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A "Responsible, Ambitious" Bank - The View From Kleinwort Hambros' CEO
Tom Burroughes
27 May 2021
Tom Burroughes, group editor of WealthBriefing, talks to Mouhammed Choukeir, CEO of Kleinwort Hambros, the UK-based private bank, which won three awards in this year’s WealthBriefing awards programme for Europe. We hosted 50 investment calls and 40 virtual investment round tables with our CIO between March and December last year When lockdown started, we had to find a way to keep our clients informed daily and weekly because the markets were so volatile. The “Kleinwort Hambros Investment Committee Flash Update,” was launched on Tuesday 24 March 2020. The series provided our clients with immediate and privileged access to the opinions of our investment committee. Our investment team did a tremendous job delivering positive investment performance over the past year. We have since been presented with a 2021 Suggestus 3D award by ARC. This is an independent endorsement of our commitment to transparency which we are very proud of. Despite the pressure triggered by the sudden move to remote access, personal obligations and maintaining our business continuity, our staff completed 100 per cent of mandatory training and we delivered over 11,000 hours of training modules. We launched a reverse mentoring scheme as well as our Gender Equality Forum and our Nexco. The collective team spirit that has prevailed over the last year has been great….people are looking out for each other and getting their hands dirty delivering this. We focused on connecting to each other as much as we could. What has helped us is that we were already very transparent and clear about what the vision is and how to get where we want to go. Colleagues recognised this….they mobilised themselves and each other.
We set our goals and ambitions very high. Our vision is to be a leading responsible bank for client service and expertise. We have set that out in terms of delivery to our clients and to our staff. As a responsible bank, we strive to make a positive difference to our clients, our communities and our people. We set high goals and we make them exciting. And we also think that this should scare people a little bit.
We recognise that after health and loved ones, financial wellbeing is a top priority for clients. Our purpose can be summarised in one sentence: “To simplify life's financial challenges.”
It is important to make sure that you deliver against it . I also reflect on the incredible resilience of our teams to deliver our roadmap. The team has been able to deliver an incredible amount of achievements throughout the pandemic.
Everyone is now fully equipped to work remotely and assist clients with their banking, fiduciary and investment needs, as together we navigate the challenges the world currently faces.
We have put in place a remote and flexible working routine to allow the following key considerations:
-- Recognition of staff embracing home-schooling and other caring duties;
-- Managers are prioritising team deliverables and managing; and
-- Maintaining good mental health by encouraging staff to set boundaries and take regular short breaks throughout the day.
With health and safety for both our clients and our staff at the forefront, our bankers have been developing new skills and using interactive technology with Zoom and Skype to continue assisting our existing and future clients, resulting in a 72 per cent year-on-year increase in client contact.
We have also harnessed the power of technology in our digital marketing strategy via the launch of two podcast series. Prior to lockdown, we launched “The Wealth Chat” podcast series. The objective was twofold: to establish KH as a hub of thought leadership, and to market the breadth of our services. Hosted by our chief market strategist and issued fortnightly, the series highlights the know-how of both our internal experts and external contacts, showcasing our relationships with networks such as The WealthiHer Network and UKSIF.
The firm has spent a lot of time sharing its ideas with colleagues. There is a lot of staff alignment with the end-goals. There is a recognition in our organisation that we have a deep heritage and roots, which gives us strength, but has an exciting future. We like to say we are a start-up with 200 plus years of heritage.
A mantra we have is “innovate, innovate and innovate.” We call what we have a `reboot’ strategy: respond, rebuild and reimagine. We needed to respond and we have done that. We are currently in a rebuild phase and this is where we innovate and create excellence. And we create an environment that allows people to take risks.
“Risk” is about redefining ways of doing things. This is a cultural point that is important to us…let’s be comfortable about taking risks, if necessary, failing and then learning from that. The bank has been on a big drive to be a truly sustainable bank and more responsible, and this isn’t just a piece of ad-speak. It’s at the core of our DNA.
The bank is also about increasing digitisation, and is continuing with changes, both around working with external fintechs and working on in-house projects. Kleinwort Hambros is also embracing flexible working models going forward from the pandemic.
We are delighted that we have received three awards in the Ninth Annual WealthBriefing European Awards; UK Private Bank – Talent Management & Diversity, Rebecca Constable for leading individual banker and myself for chief executive officer. This is a real honour and a testament to our hard work and collective ambition to be the leading responsible bank for client service and expertise in the UK private banking industry. The awards are valuable as an objective, third-party test of how well the bank is doing and how far it has come.
The recognition that we received, and that we are humbled by, shows that we are doing things the right way. We celebrate with colleagues for all the hard work that has been put in.