It was heartening see Vernon Hill in such good form on a zoom interview as this issue goes to production at the end of May.
Founder of Commerce Bank in the US and Metro Bank in the UK, Hill is now leading Republic Bank as it grows its footprint across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
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Despite all of the hurdles thrown up by Covid, Republic Bank reported assets up by 52% to $5.1bn and loans ahead by 51% to $2.6bn in the last fiscal. Meantime, deposits rose by 34% to $4.0bn. No surprise there-Hill was always in a league of his own when it came to growing deposits.
Republic’s new stores that have opened are growing deposits at an average rate of $38m per year, while the average deposit growth for all Republic stores in 2020 was $33m. There will be many a young retail banker at rival banks that could not even tell you what their average branch brings in in deposits.
Republic Bank scoops award for customer service
So it was a deserved award for Republic to be recognised as America’s #1 Bank for Service by Forbes after it released the results of its national consumer satisfaction survey. Some of the best business strategies are timeless, such as creating fans, not customers and delivering exceptional service across all delivery channels.
There are, on occasions, comments from young bankers and marketers today, tending to suggest that they think they have discovered a novel concept called customer experience.
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By GlobalDataIt’s not new and Hill sussed out how to offer a great customer experience when he opened his first Commerce store in 1973. Some of the comment in the UK consumer press about Metro Bank and its leadership, at the time of its regulatory issue, did the writers no credit. They were not, frankly, fit to lace Hill’s boots. I also recall private comments Hill disclosed to me about the likelihood of profitability of some of the new breed of digital challengers. Suffice to say they remain private-and looking back-he is to date spot on. The press continue to be kidded by some fantastical VC investor valuations of fintechs, allegedly disrupting the market. We have seen a number of challengers come and go in the UK market, losing a heap of cash in the process. A consolidation of the challengers is long overdue.
One suspects that Republic Bank in the US is built on stronger ground. It will be fun to observe its future progress.
Green bank products are sexy again but no novelty
On a similar theme, a friendly suggestion to some among the PR community relates to environmentally friendly or socially responsible bank products. Again, ESG is not some novel concept. Triodos Bank launched way back in 1980, as the first sustainably focused bank.
ING has been a member of the UN Environment Program Finance Initiative since 2007. It was the first major Dutch organisation to be 100% carbon-neutral and the first major international retail banking group.
And green mortgages, offering property loans with rates or discounts linked to energy efficiency benchmarks or adding in sustainable features, were around before the 2008 financial crisis. In the cards sector, charity-linked credit cards have been around for an age.
So yes, ESG strategies within the banking sector are growing in importance, but it would be a novelty if one could get through even one week, without a pitch from a PR firm suggesting that ESG is in some way a novel concept.
A large number of banks – examples such as DBS, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, RBC, BMO, Scotia, BNP and SocGen are top of mind here, with apologies to any other lenders I ought to highlight – have been demonstrating that ESG is a key priority wthin the boardroom and has been for many years.
Call for entries for the annual RBI Asia Trailblazer Awards
Entries are open for the 12th Annual Retail Banker International Asia Trailblazer Awards. The 2021 Awards will recognise the best-in-class retail banking institutions and individuals for their innovative service offering and commitment to customer excellence.
Last year, despite the challenge of being in the throes of a global health crisis, our awards programme received 300+ entries and recognised 17 unique banks as winners across multiple categories. The 2020 awards highlighted how retail banks that can drive a differentiated proposition, putting customer experience at the heart of everything they do and connecting it across the enterprise – have the potential to secure a significant competitive advantage.
Notable winners last year included Maybank, scooping a record nine awards, including the award for Asia Trailblazer of the year for institutions.
In addition, Maybank’s Head, Group Virtual Banking, Kalyani Nair collected the individual award for Asia Trailblazer of the year.
DBS collected seven awards ahead of UOB with six, Standard Chartered with five and Emirates NBD with three.
For the 2021 awards, we invite banks in the region to participate and share their growth and transformation stories. From applications of data analytics to CSR initiatives, loan offerings to loyalty programmes, social media campaigns to mobile wallet initiatives, customer centricity to employee engagement – participating banks can enter a wide range of categories to showcase their excellence in all aspects of the business.
2021 Awards: record number of early entries
Our awards programme is a great platform for retail banks to amplify their brand value and benchmark against peers as an agile, focussed organisation that prioritises customer satisfaction, innovation in product/service development and a connected digital ecosystem.
We’ve received a phenomenal response so far with nominations from some of the region’s most reputed banks and are certain this year’s programme will establish higher standards in retail banking, laying the foundation for future success.
For entries and registration, please contact tahne.alisaje@meed.com or visit https://www.rbiasiatrailblazer.verdict.co.uk/. Last date for submission is 2 July 2021.
