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INTERVIEW

StanChart on growth path

Bank's top official shares plans with The Daily Star

Sajjadur Rahman
Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh plans to recruit up to 400 employees over the next six months, as part of its plan to double business in three years, said a top official.
“As part of our new strategy, we've decided to operate in Bangladesh as a universal market. Here, we want to grow a lot faster,’’ says Steve Bartamini, group executive director and chief executive officer of consumer banking of Standard Chartered Bank.
The bank will invest a big sum of money this year to support this planned business growth in the country.
Bartamini spoke to The Daily Star when he visited Bangladesh last month. Sandeep Bose, head of consumer banking of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh, was also present.
The German-born banker, who was brought up in Europe and studied in the US, said Standard Chartered Bank is shifting its focus to customers from products. In other words, it is going to value the needs of the clients.
Although the bank as a whole is expanding globally, it believes it has a big opportunity in consumer banking in Bangladesh. He said Standard Chartered values Bangladesh as equal to Hong Kong and Singapore.
The bank started setting up financial kiosks at different key points to provide cost effective services to clients. At least 30 kiosks will be installed by year-end.
A financial kiosk has some advanced functions than an ATM. It provides the services of ATMs, bill payment, internet and phone banking, while service staffers are there to support customer queries and requests.
The bank will also boost consumer banking areas such as the personal loan segment,
credit cards and savings accounts. A dedicated training academy will also be set up soon.
About six months ago, the bank decided to expand its presence in Bangladesh. The bank wants to make Bangladesh its universal market. It plans to double its business in Bangladesh in just three years.
“We'll hire more people — some 30 to 40 percent or 300 to 400 staffs — by this year to help the bank grow its business," said Bartamini. He has been leading the bank's consumer banking division since joining in
May 2008.
“The bank is Bangladesh was under-invested for the past fewyears. Now we want to catch up very quickly and invest three to four times higher this year than last year."
Standard Chartered Bank is the largest foreign bank in Bangladesh in terms of consumer banking. It has nearly four lakh credit cards, which is by far, larger than any other bank in the market. The bank's overall business has been growing by 17 to 18 percent.
Bartamini said the bank is shifting to customer-focused from product-based
businesses, to value the needs of the customers.
“This is a big shift — we want to value what the customers want."
But the banker said it does not mean that the bank is focusing less on wholesale banking.
"Wholesale banking continues to do well. It has even performed well during the financial crisis,” he said. “Wholesale banking depends on the relationship with the customer.”
On the bank's loan-deposit ratio, he said: “We're very conservative when it comes the issue of lending out. We have a conservative AD (advance-deposit) ratio."
Bartamini also said the bank is facing growing competition from the local, private banks. But he said they are not worried as the bank's customer retention rate is high.
On charging higher rates for services, Bartamini said people have a choice and if a bank charges higher rates than the market, it will lose market share.
The bank will set up a dedicated in-house training academy within the bank to train its employees. A branch will be set up to help trainees know the banking services practically, said the chief executive officer of consumer banking of Standard Chartered Bank
Standard Chartered Bank is one of the few financial institutions that sustained growth even during the financial crisis. It is too early to comment on recovery from the crisis, he said.
“The western market is still volatile. They (west) have to de-leverage debt more.”
The banker also said the positive country rating would benefit Bangladesh.
sajjad@thedailystar.net