Kudakwashe Chideme, News Editor 
BancABC was recently recognised as the most innovative retail banking brand for 2020 by Global Brands Magazine. Our news editor, Kuda Chideme (KC), this week spoke to the bank’s managing director, Lance Mambondiani (LM), about its digital strategy and future plans. Below are excerpts of the interview.
Lance Mambondiani, BanABC chief executive
KC: It has been over a year since your appointment. How has your journey been so far?
LM: Time flies when you are having fun. I am truly grateful to the BancABC board and the A-Team for their support since my appointment and allowing me to hit the ground running, driving the change we set out to achieve. I couldn’t have asked for a better start, it’s been a high-octane acceleration from the blocks and I am extremely privileged to engage every day in an assignment as fulfilling as this. It is an honour and a privilege which I don’t take lightly.
KC: When you took on this job you had certain perceptions about the organisation’s culture as an outsider. Did these prove to be true or it is totally different?
LM: Every organisation is different and in many cases a reflection of the vision, values and leadership of the company. Organisational culture is how employees collectively react to vision over time. Culture can be created and the only way to change it is by setting a vision of the future and vigorously pursuing it with passion and vigour. All our stakeholders were in agreement that we needed to do a course correction for us to be relevant in a fast-mutating digital era. Despite our past, we needed to create a more open, innovative, disruptive and engaging culture. Of course, there were some valuable traditions we had to preserve but it was our aspirations and goals that mattered.
KC: Since you took office the bank’s brand has become more vibrant and visible. There clearly has been a change of philosophy. Tell us more about that.
LM: The brand visibility is a reflection of the collective passion and urgency we have as a team in our change agenda. BancABC has a strong brand equity which has been respected for many years. Our goal was to reignite that pride in our heritage and awaken the sleeping giant and take back our place as one of the best financial services players in the country. I am just honoured to serve a team who share the same energy and drive as I do in pushing this agenda.
KC: In 2020 many businesses folded, we lost colleagues, friends and relatives because of the Covid-19 outbreak. How much of an impact did this have on your operations?
LM: The world is in turmoil. Our economies are in free-fall. Many people are scared, anxious and grieving. We have all been affected or afflicted and have lost close relatives, friends and colleagues. Many have lost jobs and a number of small businesses will not be able to open their doors after the lockdowns. The economic impact on our business and many others has been devastating.
The human spirit and desire to overcome these unusual circumstances is remarkable. Despite these challenges, we have used the crisis to accelerate our digital transformation and adoption of the online working environment, product innovation and partnership formation. Economic recovery is vital to our ability to grow earnings and deliver meaningful returns to our shareholders and we are looking forward to the new normal.
KC: What strategies did you put in place to mitigate the impact?
LM: Covid-19 was the real chief digital officer for us. We digitised everything. The bank launched Branch X, the first virtual branch in Zimbabwe during the first lockdown. We added the Dial-A-Visa service allowing customers to order and receive visa cards in the comfort of their homes without visiting any of our branches. We revamped our internet banking platform for corporates and developed our award winning A360 Mobile App in June last year to give our customers more transacting convenience.
To increase touchpoints during the lockdowns and increase convenience for our customers, we partnered with TM Pick n Pay to launch instore banking kiosks. The kiosks will increase our presence throughout TM Pick n Pay’s impressive countrywide footprint and offer our customers the convenience of banking in shops in areas where we traditionally have not been represented.
KC: Coming out of this period of uncertainty what have you learnt about yourself and the team?
LM: I am extremely proud of the A-Team’s courageous response to the Covid-19 pandemic and their commitment to provide our customers with A-Class service despite the disruption we encountered and at great risk to themselves. The pandemic has also given us an opportunity to introspect and confront the reality of a new normal and our capabilities to adapt our business model to a new reality. The resilience and innovative spirit of the team was humbling, they surpassed our expectations and allowed us to set even higher standards for ourselves, standards we must maintain going forward.
KC: In our previous interview you mentioned the need for banks to change their business model and adapt to the evolving and changing demands of a new type of customer — the millennials. How have you guys been doing this?
LM: Firstly, we have chosen to focus on delivering digital platforms for a digital generation. Secondly, customer engagement has been at the core of our delivery and product development. We are committed to simplifying our products and services through relentless innovation for the benefit of a new super engaged and demanding customer. In fact, we have an upcoming product for our millennial customers. In designing this product, we brought in high school and university students to assist us to create a product that would appeal to them. This type of co-creation allows us to be aware of the demands and expectations of our clients.
KC: You also indicated your intentions to scale up your digital payments and retail operations. How far have you gone with this?
LM: We are pleased that our customer base has grown exponentially in the past year. The bank’s customer base grew by over 370 percent to over 400,000 customers. In the same period, the volume of traffic on our digital platforms grew by 1,5 million as retail and corporate customers migrated to the new internet banking and mobile platforms.
KC: What is the size of your loan book and how have you been managing it in the wake of the constraints brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak? Are you happy with the quality? Could you give us an indication of what proportion of that is in foreign currency?
LM: As at the close of 2020, our credit book stood at $1,9 billion with an NPL ratio of 1,35 percent. This is our lowest NPL ratio in over a decade largely because of the inflationary environment and cautious conservatism in our lending processes and prudent loan management.
The Covid-19 outbreak affected our clients in the tourism and education sectors, thankfully, the Reserve Bank was quick to issue guidelines on a moratorium on repayments to assist distressed customers. In this period, we have remained close to our clients and assisted many with loan rescheduling where this was required. Good relationship management has been key to understanding the challenges our customers have been going through as a result of the pandemic.
KC: Still on lending, which sector are you prioritising and why?
LM: Our focus has been the productive sector. We agree with the central bank’s agenda to support this sector to spur economic growth. As the private sector, we remain ready to play our part to rebuild this economy and make job creation and growth a reality.
KC: The Reserve Bank has also raised the alarm over poor KYC practices by local banks, what measures have you put in place to ensure diligence?
LM: The concerns are shared by all industry players in the financial services sector, particularly during this period of accelerated digital adoption. Poor KYC raises the risks of money laundering and financing of terrorism. As a country we are grey listed by the FATF. The banking community takes the regulator’s concerns seriously and is committed to addressing AML/CFT deficiencies.
We have standard account opening controls in place, and we are exploring innovative methods of verifying identities digitally using e-KYC. There are good global examples of banks that have integrated to utility companies or mobile network operators to verify identities. Concerns will arise over data privacy and protection but with the assistance of legislative frameworks such as the cybersecurity Bill, such concerns can be addressed.
KC: What is your outlook for the rest of the year?
LM: I am optimistic about our prospects for the rest of the year, both for our economy and for the bank. Economic recovery will be boosted by improved productivity in primary sectors such as agriculture and mining and secondary sectors such as construction. As a financial intermediary we are committed to play our part as enablers of growth.
With the rollout of the vaccination programme and easing of restrictions worldwide we also expect increased activity in the retail sector. Whilst there is an expectation of a third wave, we are prepared to respond to any further catastrophic escalations using the learnings we have acquired in the past year. Targeted economic stimulus and support will be mobilised and directed to people and industries that have been most affected. We have a great task ahead of us to rebuild confidence in our economy whilst providing a safe environment to all our stakeholders and clients against Covid-19.
KC: What should we expect from the A-Team over the next 18 months?
LM: In the next few months, we will be coming to the market with some of our biggest and most exciting products and partnerships to date. As is our nature, the services we launch will not only be disruptive but will deliver benefits for the universal banking customer. Our objective in this financial year is to consolidate our position as a top tier financial institution, remaining true to our motto of Fresh Thinking, Smart Banking and distinguishing ourselves through relentless innovation – watch this space!!!
