Recently, Richard Pattle Lvo, vice chairman, Standard Chartered private bank, and Bjorn Stauch, the bank’s head of private banking, UK and Jersey, were in Nigeria. In this interview with Iheanyi Nwachukwu, they talk about the firm’s project that has touched lives across regions. Excerpt:
What is the Seeing is Believing (SiB) project?
Seeing is Believing is something that we have been doing all together since 2013. We think that way we can celebrate our 150th year anniversary in style. It cuts across all regions and our markets.
The project is targeted at a number of charitable courses like avoidable blindness. Twelve years on, this remarkable charitable project has impacted lives across all regions. We partner international agencies and have reached about 25 million people with avoidable blindness. We have raised nearly $80 million. We have keyed into the 2020 target set by International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB).
How has the Nigerian franchise of Standard Chartered supported the global SiB initiative locally?
It has been an amazing and commendable presence since 2003. In Nigeria, SiB has been active since 2004. The statistics is really quite compelling as well. We have raised locally here in Nigeria in excess of $4.3 million local partnering agencies. As I mentioned earlier, international agencies for the presentation of avoidable have several years ago set a target to eradicate avoidable blindness. Here in Nigeria and indeed other countries, we are partnering with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to deliver the process of screening; overseeing the treatment and surgery as needed by the local communities.
What is the rationale behind the decision of the Standard Chartered private bank to support SiB in Nigeria the fourth time?
For us in the private bank, we wanted to make our own contribution to the SiB project. We decided to focus on three different markets and we found Nigeria will be great for that focus.
Over the last four years (since 2011), cumulating till end of last year, we got involved to raise a significant amount of money to make a real contribution to the Seeing is Believing project –particularly in Kano and Ibadan. We have been hoping to raise fund in order to make a tangible difference.
Improving local communities where Standard Chartered operates appears to be at the heart of its sustainability agenda. Do members of the bank share the same position and how?
Our promise to the people and community we operate in is that we are here for good. Our staff have shown tremendous commitment as regards this course. There is something very personal to us in the bank. We believe we must make huge impact in the countries that we are and that really motive the Standard Chartered staff. I have a huge privilege to be on the management committee of Seeing is Believing project and we can see how much satisfaction our employees get from that.
What are some of the milestone achievements so far, and what are the bank’s plan going forward?
The global achievements of the bank are really amazing and highly commendable. For the SiB project, we have a set target of about $200 million by 2020. We have actually been on track for that, having raised nearly $80 million for 25 million individuals globally who we have touched their lives.
Here in Nigeria, it has been really commendable as well. If you look at not just the number of people that have contributed to the life saving initiative, we have also carried out live changing surgeries for certain people with major eye health challenges. You can see the impact really has a ripple effect, not just to the individuals but the families that have in many years cared for the individuals.
The bank’s strategy is to focus on your footprint markets of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Can you specifically talk about the Standard Chartered focus in particular on the private bank’s strategy for Africa?
Standard Chartered focus is on three major markets – Asia, Africa and Middle East. Every one of these markets are at a stage of evolution, but we are hugely encouraged by the long-term prospect for Africa. We hope to really leverage on our local network in relation to multi generational performance system and value that we derive from our international network as well. We really have a leading service proposition for our clients.
Can you tell us a bit more about “Here for good” and how this relates to the Nigerian and African franchise?
It is all about our culture. It simply means here for people; here for our clients – doing the right thing; here for our community.
SiB is one of our key initiations around here for our community. It also means we are here for the long run. What we mean by that is “Here for Good” is a sustainability culture of Standard Chartered in our market and our activities.
I would make a point that inside Seeing Is Believing project, we have two charities globally. One is ‘Goal’ an initiated that seek to empower the goals of young woman, and another which is education around HIV/ IDS. Seeing Is Believing is just one example of how we really try not only to serve our clients but also the communities in the countries for which we operate.
I know many organisations are conservative in disclosing their strategies for success. Can we have an idea of Standard Chartered strategy in Nigerian market?
In this market and the industry, we play to compete and win. Our strategy is an extension of that. It is focusing on our client base where we have a deep local relationship and we can add value locally. We are working closely with onshore businesses – be it corporate and institutional client; commercial clients, or IT client.
We are combining our offshore private bank with our onshore business and priority bank. Our strategy is much focused on the market where we have got local strength and partnering with our local franchises and delivery a comprehensive solution to our client.
Do we foresee a time when you step up to compete in the retail banking space?
For us, retail banking and private banking is an extension of one another. In fact, the private bank moves within the retail bank – there is a client evolution. We have grown for the retail banking into the private banking. We work very close with our retail banking partners.
Going through the life stage of the client and wealth creation of the client, they evolve from retail banking into priority banking. To look at the pride of the bank as well, we have very exciting initiatives that the bank embarked on recently which contribute to our value.
Standard Chartered has been in Africa for over 150years. In an age of competitive positioning and product offering, what differentiates the private banking team and Standard Chartered as a whole, as the best financial partner?
We have ultra high net-worth clients within our private banking clients. We have now set up bespoke team that will now operate globally to service the needs of these clients recognising that over and above, some of these clients have particular bespoke needs that we hope to address. By definition, private banking focuses on the high net-worth individuals. That is typically concentrated in the main economic census and that cuts across the whole markets that we operate.
As the world expands, across the economies, we certainly have to think of what distribution network that we need to service those clients that make significant category in the big financial economy. As a bank, our private bank is relatively new – eight years old. We aspire to be leading private bank for Africa and for Nigeria. We are actually going to double our effort in doing this.
