For Lebanese banker Marwan Kheireddine, investing in the people of Lebanon is a family tradition. Marwan Kheireddine’s father, Salim Kheireddine, co-founded AM Bank in 1980. The flourishing bank has since expanded to 19 branches. Driven by a mission to put customers first, Marwan Kheireddine is now chairman of the board and CEO of AM Bank.
Much like Marwan Kheireddine himself, AM Bank has always proudly pioneered new endeavors. While Marwan Kheireddine introduced credit cards to Lebanon in 1995, AM Bank continues to be at the forefront of financial trends.
AM Bank set an entirely new precedent for customers by providing extended banking hours. Marwan Kheireddine says most banks in Lebanon were only open about four hours a day. AM Bank was the first in the region to be open until 5 p.m. It was a convenience that instantly enticed customers. Other banks in the area soon followed suit. AM Bank was also the first to debut mobile banking in the Lebanese market in 2011.
Marwan Kheireddine Answers the Call to Bring Phone Banking to Lebanon
“We were the first bank in Lebanon to launch a phone banking app,” Marwan Kheireddine says.
AM Bank also offers My Choice prepaid gift cards. The cards instantly provide a cash alternative. For a small fee, My Choice users get a bevy of benefits. They can make secure online purchases, receive text messages when a transaction is made, add protection to the card with a chip and a PIN, and have online and mobile banking access.
In 2018, AM Bank received an award from Mastercard. Due to its ongoing mission to improve credit card services and growth throughout Lebanon, Mastercard named the bank the Best Agile Bank in the Levant.
Former Levant Cluster Mastercard General Manager Somu Roy praised AM Bank in a press release. In it, he congratulated the bank for its technological strides in Lebanon and celebrated the bank’s constant efforts to deliver innovative services and products to clients.
In addition to Mastercard, AM Bank also offers the invitation-only AM Bank Visa Black. The exclusive card features lower interest rates, concierge service, and travel perks. In addition, AM Bank has spearheaded efforts to aid young, ambitious entrepreneurs in financing their businesses through YOUTHinc.
Although Lebanon currently faces economic challenges, Marwan Kheireddine is confident his homeland can weather the storm.
“I believe in the future of my country,” Marwan Kheireddine told Al-Hadath interactive news channel.
“And I believe that Lebanon is transforming to a strong Lebanon. ??I expect that we will encounter obstacles along the way, but hope is not lost. Our country has what it takes to strive again.”
At AM Bank, Marwan Kheireddine says he has assembled a dream team of financial geniuses. One of his top go-to executives is COO and AM Bank General Manager, Dr. Nahla Bou-Diab. In addition to being the head of women empowerment for the World Union of Arab Bankers (WUAB), Dr. Bou-Diab excels at driving new strategies and talent acquisition and retention at AM Bank.
AM Bank Is Working To Meet or Exceed Global Compliance Standards
“There are four things that are very important to us,” Bou-Diab said in an AM Bank YouTube interview. “We take compliance very seriously and this is a tone that’s set from the top. So it starts with the chairman, drills down to the board of directors, and then to the rest of the organization. We acquired the service of international compliance experts to help us learn how to implement the structure and how to divide the policies and processes of compliance.”
AM Bank is also adamant about maintaining awareness and communication with clients, according to Bou-Diab. Clients become at risk when they don’t understand compliance. “We made transparency the key foundation of our compliance structure,” Bou-Diab said.
Marwan Kheireddine Strives To Keep AM Bank Thriving
Much like Marwan Kheireddine himself, AM Bank continues to lead with excellence and resiliency. In 2019, AM Bank received the Excellence in Strength, Operations, and Resilience Award by WUAB.
“The resilience award [given] to AM Bank is another award to an institution that touches its people’s hearts,” Bou-Diab wrote on LinkedIn. “Resilience can only be achieved by igniting people, passion, and [a] sense of belonging.”
In 2019, AM Bank was also the recipient of the Best Innovation in Retail Banking Award by International Banker. Bou-Diab was again proud of AM Bank’s achievements and dedicated the award to the bank’s hardworking staff and loyal clientele.
“This is for every employee at the bank, our management team, and this is for our customers. This is for the whole industry and the Central Bank that has kept us healthy and safe,” Bou-Diab shared on an International Banker video interview on LinkedIn.
In 2021, the International Union of Arab Bankers selected AM Bank as the strongest bank in overcoming crises. It was an honor Marwan Kheireddine says he and the staff at AM Bank were especially proud to receive.
He also credits AM Bank’s culture for its enduring success. “Performance is what matters and productivity is what matters as opposed to company politics,” he says. “I am most likely, I’m definitely the only bank in Lebanon and most probably the only bank in the Middle East, where we have a flat organization structure. So today, any client that has any issue with the bank, be it a positive issue or a negative issue can get to the senior management, literally by talking to any employee in the branch. It’s just one layer. And that has allowed me as a bank to be extremely flexible, extremely able to adapt to new products, create new products, launch new products. So, in my opinion, a company is as successful as it’s culture. And we have created a culture at the bank where we are all positive thinking, where we are all geared towards servicing our client in the best and the most efficient way.”
