| Private banking: Still
rich’s exclusive
–Dr. Erastus Akingbola
By SEUN ADESIDA
Saturday, April
26, 2008
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•Chief
Erastus Akingbola
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The Managing Director and Group Executive Officer of Intercontinental
Bank Plc, Chief Erastus Akingbola has revealed that the bank’s
private banking initiative, which is exclusively for the upper
crust, is part of its strategy not only to consolidate its
leadership position in the industry, but to protect its rapidly
growing wealthy customers.
Explaining the bank’s new initiative, which caters for
a negligible 0.5 of the banking public, Akingbola said “the
business of banking in Nigeria has changed for good and therefore,
the competition has become keener than before,” adding
that “it will take a vision to excel, to be distinct
and be a great institution.”
According to Akingbola, “we have discovered that most
wealthy Nigerians don’t want to be treated just like
any ordinary customer in a regular banking transaction, they
want special attention and they want to be serviced in a relaxed
atmosphere, devoid of the hustle and bustle of banking hall
activities.
They want banking at their own convenience and not the convenience
of the bank, and that is why Intercontinental Bank Plc created
this new service for the upper segment of the bank’s
customers and potential customers who would want to enjoy
the services that would be made available in this new business
unit.”
On the modalities of the service, Akingbola offered: “Our
customers can call us at any time of the day and they don’t
need to come to any branch to get serviced. Right in the comfort
of their homes, we would bring whatever service they want
to them. If they need money urgently, the money would be delivered
to them right there in their homes, wherever the house may
be situated.”
Private banking as an innovation
Wealth management is part of private banking innovation. It
is a service that is distinctly unique and comparable to the
best around the world. We have benchmarked global giants in
wealth management. Customers will enjoy first rate, world-class
service that ensures that your wealth not only grows but is
protected even for your generations yet unborn. Often, wealth
tends to be measured in monetary value but we believe that
wealth goes beyond monetary value to overall welfare of the
individual or the society in terms of physical, spiritual,
emotional and mental well-being. This is why it is difficult
to see a wealthy man frowning, when you see a man frowning
it is because he wants to balance the budget, usually wealthy
people are humorous.
Wealth management
Any wealthy man will tell you that the accumulation of wealth,
except it is obtained by fraudulent means or inherited, takes
vision, initiative, hard-work, persistence, integrity and
the investment of hard earned money over a long period of
time to build up. However, if the accumulation of wealth is
difficult, the sustenance and protection of wealth is more
difficult because wealth itself is volatile. Wealth, particularly
when defined in monetary terms, is subject to the vagaries
of spending habits, business collapse, inflation, taxes, mismanagement
and even fraud. So, a very wealthy man can end up being poor
if his wealth is not effectively managed. This are the people
you call the rich men of yesterday, if you don’t want
to belong to this class then make sure your wealth is well
managed.
It is a special service that takes a holistic and comprehensive
approach to helping you build and sustain your wealth. It
gives you the confidence to make sound financial decisions,
freedom to live the way you want to live your life and x-rays
a clear roadmap for your financial future. When your wealth
is being managed, even while you sleep, it is money working
for you rather than you working for money.
Customized Services
We emphasize individuality with wealth management. Financial
success depends on having a clear idea of what you want to
accomplish and your worldview as an investor. Wealth management
advisors will help create long-term strategies appropriate
for every situation. The team will apply time-tested strategies
and solutions in accomplishing this. The monumental change
that has taken place in the banking sector in the past five
years could be a case to mention but this is not the only
thing that changes. We grow up, get married, a new baby is
born, residences are changed, we get sick and have to pay
medical bills, children’s education, and we get old
to finally retire.
Wealth Management service plans to capture these changes as
they take place in life and that requires focused, well-balanced
wealth management objectives. In doing this, the customer
will always be ahead. Situation must change, the financial
markets around us will change and even factors that determine
investment success can also change and we need to anticipate
and respond to these changes. The wealth management adviser
cues you into these factors with well-planned strategies and
flexibility to reap the most from each situation.
The Intercontinental dream
It is with much humility that I say that when we make a promise
we deliver. As I noted at the Customers Night of the 16th
Intercontinental Diamond Fund (another of our great Products)
on November 30, last year, we set a seemingly impossible vision
for the bank about three and a half years ago: To be the number
one bank in Nigeria, number five in Africa and among the top
five hundred banks in the world.
It seemed a tall dream, but last year we were confirmed to
have achieved that feat by The Banker magazine, a subsidiary
of Financial Times of London. An enormous accomplishment one
will say, but not one to allow it to get into our heads as
we know that it is not easy to make it to the top. Yet it
is even harder to remain there. Because of this realization,
we have set a new vision for ourselves. To be number one both
in Nigeria and Africa, and amongst the world’s top 100
banks. Another daunting task, but we know it is surmountable.
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