By: Grzegorz Morawski
CEOWORLD Magazine
The following Interview is brought to you by CEOWORLD Magazine.
Grzegorz Morawski- In 2008 HSBC Holdings plc for the first time took the lead as the biggest and most powerful public company in the world, accoding to Forbes Global 2000. How did you manage that feat, despite of the crisis?
Janusz Dedo: Situations such as the global economic slow down, are just a verification of how the biggest institutions function on the market. It is not a big deal to achieve a quick upswing in a favourable situation. Since the economy works in a certain cycle, sooner or later all the decisions made will be verified in some way.
We do not make short-term decisions, we look at business from the perspective of time. We have been building our market postion for over 100 years all over the world, using the long-term strategy of development. It is not such an agressive strategy as the one taken by other banks, however it distinguishes by a considerable stability and guarantees a steady development. Nowadays, when the markets behave unpredictably, it turns out that such stable institutions, which are good at risk management and which diversify their activity, still achieve good results.
Grzegorz Morawski- Could you descrobe the profile and the main services of the HSBC bank?
Janusz Dedo: First of all, I would like to stress, that even though we are a part of the HSBC group, we still are a Polish bank, and we are subject to the Polish law. Our brand is present on every promising market, it develops everywhere, where it is possible to run business in an efficient and safe manner. In Poland we arrived a little later than some other banks, because of several reasons.
The HSBC perceives business globally and previously it was investing in other regions than Central-Estern Europe. Now, the time has come for Poland. HSBC does not want to be another bank, which would duplicate offers already available on the market. We want to distinguish by making the client feel, that the offer was taylor-made especially for him. Our natural advantage is that we function globally. We are present in 86 countries and territories all over the world. And we want to make use of this advantage also for the beneft of our Polish clients.
To better illustrate, let me give you a couple of examples. Let’s imagine a Polish entrepreneur, who, forced by the crisis, moves a part of his production to China, where the labour force is cheaper. We are a natural partner for such a client, being available both in Poland and in China. If somebody goes to China without the necessary contacts, his possibilities will be very limited. We can offer full tutelage to such a person, literally guide him by the hand and point out the available possibilties, and next handle his finances. If such a client wanted to transfer money from China to Poland or the other way round through local banks, he would have to bear additional costs. In our bank it is just an opperation on an office-to-office level.
Another example. Let’s take a man who is a true “citizen of the world”. As an individual cliend, who travels a lot, he is in constant movement. He would also like to manage his money globally, or at least make sure that if he wants to pay with his card, nobody will ask about his credibility or where he is from. I travel around the world a lot, so I am fully aware of the discomfort, when I do not really know what kind of treatment I am going to meet in a new country. Our clients can count on HSBC’s care, they can enter the first HSBC Premier office and be sure, that they will be recognised and given all help they need.
Grzegorz Morawski- So it is very comfortable to make busines on a global scale, right?
Janusz Dedo: When an entrepreneur makes business in two countries, he does not want to have two banks, but only one, where he could manage his capital. We are a bank which makes this possible. To sum up the characteristics of our profile, you could say that we meet the corporate clients needs, we have an offer for individual clients and we offer tax handling services. I have to stress one more time, that it is our global presence that is our trademark, and it is for the clients operating worldwide that we are of biggest value. In these terms, it is hard to compete with us, because of the global scope of our operations.
We strive to work close with our clients, understand their business and be their partner, not just lend money. When making a credit decision, we ponder, together with the client, over the chances of the enterprise’s success and we make the decision together. This works in such a way: if I lend you a dollar, it is your problem to remember and give it back. However, if I lend you a million, this becomes my problem. To avoid such trouble, we work together with the client, to make the decision optimal for both sides. This is only possible due to our years of experience and precise methods of credit risk assessment, as well as to our approach to the client.
Grzegorz Morawski- HSBC specialises in “BRIC” funds. Could you tell the readers about this financial concept?
Janusz Dedo: Funds of this type invest on the markets of Brasil, Russia, India and China, hence the abbreviation “BRIC”. They are one of many investment strategies developed by HSBC in managing assets on emerging markets. Our advantage on such markets is that we are close to them, being active there through investment centres all over the world.
We have a much bigger awareness in managing foreign funds, because our experts observe the situation on foreign markets closely and directly. In our logo, there are the words: “the World’s Local Bank”. As I have already mentioned, we are a global bank, but precise, local expertise and knowledge are extremely important. We use local experience to create global knowledge. For instance, we actually lack any competition when it comes to surveying Chinese market. HSBC is active, for obvious reasons, on the Chinese market for over 140 years. This gives us the comfort of knowing the market. We do not offer investments in that region because Far Eastern markets are in vogue all over the world, but because of our great experience connected with them.
Grzegorz Morawski- Despite the great financial results of the HSBC group, in Poland the awareness of HSBC brand’s existence among individual clients is relatively low. Is it an effect of the bank’s profile and targeting, or are suitable marketing operations only being implemented?
Janusz Dedo: This awareness among clients is actually rising really quickly, if only because of Poles travelling more and more. We do not want to build this recognition rapidly, because, in my opinion, it is a strategy of “empty brand building”. We do not spend hundreds of milions on marketing, but we steadily create our image in Poland and all over the world. HSBC does not want to be associated with the TV, colourful advertisements or a city glued down with billboards, but with certain values which we believe in. We strive to look like a bank which has the knowledge and the means. Our ways of promoting are, for example, numerous seminars for businessmen.
A year ago, we organised such a project, where HSBC’s corporate banking executives arrived from almost every corner of the world. Each one of them presented their market. Next, the clients could individually talk about problems of their interest, concerning the ways of making business in the given countries. We want to reach the clients not through agressive marketing, but through selling knowledge and means – using meetings and seminars. We build the awareness in precise segments, which we take interest in. HSBC is not a bank for the average Joe. We do not compete with such banks as PKO BP or Pekao SA. That is why traditional marketing tricks do not interest us. Last year we introduced a new business line, HSBC Premier, for people operating globally. These are hard times, so we try to organise information seminars, for our clients to be aware of the market situations and to have access to reliable information. This is also an element of building a brand. There is no better form of advertisement than a satisfied client. We could spend milions on billboards all around the city, but nothing works as well, as a client who will praise our brand when meeting with colleagues. And if we ask the businessmen involved in world business, brand awareness is incomparatively higher. The latest data shows, that in the MSP group, we are at 45 % brand recognition.
Grzegorz Morawski- So, is it possible to risk a statement that HSBC is a snobistic bank, although not in the terms of the private banking sector?
Janusz Dedo: We are often confused with the private banking sector, with which we do not have much in common. Our strategy is to make sure, that our clients are attended by individual consultants, through the Internet or the call centre, both for the MSP sector and the individual clients. This is not an offer for elderly people, who are distrustful towards our technologies and want to be attended by a cashier sitting behind a desk.
We are talking about people, who make business all over the world, and they do not have enough time to stand in a queue in a bank. For them, branch offices are inessential. That is why we will not be building hundreds of them, only a few, placed in strategic points, such as the market places in Wroclaw and Cracow, or the one in the near of Old Town in Gdansk, or the most important points of Warsaw. This is a deliberate marketing strategy – few, but visible offices.
Obviously, the branch offices are the key method of contacting us, when the client is abroad. Let me quote a true story: a young woman was robbed of her money and documents during her stay in India. In Poland we are in real trouble we are victim to robbery, but abroad it is even worse! The life journey, oriental cuisine, a huge country, two weeks for sight-seeing – and the loss of all documents, money, personal items… If you are a client of HSBC Premier, you only need to head to the nearest office, where you will be recognized, and given help. Such a client will immediately get money, help with booking a plane or a hotel, the next day you will get a card enabling you to use your account. Of course, you can also use the telephone and the Internet.
This is not private banking, it is personal banking. We give the client the certainty, that all over the world he will feel like at home. This is possible also thanks to the HSBC Premier card, which assures that you will have acces to your money, no matter what country you are in. This is another factor, which stresses that we are a global bank.
Thank you very much for the interview.
