Mr. Werner Peyer has been Managing Director of the Compagnie Monégasque de Banque (CMB) since 2010. His multicultural approach and international career attracted the shareholder Mediobanca SpA, a major investment bank in Italy quoted on the Milan Stock Exchange. His mission is to “broaden the scope” of an institution based in Monaco since 1976 which is highly involved in the Monegasque economy.
Why did a renowned institution based in Monaco for 40 years need to evolve?
When the bank was founded, it focused on a very high quality Private Banking service to serve wealthy local clients or those from the Mediterranean region. The Monegasque financial centre has evolved and there are now 123 nationalities in Monaco. We needed to change our way of thinking and broaden our vision to adapt to these new clients. My international experience (I have lived in South Africa, Spain, London and Zurich) has been useful, as well as my knowledge of the banking industry.
How is a new model built?
In March 2010, together with the Management Committee we defined a vision of tomorrow’s CMB that was not yet in existence. And we imagined the specific culture of the CMB, based on 4 values:
Client dialogue is at the top of our value pyramid, respect for cultural diversity and different opinions, competence and innovation – the latter being more technical values, if I may say so. And lastly, integrity and respect for regulations. The world of banking is studded with regulations, whether they come from regulators (ACPR, SICCFIN, CCAF) or shareholders, or they give structure to internal relations. We owe it to ourselves to respect them.
Let us go back to client relationships. What is special about them?
The trust-based relationship we have with clients is fundamental. The CMB claims to be the trusted partner clients seek, when faced with many questions raised due to personal considerations and as a result of the increasing complexity and difficulty in interpreting the financial markets.
We developed a four-step client advisory process: the client explains his or her problem, guided by a list of questions drawn up in advance for better clarification. Then the bank develops proposals. The client evaluates them and decides. The banker implements them. It is a constant dialogue. We do not try to impose a particular product, only to provide the best service.
What are your commitments to clients?
Discretion, performance and service quality. An ongoing relationship with their banker. Prices consistent with our service quality. Ethics. Strategic continuity and involved, visible management. We are involved in associations in order to contribute to Monaco’s standing.
We mentioned investment advice. Do you offer loans as well?
We are very active there, with almost 1 billion in outstanding loans. They are used for property financing, cash financing, or even to leverage existing investments. Lending is a key service of a private bank. The average age of a classic private bank’s clients is high but we aim to support our clients earlier on, and loyalty is strengthened when we are in contact for loans and our clients are satisfied.
Are your clients of different nationalities?
We had a mainly Italian client base, which we are diversifying while giving preference to resident Monegasque clients. We now have many Anglo-Saxon clients and we work with around forty international management companies located world-wide, including in Asia or Latin America. When independent financial advisors recommend us to their clients that benefits the Monaco financial centre of course. I pay special attention to them, they are ambassadors.
Innovation is one of your key values. Can you give us some concrete examples?
In 2010 we introduced CRM (Customer Relationship Management), which allows well-informed clients to be particularly well looked after, even in the absence of their usual bank contact, which is fundamental.
To give another example, we have clients who receive their banking correspondence directly at the CMB. In the past, they would come and consult it from time to time and they used to throw away a lot of paper. Now we download all the client’s mail to a tablet, the client consults it, deletes what needs to be deleted and edits what is necessary. No more paper is wasted and we have introduced an online banking that allows transfers input by clients.
Are human resources highly involved when the corporate culture evolves?
We want to be a valued employer whose employees share our values and progress. With the CFPB (Centre de Formation de la Profession Bancaire – Banking Profession Training Centre), we designed a 3 year diploma course with 3 modules a year. All employees can sign up for it. They have a strong customer culture and high involvement in the CMB – the opposite to mercenaries!
Furthermore, our managers do in-house training in management techniques in order to apply the 5 leadership principles in their daily work and create a working environment that allows talent to flourish i.e. they give their best for clients and thus for the bank.
All employees need to become used to a permanent evolution attitude. They must constantly challenge themselves and not systematically confirm habits and customs. We have an extensive network of expertise in London that can be used for know-how transfer if necessary.
We want our employees to take the initiative and be autonomous, as we are ourselves – as a bank we have great autonomy in the field. And it works well. The finance magazine Euromoney conferred the title of ‘Best Local Private Bank in Monaco 2014’ to the Compagnie Monégasque de Banque. We were all delighted, but it was the result of a collective adventure.
You have been in Monaco for five years, how do you view the financial centre’s evolution?
It has improved in expertise and progressed considerably, including through professional certification. Based on the assumption that wealthy clients use many banks, the financial centre’s goal should be to increase the percentage of client assets in Monaco. This is possible through Monaco’s banker expertise, service quality and institutional and government stability. One can also be inventive regarding legislation. I believe that compliance is an opportunity to understand your clients better. And to build a coherent picture of their past and present flows in order to build the future better.
