As a responsible bank, we cannot but highlight the sanitary crisis the world is facing today following the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, coupled with an unprecedented socio-economic crisis Lebanon is facing. In view of that, we have put in place specific measures for our customers and employees to help them stay safe and mitigate the crisis economic impact. We undertook swift scenario planning and implementation efforts.
When it came to retail and corporate clients, we adopted an approach to alleviate the financial burden that the pandemic and the inflicted national financial crisis. Thus, we have been:
Actively engaging with clients to understand their financial difficulties via financial advisory and credits rescheduling,
Securing liquidity availability on daily basis in our ATMs and branches within the general limitations imposed, specifically during lockdown periods,
Adopting social distancing within our branches
As for our employees, we have put them at the center of our considerations by first minimizing their in-person presence at the headquarters and branches to the strict minimum. While some teams switched to split mode, others adopted remote working when necessary and possible. During these times, our Chairmen were keen on reassuring employees stressing over work and focused on the importance of personal care and social distancing.
Sound infrastructures, corrective measures and speed of action, combined with our employees’ expertise and professionalism are our driving forces. It is worth mentioning, that as we have reduced our weekdays working hours, and did not have any reduction in salaries.
Internally, we took on all sanitary precautions by:
Distributing face shields and masks to all employees across the Bank
Wearing a mandatory mask for all employees and customers
Provision of hydro-alcoholic gel for employees and customers
Screening body temperature for all employees and customers
Limiting the number of people in the elevator to a maximum of four
Avoiding handshaking
Decreasing in-person meeting, and encouraging virtual meetings
Regular cleaning of all spaces with disinfectant
In addition, an awareness campaign promoting social distancing was dispatched on TVs and through our social media platforms inciting people to be careful and adopt all necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. We have also published various information in our internal and external communications channels to keep our people, clients, and other stakeholders informed at all times.
