In 2020, we witnessed the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies, businesses, societies, individuals and families as infections stemming from the virus rocketed around the world. Notwithstanding wide-ranging measures taken by the authorities to mitigate the socio-economic crisis, markets in Mauritius, our foreign presence countries and the wider region have not been spared. In Mauritius, following the detection of the first positive cases, the authorities have imposed a lockdown, starting 20 March 2020. A strict curfew order was imposed as from 23 March to break the circuit of transmission of the virus and was ended on 30 May, after which socio-economic activities have gradually resumed across the country. Since 15 June, all business and activity lockdowns have been lifted, but, with the wearing of masks compulsory and our international borders remaining closed, certain sectors of the economy such as those linked to tourism are still operating at sub optimal level.

MCB Group responded to the changing operating landscape in a prompt and orderly manner. With the support of our employees, we took pragmatic steps to ensure continuity of service and have, since, reviewed business development priorities in terms of scope and magnitude to focus on the more immediate needs of our markets.

Guided by our set protocols and the dedication of both our Management teams and employees, business continuity was ensured as regard client transactions processing, while we notably attended to payment of salaries and social welfare allowances. Prior to the lockdown period in Mauritius, we had finalised our Pandemic Preparedness Plan for the organisation as a whole, after discussions with the authorities and aligning ourselves with advocated practices. We set up a Crisis Management Team (CMT) to provide direction and guidance to oversee an effective and coordinated management of action plans and initiatives aimed to cope with the pandemic and consistently ensure minimal service delivery across our Group entities and presence countries. The responsible members of each stream (Staff, Operations, Business, Communication, Risk, Liquidity/Funding, Regulatory, Retail, Overseas and Local Subsidiaries) within the CMT have worked towards ensuring the smooth running of their respective activities. The CMT met virtually on a daily basis to coordinate and manage the activities of the organisation, with regular updates from the Pandemic Operations Team, which was established to ensure a seamless coordination between different areas of the organisation during the lockdown period. Of note, in addition to being guided by business continuity measures, our foreign banking subsidiaries established their own Crisis Management Teams and Pandemic Response Plans to oversee their day-to-day operations, with mechanisms in place being adapted to local circumstances and inherent business realities.

Across Group entities, Work From Home (WFH) practices and split teams were, during lockdown periods, put into place to maintain continuity of business operations and delivery of customer service (albeit to minimal levels) as well as reduce risks of contamination and contagion. Our contingency plan contained well-established processes that facilitated the execution of WFH on a large scale, while maintaining to the minimum possible on-site employees during the peak of the pandemic. The modus operandi was put in place in a prompt manner and, despite the very short notice, most of our arrangements worked as planned. With the end of lockdown period, we resumed work on-site in a phased manner, in accordance with internal protocols, with WFH practices still being exercised to the extent feasible. As for our branches across our presence countries, they reviewed their functioning in the wake of the virus spread. In Mauritius, we planned, at the outset and after consultation with the Bank of Mauritius, to cater for customer needs through 14 strategically-positioned branches out of 40 branches and we reviewed their operating hours to help mitigate the virus spread. With the end of the lockdown, all our branches are open as per normal working hours, with robust sanitary measures in place.

The well-being of our stakeholders being a topmost priority, we implemented strict sanitary and hygiene protocols to uphold sound physical environments in our working premises. We put in place a controlled entry system and used calibrated non-contact thermometers for body temperature screenings for all visitors and employees admitted in our premises. We set up social distancing markings at entrances and service counters for better queue management and to mitigate contagion risks. We installed protective glass screens separating customers from tellers to ensure maximum protection. We ensure that staff members as well as customers wear masks. Hydro-alcoholic solutions are dispensed to customers upon entry in our premises. We conduct regular cleansing and disinfection of our premises and equipment, notably across frontline spaces and common areas. We adhere to best practice sanitary and health measures and protocols, with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and local authorities strictly followed, backed by necessary supportive mechanisms.

We are conscious that our valued clients have been facing extraordinary and uncertain times. Against this backdrop, the Group entities have deployed timely efforts and measures to stand by and accompany their individual and corporate customers, while offering appropriate work-around solutions for service delivery and attending to requests for dedicated facilities, notably with regard to servicing of debt obligations and provision of working capital facilities, loan restructuring and credit relief. We closely collaborated with the authorities in our presence countries to help in implementing a number of support measures, to assist all our customers and help them recover.

Bearing in mind the mode of transmission of the COVID-19 virus, we intensified communication and awareness campaigns on social media to encourage our customers and the general public to opt for digital and contactless channels, while sensitising them on phishing and scamming attempts. In Mauritius, our mobile banking platform ‘JuiceByMCB’ and Internet Banking solutions offer a secure and convenient round-the-clock alternative to our customers for their everyday banking needs from their home. To further promote its digital channels, the organisation deployed additional POS machines and increased its repertoire of ‘Juice’ merchants, alongside assisting stand-alone e-commerce merchants and online market place operators in their endeavours. We have also promoted the use of our recently-developed payment solution ‘Scan to pay’ (QR code), which is available on ‘JuiceByMCB’, to effect transactions. We have increased the limit for contactless payments from Rs 500 to Rs 2,500 since the beginning of the imposed lockdown period, with the number of related transactions more than doubling during the period spanning January to June 2020.

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Alongside supporting its stakeholders, the Group strengthened its risk management set-up to tackle and mitigate pressures exerted on business activities by the pandemic. It took prompt and proactive steps with the aim to preserve the stability and soundness of its exposures across market segments. In Mauritius, MCB Ltd set up a cross-functional and dedicated Portfolio Assessment Team aimed at evaluating the economic and financial situation of systemic client Groups and SMEs. This enabled the Bank to carry out a vulnerability assessment of its exposures across the most affected economic sectors, thus helping to (i) undertake an informed appraisal of credit needs for relevant remedial actions; and (ii) uphold a generally healthy market positioning across segments. Moreover, the Group implemented adapted measures to ensure an adequate liquidity position and preserve sufficient funding resources in local and foreign currencies.

In FY 2019/20, whereas our business activities and results have been impacted by the challenging circumstances engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Group upheld healthy financial indicators, thanks to its robust fundamentals and its ability to adapt to the constantly and rapidly changing operating landscape.

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