In the banking business, numbers always come first, last and foremost. All the more so when a state-owned bank is transferred to private hands and investors scrutinize the figures to see if they add up right. As it prepares for the privatization process mandated by its recent agreement with the IMF, the Angolan government is confident after nine years of building up the Banco de Comércio e Indústria the country’s baseline totals will indicate significant profit potential as a return on a relatively modest outlay.

Privatization will allow the bank to benefit from a higher level of efficiency

"If you look at the balance sheet, says BCI marketing vice president David Ricardo Jasse, "we are the biggest bank in the country, and we have established a brand name and reputation that are important assets for potential investors."
Privatization, Mr. Jasse confidently predicts, will allow the bank to benefit from a higher level of efficiency, increased capitalization and the flexibility needed to compete in an open market. It will also allow for a rationalization of personnel costs, the major downside factor arising from state management and control.
But what will not change is the portfolio of big name clients the bank has acquired like Texaco, Esso and Chevron and its strong presence in the emerging real estate sector, where it has been operating almost as a hybrid entity, financing, building and managing choice commercial and residential properties.

As Mr. Jasse explains it, as part of its public service remit, the bank was required to establish a presence in different areas of the country to reach the greatest number of potential customers. "That required building that often exceeded our own needs, so we have tried to capitalize on that extra space."
Accordingly, a new office tower in the center of Luanda destined to become the bank's corporate HQ and a major project just wrapped up in Cabinda will be placed under the management of a newly formed BCI subsidiary. The property factor enters into BCI's extensive dealings with the big foreign oil operators whom the bank helps in areas like payroll distribution.
BCI's retail arm is of lesser weight than its commercial banking activities, but as Mr. Jasse asserts, is ideally poised for further growth thanks to its two core assets: brand recognition factor and a network that has been fully IT-enabled with up-to-date Visa processing technology, SWIFT fund transfer facilities and a fluid working relationship with international players Citibank and HSBC among others.

BCI was Angola's online banking pioneer and plans to expand deeper into that area, says Mr. Jasse. "Our goal is to have a universal bank. One that will play a key role in developing the country and to that end, we welcome the help of strategic partners."