The time has come to publicize and popularize the newRF banking
brand as a complementary community banking and financing service, to al-
low the community to make a choice. The free market system will be the
judge of the real value of this RF finance and banking system to the average
consumer in the United States.
Our Strategic Approach to Restructure
theBankofWhittier
On July 10, 2003, our team of three associates arrived at the Bank of
Whittier to take over the management of the bank. We found that the bank
was in a very sorry state of affairs. In addition, the OCC requested that we
submit to them within a few weeks a detailed plan that documented how
the new team would change the fortunes of the bank.
The Bank Restructuring and Workout Plan:
Turning the Bank Around
To begin, the management team developed a number of goals that had to be
achieved in order to turn the bank around and start operating it as an RF
bank. The following is a list of these goals:
1.Rectify any regulatory concerns as soon as possible.
2.Increase the bank’s capital.
3.Stress quality in services, and use a new slogan that identified our char-
acterasanRFbank:We Do Not Rent Money—We Invest in Our
Customers.
4.Control bank expenses in a tight, micro, detailed way. For example, we
used both sides of the copier paper and recycled paper in the copying
machine to save on paper.
5.Hire highly educated and qualified staff.
6.Use the best banking and service technologies available.
7.Improve bank facilities to give a feel of a private bank and a living room
ambience in order to attract new clients who would feel like members
of our new and expanding bank family.
8.Achieve reasonable and competitive profitability, compared to bank
peer group.
9.Increase loan (credit) portfolio to 70–75 percent of total deposits, and
then increase deposits and loans in a parallel mode.
10.Improve quality of and expand the bank’s loan portfolio using RF
financing values and discipline.
296 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE