Having identified the importance of Corporate Banking, majority of banks create specific departments to ensure that their needs are met. Given the magnitude of their transactions and their importance these companies need a designated Relationship Manager.

Corporate Banking

The relationship manager provides advisory services on for example, investments and Capital decisions. The relationship manager also tries to identify change in the corporate customers’ need the relationship manager comes up with innovative solutions to meet this corporate banking need.

Managing this Relationship is slightly different from managing an SME as the failure or success of a corporate has a great impact on the Bank. So whether these Corporate Companies have credit facilities or not, the Relationship Manager should always be in touch with the following areas of the company

Corporate banking- Governance of the Company

This includes the members of the Board of Directors, the Board of Management and the management structures in place. The shareholding structure of the company and the bank also investigate the integrity of the team and what impact the corporate would have on the reputation of the company. The quality of governance is very critical as it can help determine the future of the company.

Corporate banking -Recovery Management

This is key to the stability of the business and it is important to establish in general if the corporate has a policy on the recovery from any unforeseen factors that would greatly affect the business. In other words the disaster recovery plan or the business continuity plan is very important and must be disclosed to the bank.

Corporate banking-Technology

This affects database management, establishing whether a company is up to date in technology, which is changing rapidly. Updated technology greatly ensures good database management, resulting and leading to accurate reporting, increasing transparency and accountability. Technology may also be used to reflect the financial health of a corporate.

Corporate Banking-Risk Management

Establish whether the corporate has identified the risks that could greatly affect their business. Confirm the measures that have been put in place to manage the risk. These measures must be well documented. The corporate should have unit monitoring for the ever increasing risks.

Corporate Banking -Management of Manpower

Establish whether the corporate optimizes manpower resources in terms of numbers, knowledge and even skill. This in turn maximizes productivity, improves quality of operations.

Given the current economic crises that has greatly affected many corporate companies, it would be prudent for the banking industry to keep in touch with their corporate customers operation  by providing relevant corporate banking solutions.

 Clients Customer experience at a bank

After several months of literally  being tracked down by a sales representative or sales executive as they prefer to be called my group decided to open an account at one of the banks, being satisfied that that the features looked good and would serve the interest of the group.

Six months down the line the group held elections as some of the office bearers were moving out of town and it would be prudent to replace them to allow smooth running of the group. There was therefore need to change the account signatories and one of the office bearers was mandated to get all the requirements needed from the bank. This was in readiness for when the other office bearers would be available for this process.

After ensuring all the requirements previously obtained from the bank were in place the office bearers walked confidently to the banks sure that the process would take the shortest time possible. When they got to the customer service desk after patiently waiting on the queue  a blank looking officer informed them that those are not the requirements and went ahead to produce a totally different list of requirements.

Protesting, they explained that they got the previous requirements from that desk and even their request to see the manager was declined. As at this moment the group has not been able to change the signatories and this has greatly hampered the operations of the group.

Reasons for poor customer experience

• Once one opens an account then they become a statistics to the bank, the customer no longer has a face or a name. The bank can proudly say they have reached the one million mark in number of accounts maintained. Customer experience is no longer necessary when the numbers are being achieved.
• Lack of staff training on all areas of banking. Training of staff members on the procedures of the bank is no longer a priority to the banks. It seems like provided you can communicate, press keys on the computer key board and sit on a desk that’s it. One will catch up on procedures as they sit there. This reduces the customers experience since the customer is not assisted.
• Quality of service is not in the interest of banks. It is the number of transactions that matter, profits have become more important.
• Banks are aware that the justice system is slow and a customer needs to have huge resources to file for damages. The banks will not bother to keep their promises. An ordinary account holder is unable to sue the bank due the costs.

Ways for the banks to improve customer experience

• Training is a must. The staffs must be trained in all aspects of serving the customers not just in selling.
• The bank must have standard operational procedures which are known and available to all staff. This will lead to consistency on all operations and forms that customers have to complete. This enhances customer experience.

Customers are the reason why banks operate. The banks must therefore make it a point to improve on their customer experience offering.

relationship between bank and customer

It is extremely important for both the banks and the general public to be aware of the relationship between bank and customer. Both parties should know what to expect when one walks into a bank and what to expect from the relationship if a contract is signed by the two parties.

Like all relationships, one needs to know their expectations and rights in order to have a mutually working relationship. With this in mind we will look at some of the contractual relationship between bank and customer:

1. Debtor/Creditor Relationship between bank and customer

A debtor is one who owes while a creditor is the one who is owed. When a customer opens a deposit account at the bank, the bank becomes a debtor to the customer as it is holding the customer’s money, which should be repaid when the customer demands it. The customer is therefore the creditor to the bank. In this relationship between bank and customer, it is the customer’s responsibility to ask for their money back and it is not the bank’s job to seek to repay the debt.

However when the customer borrows money from the bank, then they become the debtor to the bank while the bank is a creditor to the customer. In this relationship between the bank and customer, the customer is expected to repay the debt as agreed where the customer defaults; there is a problem with the debt.

2. Principal/ Agent Relationship between bank and customer

When a bank is dealing with a third party on behalf of the customer, the bank is an Agent while the customer is the Principal.

An Agent is one employed to work for a Principal to make contracts on their behalf. A Principal is one who informs the Agent what he wants him/her to do on his behalf.

Other examples of Principal / Agent relationship between bank and customer is when the banks arranges for insurance, sends money either abroad or within the country (generally money transfer) on behalf of the customer. Agency banking is another example of Principal agent relationship between bank and customer

3. Bailor/Bailee Relationship between bank and customer

One of the bank’s services offered to the customer is to receive valuables and documents to hold on their behalf. When this happens the bank has to take reasonable care of the property and this is a Bailor/ Bailee Relationship between bank and customer.

A Bailor is the depositor of the property who is the customer. A Bailee receives the property from the Bailor and must look after it in a professional manner. The bank is then called the ‘Bailee for reward’ since a fee is charged.

There should be complete good faith especially where customers have come to rely on the banks advice which sometimes is called Fiduciary Relationship. The relationship between the Bank and Customer creates an expectation of trust and there should never be undue influence exerted.