for businesses and individuals (including estate planning and inheritance insurance), equity and option advice, a dedicated bond service and many more. The group furthermore offers exclusive KBC products to private-banking clients alongside a range of third-party funds from BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, UBS and Invesco.

In addition to the bank’s pioneering and award-winning work in the areas of retail and private banking, KBC Group NV operates corporate social-responsibility programmes in order to balance the interests of the bank with that of the local and wider communities that it serves. Through a variety of programmes and policies, KBC Group employees are encouraged to volunteer part of their time towards involvement in community social-development projects. KBC Group also plays a prominent role in upholding the standards of corporate governance for the banking sector in the local region. The bank has demonstrated its support and commitment to stronger regulatory and operational compliance—working to improve systems and procedures across the bank so as to restore confidence and stimulate investments and growth.

More on KBC Group can be found here – http://internationalbanker.com/banking/a-commitment-to-a-bank-insurance-model-reaps-rewards-for-kbc-domestically-and-internationally/