Last week I had the pleasure to meet Bill Whittemore Branch Manager for Handelsbanken St Albans. Who? I hear you ask..
Handelsbanken is a local relationship bank, originating in Sweden, having formed in 1871. They have developed a unique blend of personalised banking services in 25 countries across the globe, with 192 branches now in the UK.
Our link to Handelsbanken is through Heartwood, their wealth and investment management arm, who were purchased by the bank in 2013. Our interest was obviously in the customer relationships they have built and how their model differs from the regular high street banks.
What is striking upon visiting the branch and meeting Bill is the relative informality. There are no trappings of grandeur and the ‘smell of money’ that can hit when entering one of the bigger retail or private banks. This takes me back to my father’s high street bank back in the ‘70s where he was known in the community as the ‘bank manager’ and the local businesses were on first name terms with our family.
Bill kindly gave some of his time to take me through the key areas that differentiate the bank from the mainstream. At Engage we always research the customer needs first and so it is with Handelsbanken’s ethos:
- Knowing the patch: Each bank manager has the freedom to set up their branch in premises of their choice, within their ‘church spire’ patch. This is determined around their local market needs and requirements. This means that the core banking services: corporate (property and business lending) or individual (loans, mortgages and savings) are suitable and appropriate for each local community dependent on the local economic climate.
- Relationship driven: Remuneration is based on basic salaries and staff do not have sales or volume targets, nor do they receive the bonuses that often go with them Having the most satisfied customers is the bedrock of Handelsbanken’s approach, thus ensuring customer service is tailored for each client, thus developing deep and insightful customer relationships, is of central focus. This adds huge sustainable value to each branch.
- Bespoke services: As the bank is relationship driven, this means that each service and product is designed and priced around individual customer needs. This means customer value and a excellent experience is delivered.
- Team ethic: Branch managers are responsible for their recruitment but each branch is streamlined, typically starting with a team of one corporate manager, one individual manager and one administration support, in addition to the branch manager. Branches grow accordingly to meet their growing customer base, but always ensuring excellent customer service is delivered. This means that branches tend not to grow very large, so when demand dictates, often another branch is formed locally. This ensures personalised banking and avoids the detached style the larger banks have developed by building huge conglomerates.
- Customer focus: There are no earnings thresholds or minimum investable asset levels in order to become a Handelsbanken customer. The bank focuses on lasting customer relationships, high levels of personal service, and bespoke products. This means their prime area of competition is on service, rather than products, attracting a certain type of customer. These are customers who value that service focus, reflect their desire for a long-term relationship, and are financially prudent.
Although the bank does not offer fully 24/7 banking (although it’s on the horizon) and there maybe a need to incorporate new technologies into the service proposition, there are no legacy issues, each branch is lean and agile enough to support its community needs and the highly personalised approach taken around customer requirements means Handelsbanken is very much a customer centric model. One that its larger compatriots can most definitely learn from.
