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ANZ CEO names people as bank’s biggest asset
One of the key missions of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in Vietnam is to identify and develop the bank’s future leaders, according to CEO Dam Bich Thuy.
Recruiting talent for the banking industry in Vietnam is not easy. How did you deal with this issue and what is your human resources strategy?
Like other service sectors, human resources is the key to the success of the banking industry. This suggests that we need to focus on recruitment, training and development, talent management and staff retention.
It also means that the culture of the organization must be progressive and strong. At ANZ, with more than 550 employees, our bank is not just a workplace but also a second home.
Our managers are skilled at coaching to ensure that our people continue to refine their skills and develop appropriate behaviors consistent with ANZ values through various overseas, in-country and on-the-job training programs.
When looking for talents from outside, we use behavioral interviews to determine whether people have the capabilities to undertake the relevant positions and also whether they have the right attitude that fits with the values of our organization.
One of my key accountabilities is to identify and develop the right Vietnamese leaders who can build and run our ANZ business well into the future.
How would you describe “Best Retail Bank in Vietnam” award in 2009 that ANZ achieved last month?
We are really proud of winning such prestigious award for the second year in a row and also the fourth time in the past six years.
This latest award demonstrates that ANZ has made a great progress in our pursuit of excellent customer service.
The award program, administered by financial services research and market intelligence company, The Asian Banker, and refereed by prominent global bankers, consultants and academics, is the most prestigious award of the global banking industry.
Over 120 international banks and financial institutions from 22 countries across the Asia Pacific, the Gulf and central Asian regions were evaluated as part of the retail financial services program.
The balanced scorecard consists of 10 different dimensions with about 39 indicators, including value of franchise, financial performance, sustainability, transparency in strategy, people skills and ethical banking.
ANZ Vietnam’s performance reflects greatly on the quality and dedication of our staff. They really are an amazing group of professional people.
The global economic downturn has created a tough time for the financial industry. How did ANZ Vietnam cope with it and achieve such an award?
ANZ’s efforts last year were rewarded with a significant increase in the total number of Vietnamese individuals and business customers.
Despite last year’s tough financial context, ANZ Vietnam performed positively with significant growth in customer numbers, deposits, loans and revenue.
We also launched several new products and sales channels including the “online saver” for individuals, “cash management” for corporate customers and the ANZ mobile banking service.
In addition, we continued to invest in risk management by implementing new systems and processes which allow us to approve customer loan applications faster while at the same time help manage our risks better.
ANZ has also kept expanding the ATM network to improve customer convenience. Our 24/7 call center has improved its capabilities to make things simpler for customers.
How would you best describe ANZ’s strategy to become truly unique among the foreign rivals in speeding up the bank’s operations over the long term?
At ANZ, strategy is making choices. Our strategy is to become one of the top banks in Vietnam. To do this, we must consistently focus on what is most important to our customers.
Though we are a foreign bank, we have been in Vietnam since 1993 and 99 percent of our people are Vietnamese, including our CEO. We therefore understand the Vietnamese market quite well and have developed our customer policies to meet their needs.
We will open six transaction offices in Hanoi and HCMC in 2009 to enhance our operation. The bank is also adding more ATMs in many locations where our customers live, work and shop.
ANZ will continue its comprehensive developing strategy to become the “one-stop bank” for individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises and corporations.
Regarding retail banking, we will continue to lead the market with new and progressive products, such as ANZ Gold Tower, the first of its kind in the country.
For the institutional banking, we will continue to offer our top market services on trade finance, especially managing trade risks, performance bonds and export and import finance.
To sum up, Vietnam is one of ANZ’s key growth markets in Asia. We are committed to investing in this market for the long term.
Additionally, ANZ will continue to introduce new technologies to improve our service levels and risk management.
Your bank has been known as the pioneer in launching new products in the market. Do you have anything to share with us?
Yes, ANZ Gold Tower is our new “baby”. This unique product was launched in early April.
This product allows you to enjoy above-market short term deposit rates on your funds, depending on the performance of the spot price of gold, without buying any gold bars. The ANZ Gold Tower interest rate can go up to 10.5 percent annually versus the top market gold interest rate of only 7.5 percent per year.
Source: VNnews
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