Manuel Romo, CEO of Citibanamex, considers that what will dominate in the banking business model from now on is an exercise focused on the customer experience in all channels.
“We believe that what the Covid-19, is the importance of omnichannel. That (the client) knows that there is a branch with an advisor to give him support on where to invest or if it is an SME, we advise him to get a loan, “he said in an interview.
He added: “on the other hand, there is a digital bank that helps him use credit cards, things he did in a branch.”
The banker specifies that it is an omnichannel approach that fully serves the customer.
However, he points out that Covid-19 also changed the way in which customers are served, since they will no longer return to branches for some things, since they already do so from their cell phones, but they will return for others.
He adds that another important issue is that from Citibanamex, they will continue to focus on the wealth banking sector. “We believe that we have a very important offer for them, there we will be working with new services and products.”
Similarly, it mentions that the bank will continue to invest in its digital banking. “We are going to continue listening to customers, designing applications according to what they need.”
I work with large corporations
It also highlights that they will continue to work on issues for large corporations, since last year, despite the crisis, it was successful in issues both in local and international markets. “We believe there is a very important opportunity.”
According to Romo, Citibanamex ended 2020 with more than 8.2 million digital customers, although transactionality through this channel grew more than 100% in the year of the pandemic.
Mix between office and home work
Regarding the changes in the way banks work, Manuel Romo considers that there will be a mix in which one part works partially at home and another in offices.
“The part of the office is critical to take care of the culture. In the personal relationship with clients, with all the people with whom we have a relationship, contact is very important, but we are also going to take advantage of these new technological tools that Covid left us to be more practical, “he said.
He added: “then we will be able to see much faster, knowing that we have the culture, the human contact in the branches.”
The general director of Citibanamex emphasizes that what is certain is that, in labor matters, when Covid-19 passes and it looks backwards, the situation will be very different from what it was in 2019.
Three goals at the start of Covid-19
Manuel Romo explains that at the beginning of the pandemic, the bank set itself three objectives to face it: one, to ensure the financial soundness of the group so that it could enter and exit the crisis with strength; another to take care of its more than 35,000 employees and the third to see how the bank would be operated remotely, given the red light.
“At that time all the time was being at home because of the red light; How are we going to operate without branches, in digital banking? ”, He explains.
Nine out of 10 clients resume payments
In relation to the loan payment deferral program that, like the rest of the banks, Citibanamex launched at the beginning of the pandemic as a measure to support customers, Romo explains that today nine out of 10 customers resumed their payments.
The rest that did not do so, he says, are still in communication with the bank in search of a solution.
It considers that this positive response from clients is due to different factors, among which are that the financial sector has learned from past crises; to the credit prudence that prevails; and the joint work carried out with regulators, such as the National Banking Securities Commission and the Bank of Mexico.
“And that was coupled with the facilities of Banxico, very active in bringing liquidity facilities, which, even looking at credit prudence and liquidity availability, made this crisis, a health crisis that brought an economic crisis, not accentuated with a crisis financial, ”he says.
A strong bank
The CEO of Citibanamex pointed out that, although in 2020 due to all the preventive measures, it resulted in impacts on its financial statements, today it is solid and ready to support the economic reactivation. “The bank is very strong, very committed to Mexico, and we are going to continue investing in digital capabilities, to continue working on our commitment to the communities. The bank is very solid and open to continue operating in 2021 with more vigor than before ”, he commented.
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