[BCM] [BML] [E3] [BCS] [T2] [CBF] [1] Recovery Strategies

CBF-1 Retail & Corporate Banking Services

Retail and Corporate Banking Services form the backbone of Bank of Maldives’ role as the national bank, supporting individuals, businesses, and government-linked entities across the country’s geographically dispersed islands. Disruption to these services could have immediate economic, social, and reputational impacts.

This chapter defines the recovery strategies for each Sub-Critical Business Function (Sub-CBF) under CBF-1 Retail & Corporate Banking Services, ensuring that essential banking services can be restored within acceptable timeframes following a disruption.

The strategies consider technology resilience, alternate delivery channels, manual workarounds, third-party dependencies, and recovery locations, aligned with industry best practices and BCM standards.

Table S2: Recovery Strategies for CBF-1

Sub-CBF Code	Sub-CBF	RTO	Recovery Strategy	Recovery Location	Details of Recovery Strategy	Justification for Selected Recovery Strategy
1.1	Customer Onboarding & Account Opening	24 hours	Manual workaround with system prioritisation	Alternate branch / Head Office / DR site	Temporarily suspend non-essential onboarding, enable manual KYC verification, and prioritise critical customer segments (e.g. salary accounts, corporate payroll). Core systems restored via DR environment.	Onboarding is important but not immediately life-critical; controlled delay reduces operational risk while ensuring regulatory compliance.
1.2	Deposit & Withdrawal Services	4 hours	System failover with branch-level manual processing	DR site / Selected critical branches	Activate core banking DR, enable cash transactions at priority branches using predefined limits and offline vouchers if required.	Cash access is essential for public confidence and economic continuity, especially across remote islands.
1.3	Payment Processing & Fund Transfers	4 hours	Active-passive system recovery with transaction queuing	DR site / Payment switch provider	Restore payment platforms via DR, queue non-urgent transactions, and process high-value or time-critical payments first.	Payment disruptions have immediate ripple effects on commerce and settlements; prioritised recovery minimises systemic risk.
1.4	Lending & Credit Management	48 hours	Deferred processing with controlled resumption	Head Office / DR site	Suspend new credit approvals, continue critical disbursements manually where required, and restore loan management systems in phases.	Lending activities tolerate longer downtime compared to transactional services; risk exposure is manageable through controlled suspension.
1.5	Card Services & Merchant Solutions	4 hours	Third-party provider failover	Card processor DR site	Switch card transaction processing to alternate processing paths provided by card networks; implement transaction limits if required.	Card services are customer-facing and time-critical; reliance on external processors necessitates tested failover arrangements.
1.6	Digital & Online Banking	2 hours	Hot-site recovery with customer communication	Cloud / DR data centre	Redirect traffic to DR or cloud-based infrastructure, disable non-essential features, and issue customer advisories via SMS and website.	Digital banking is a primary service channel; rapid recovery reduces branch congestion and customer dissatisfaction.
1.7	Trade & Corporate Financial Solutions	24 hours	Alternate processing team and manual documentation	Head Office / Designated trade operations site	Prioritise critical trade instruments, use manual documentation and approval workflows until systems are restored.	Trade finance impacts corporate liquidity but allows short-term manual intervention without a severe systemic impact.
1.8	Account Maintenance & Reporting	72 hours	Deferred batch processing	DR site	Resume batch jobs and reporting after stabilisation of core services; provide interim statements if required.	Reporting functions are important but can be deferred without immediate customer or financial system impact.

The recovery strategies defined for CBF-1 Retail & Corporate Banking Services reflect the Bank of Maldives’ responsibility as a systemically important financial institution serving a geographically dispersed population.

By aligning Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) with service criticality, customer impact, and regulatory expectations, BML ensures that essential banking services remain available even during major disruptions.

These strategies emphasise a layered recovery approach, combining technology resilience, alternate locations, manual workarounds, and third-party arrangements.

Regular testing, staff training, and continuous improvement of these recovery strategies will be essential to maintaining operational resilience and public trust, reinforcing the Bank of Maldives’ commitment to stability, reliability, and national financial continuity.

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CBF-1 Retail & Corporate Banking Services

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