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Helping Customers and our Community through the ongoing crisis and armed conflict
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing political crisis in Myanmar, the banking industry has faced unprecedented challenges. Compounding these difficulties, natural disasters such as Typhoon Yugi have severely impacted communities. Despite these obstacles, uab bank remains committed to its mission of financial stability, community support, and long-term sustainability. Below are updates on the actions we’ve taken to navigate the challenges and ensure continued service delivery.
Specific Challenges and Mitigation Strategies
Our Board and Management have implemented careful strategies to mitigate risks and ensure that essential financial services remain uninterrupted for the communities we serve. Below are some of the key challenges we faced and the actions taken to address them:
  1. Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Actions
    • Challenges: Imposed sanctions on various entities and Myanmar's adverse classification by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) demanded stricter scrutiny in money transfers, trade services, lending activity, and account operations.
    • Mitigation:
      • Enhanced procedural controls across money transfers, trade, and account operations.
      • Strengthened the 3-line defence model (management, risk & compliance, internal audit) for improved surveillance and management.
      • Conducted training programs to ensure staff were well-equipped to handle increased compliance workloads while maintaining quality in procedures.
      • Boosted collaboration with Correspondent Banks and international partners by implementing more robust trade surveillance mechanisms.
  2. Outbreak of Armed Conflict in Myanmar
    • Challenges: Escalating violence in certain regions around Myanmar posed risks to the safety of employees and customers, as well as operational disruptions.
    • Mitigation:
      • Enhanced Business Continuity Plans (BCP) to safeguard employees and protect assets.
      • Identified alternative service points to ensure uninterrupted banking services in conflict zones.
      • Established safety protocols and readiness plans to maintain operational resilience in the event of escalated violence.
  3. Liquidity Management During Crisis
    • Challenges:Maintaining liquidity amidst uncertain economic and political environments required heightened oversight to prevent shortfalls.
    • Mitigation:
      • Formed a Crisis Management Team (CMT) to continuously monitor liquidity risks.
      • Developed and implemented contingency liquidity measures to ensure fallback options during periods of severe liquidity challenges.
      • Conducted daily monitoring through the CMT, ensuring the Bank maintained prudent liquidity levels.
  4. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Concerns
    • Challenges: Ensuring that the Bank's financing activities did not contribute to environmentally harmful or socially unethical practices became a critical concern, especially given international scrutiny.
    • Mitigation:
      • Applied strict ESG criteria to the lending portfolio, ensuring that financing was not extended to sectors or activities harmful to the environment or in violation of human rights.
      • Strengthened the 3-line defence model (management, risk & compliance, internal audit) for improved surveillance and management.
      • Explicitly excluded financing for activities like the production and trade of weapons, child labour exploitation, wildlife trafficking, and illegal trade.
      • Conducted regular monitoring and audits to ensure compliance with both national and international laws, particularly those related to banned substances, wildlife preservation, and ethical business practices.
These mitigation strategies have helped the Bank navigate these challenges, ensuring resilience in operations and compliance with domestic and international standards.
Branch Operations Update
The Bank’s Board of Directors and its various committees meet regularly to actively assess the situation in conflict-affected areas, conducting thorough evaluations to ensure that informed, timely decisions are made. Our goal is to provide continued service while prioritising the well-being of our staff and customers during this period.
Most of our branches remain operational, except for the following branches in conflict-affected areas:
  • Lashio
  • Mogok
Despite these closures, customers can still access their accounts via the uabpay app, ATMs, and other digital banking services. Our Centralised Core Banking System also allows customers to visit any other uab bank branch to access their banking services.
We remain steadfast in delivering essential financial services to communities while prioritising the safety of our employees and customers. The Board and its committees meet regularly to assess the situation in conflict-affected areas and ensure timely, informed decision-making.
24/7 Digital Services
Our mobile banking, internet banking, and uabpay digital wallet are available 24/7. Additionally, uabpay+ agents across the country provide convenient access to services.
ATM Services
With the exception of branches in conflict zones, our ATMs remain fully operational for the convenience of our customers.
Contact Center

Our Contact Center is available daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for any inquiries or assistance. Customers can reach us via phone at 09 9 40005000, Facebook Messenger, or Viber.

Communications
We actively communicate updates through our social media platforms—Facebook, LinkedIn, Viber, and Telegram—as well as through our website.
Supporting Our Customers and Community

We recognise that some businesses are facing significant hardships, particularly with cash flow issues. In response, uab bank has introduced a relief package for customers with loan facilities. Our dedicated Relationship Managers are actively reaching out to affected customers to offer tailored solutions that address their financial needs during this challenging time.

Our commitment to community support remains strong. We continue to provide food donations and infrastructure support to areas in need. Following the recent damage caused by Typhoon Yugi, additional support efforts have been deployed, and updates on our community initiatives are being regularly posted on social media to keep the public informed of our latest activities.

In addition to community support, the Bank remains committed to employment support. We are actively recruiting new employees for our upcoming branches and have continued to expand our internship program for young graduates and university students, providing them with valuable opportunities for career development.