The BCC first Annual Management conference held in Geneva in 1982 will stand out for future generations as a watershed in the development of BCC. It was hoped that every member of the BCC family would enjoy the opportunity to give, both materially and of themselves, to those in need.
1981 saw a remarkable marketing success for the BCC Group.
BCC's worldwide position was strengthened by the efforts of all members of the BCCI family. By then BCC well enough established to the broader questions of purpose and ultimate objective.
One of the great paradoxes of this world has been the constant misconception in the minds of the majority towards acts of generosity, humility and love. In our world, which has created its own deep-rooted cynicism, acts of generosity have been misconstrued, and yet without acts of inherent goodness, society itself would fall apart.
The act of giving generates further acts of generosity which spread out like ripples in a pool once the first action has been taken. In deciding to incorporate the act of giving into the BCC corporate philosophy, BCC believed that BCC was perpetuating a basic truth, while submitting to the will of God.
Geneva Conference Report
Submission to God, Service to Humanity, Giving and Success

When members of the BCC family come together, it is always an enjoyable and memorable occasion. When we meet in large numbers to discuss our aspirations for the future, the event takes on an historical significance.
We have always been keen to probe and define our corporate identity. We do this because we understand that action is based on knowledge. Since there are no doubts about who we are or what we are doing, there are no barriers in our hearts and minds to impede the flow of our creativity and energy. Our performance as bankers is dynamic, successful and energetic because the foundations of our corporate identity are secure.
Evolution
Yet we are in the throes of evolution. Last year saw a remarkable marketing success. Our worldwide position was strengthened by the efforts of all members of our family. We set ourselves a very high target for the year and achieved it with ease. Eight years after our incorporation, '81' was the year when we began to achieve, in purely banking terms, the goals we had set ourselves in 1972. We will persevere in this direction with all the energy and creativity that we can muster. Success breeds success and, within the next few years, we are destined to be one of the largest and most successful financial institutions in the world. That direction is set. The machinery is established and we are on our way. This global project will absorb our time, energy, intelligence, and dedication for many years to come. But it is by now well enough established to allow us to lift our heads from our daily tasks and address ourselves to the broader questions of purpose and ultimate objective. This is nothing new. Our corporate identity has always rested on a very broad understanding of the needs of the contemporary world. We have always stated that we want to do what we can to alleviate suffering. Now, building on the success of '81', we can bring our aspirations in this area into sharper focus. We vigorously promote investment, trade, and industry in the Third World. There is a massive transfer of funds and technology underway in many countries of the Third World which is bringing in its wake an improvement in material conditions, and BCC has a part to play in this.






Quality of life
An improvement in material conditions for much of the Third World is the first step in a campaign to see the overall quality of life improved. Whatever momentum this movement has gained, whatever benefits it is bringing to the less fortunate members of mankind, there remains an unacceptable level of suffering on earth. It is said that mankind is the crown of creation and embodies its highest values. It is sad to consider the state in which so many of our fellow men live, especially when most of the world's suffering could be banished if some fairly simple measures were taken. If clean water, a nutritional diet, elementary medical care and some degree of education were universally available, the quality of life on earth would be enormously enhanced. The potential of lite is infinite, but nowhere does life on earth reflect the full glory of that potential. At a corporate level, it is our joy and our mission to help realise that potential.
The BCC management conference is an occasion at which the hearts and minds of the 250 delegates flow together to form an ocean of human energy. The presence and reality of this energy is felt by all from the very start. It is made up of the vision, courage, ambition, psychic span, and above all, the faith of those present. It is enhanced by the backing and blessings of all 6,500 members of our family. What happens during the two-day conference gives that ocean of energy a direction in which to flow. The direction that emerges holds fast to the values of that inf mite ocean from which it springs. It is a direction which expresses itself in three ways:
- SUBMISSION TO GOD,
- SERVICE TO HUMANITY
- GIVING.
Alliance
This direction complements the achievements of '81 '. What '81' did in commercial terms, and in highlighting the importance of humanity, '82' seeks to do in moral terms. When they are allowed to live side by side, each enriching the other, a strength and a wholeness of life emerges. We are allowing this natural alliance to re-emerge. Faith does not evaporate when a man leaves his temple, mosque or church. Faith is the most powerful force in existence. It reconciles the two sides of life - individual and universal. The individual is an expression of the universal. All individual qualities and virtues are a reflection of universal qualities and virtues. At BCC we have for a long time discussed the power of the intangible behind the tangible. We have been probing the unseen heart of things. One reason for doing this was to find the corporate structure that most accurately reflects the relationship of the whole and the part. Let us now apply this understanding to all members of our family.


Guiding light
Submission to God is submission to the universal values of life. There is nothing more noble than submission to God. A merging with the will of God begins when the boundaries of ego start to dissolve. This process is already part of the BCC management philosophy. It is seen in the joint personality that is the guiding light of our organisation and is becoming a deeply personal experience. On a commercial level it has brought increasing prosperity. We will see what success it brings when applied on a personal level. The individual is small, hemmed in by boundaries of time and space, pestered by the needs of the ego. The greatest pleasure of life is the merging of individual awareness into the universal. As a p1ant turns to light, so the individual naturally turns to the universal. This process takes place at a sublime level. The intellect has a role to play in understanding the experience, but the experience of the heart must come first. The heart rejoices in losing its boundaries.
Unbounded
The experience is warm and tender. Boundaries imposed by the ego lose their significance as the silent ocean of Being rises in waves of bliss. God is totality, everything created and uncreated, pure energy, pure intelligence. There is no joy greater than this. Once you have tasted it, you will not forget it. All that is individual is left far behind, and this is the full meaning of humility: it is the spontaneous reduction of boundaries in the awareness and growth of the unbounded. The bound ego has no place in the unbounded. The mechanics that guide the individual into the universal are simple. Love is the guiding force. Like an iron filing drawn to a magnet, the closer one gets the greater is the attraction. In this kingdom all opposites are reconciled: the known and the unknown, the seen and the unseen, the tangible and the intangible. It is the source and goal of all creation, an infinite treasury whose key lies in everyone's heart.
Keynotes
BCC is a commercial organisation. Over the last nine years we have built up a hugely successful multi-national banking operation. We have a great responsibility to our customers and there is no question of abandoning our commercial activities. The keynotes in everything we do are caution, prudence and stability. We regard the strength and security of our organisation as sacrosanct. We will be the best bankers and the strongest bank in the world. We are now using what we have achieved as a springboard to a very much greater operation. We will be what we want to be. Just this faith, this feel, this instinct will give an idea of where we are headed. Life is generous to us. How can we hold ourselves back from repaying some of this generosity? The moral objectives for the BCC group that emerged from the recent management conferences are an ex¬pression of our gratitude. The need in the world is so great and we have now the means to help in some small way. But morality is an individual question. It cannot be imposed from without. We view our corporate objectives as a unity of moral and material objectives. The delegates at the Geneva and London conferences felt a need to incorporate these objectives into their personal lives and to act accordingly. All members of the BCC family have been given an amount equal to 2½ percent of their income to give to a cause they consider worthwhile. This was just a small gesture by the bank to bring out the desire of giving which may have become dormant.
We can only benefit from our giving. In physics, every action has an equal reaction. The alliance of material and moral objectives makes our organisation unique. Our destiny is opening up before us. It is a destiny of global fulfilment for BCC and complete self-fulfilment for all family members.

The Prophet's Story: Khalil Gibran, the poet, philosopher and artist (1883-1931)
"The flame of his feelings and the power of his expression would surely illuminate your own inherent desire to give." Mr Agha Hasan Abedi, BCC President.
GIVING: Mr Agha Hasan Abedi, BCC President's letter to all employees, the BCC family members
Acknowledgement:
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