BBK, Bahrain’s pioneer in Retail and Commercial Banking, recently conducted a series of simulation exercises as part of its bank-wide Business Continuity Plan(BCP). The exercises were conducted during November and were managed and coordinated by the Bank’s dedicated Business Continuity Department. They included three real life crisis event scenarios that are designed to test the capabilities of the bank-wide Business Continuity Plans (BCP) and ensure that critical banking services are not disrupted during crisis situations.
 
Chief Executive of BBK, Mr. Reyadh Sater said: “The customer remains at the center of our business and as such BBK’s continues to be proactive in securing their assets and strengthening the Bank’s capabilities to ensure business continues in any crises scenario.” He continued: “These simulations test the Bank’s contingency plans using real-life scenarios that guarantee we can maintain the high level of customer service our customers have come to expect regardless of the situation.”
The Business Continuity Department conducted three simulation exercises for the Crisis Management Team, the Head Office Recovery Team and the Branch Recovery Team with all critical components of the BCP tested successfully, with seamless execution of the BCP completed in the target time frame.
The Head Office Recovery Team carried out first a simulation exercise in the Riffa Continuity Center, the Bank’s dedicated, fully equipped and functional Business Continuity Center (BCC). During the exercise, which saw 100 employees participate, the Business Continuity Teams of Business and Support units managed the crisis at operational level by exercising their respective units Business Continuity Plans.
The second simulation constituted of a media simulation and training exercise, specifically designed for the Bank’s Executive Management team and included the CE, Chief Executive Deputies, all GMs and AGM’s. During this exercise the Executive Management were given multiple strategic challenges, including Cyber-attacks, and were successful in implementing recovery plans to protect BBK’s assets and brand reputation.
The final exercise was carried out in the Riffa FM Branch, where the Branch Recovery Team tested the Recovery Strategy to ensure the branch was able to provide essential Retail services in a crisis. All tellers, Customers services and Delivery Channels (ATM and CDM) functions were tested successfully. 
“The success of the latest series of BCP testing underscores BBK’s preparedness in the event of unforeseen circumstances and our commitment to our customers and regulatory compliance,” Mr. Sater concluded.