Ecuador, on South America’s northwest coast, is known for its relatively high growth and income and appropriately competitive banking sector. Since 1972, Banco del Pacifico has risen above its peers by serving its customers through the most innovative means available. In our interview, CEO Efrain Vieira Herrera explains how Banco del Pacifico is continuing to break through the traditional boundaries of Ecuadorian banking to new frontiers, much to the delight of its customers.
Costa Rica has been one of Central America’s most prosperous and stable countries, providing many opportunities for its financial sector to flourish—despite the government’s recent liquidity crisis. BAC Credomatic Costa Rica, with its emphasis on placing the customer in the centre, has made the best use of the advantages its home country offers. Country Manager Federico Odio González gave us a run-down on BAC’s commitment to streamlining while improving its operations.
First Global Bank is living up to its name by being the first to introduce a number of banking breakthroughs in Jamaica. True to its mission statement, FGB seeks to empower people to get ahead in life and business. International Banker spoke with its president and CEO, Mariame McIntosh Robinson, and vice president of corporate banking, Norman Thompson, to learn more about what this forward-looking bank is up to these days.
Private investment bank VACE Partners recognizes that it is only as strong as its team is; combining “intelligence, energy and enthusiasm with experience, ability, relationships and knowledge” has been VACE’s winning formula, enabling it to close on several important deals since its inception a decade ago. International Banker spoke with Ricardo Cervera and Carlos Vara, managing directors and founding partners, to learn more about this rising star on Mexico’s financial horizon.
The landlocked Central Asian country of Kazakhstan is vast in diversity, natural resources and land size but relatively small in population per square kilometer, presenting a challenge for its domestic financial-services providers. ForteBank has been striving to reach customers country-wide through its unique blend of top-of-the-line products and services, with a growing emphasis on digital solutions. In our interview, CEO Guram Andronikashvili discusses the bank’s recent successes and plans for the future.
The economy of the Central Asian nation of the Kyrgyz Republic has been challenged since the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago. Its financial institutions, especially those supporting its commercial entities, have been invaluable in adding fuel to economic growth. In our interview, Mr. Bektur Aliev, Deputy CEO & Chief Retail Officer of Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank, shares how KICB is progressing in its goal to become the country’s leading commercial bank.
Malta, strategically located as a crossroads island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, boasts of having one of the eurozone’s most innovation-driven economies and highest annual GDP growth rates. In our interview, Michael Collis, CEO and MD of BNF Bank plc, describes how this multi-faceted, customer-centric Malta bank is realizing its “re-energised vision of increasing market share, taking the bank across new frontiers, with a desire to build a new future”.
Successful banks know who the boss is: the customer. And today’s customers, especially those who fall into the Millennial category, demand fast, error-free service delivered seamlessly. Banks confronted by the formidable challenge of adapting to both regulation and technology are also finding that up-and-coming fintechs are adept at meeting the demands of bank clients. Banks, more than they ever have before, must listen closely to their customers.
KBC Group, one of Belgium’s top bank-insurers, is guided by its purpose to “help all our stakeholders realise their dreams and protect them”. With core markets across Europe, KBC is imbued by a corporate culture that it has dubbed with the acronym PEARL. Mr. Thijs and Mr. Luts describe how the bank-insurance group is employing its latest digital strategies to actualize its long-standing vision.
Ghana is currently experiencing a rapid and massive technological revolution in its banking industry as well as in other sectors of its economy. The innate benefits associated with the use of digital technologies in service delivery have required a myriad of banks to heavily invest in information-technology infrastructure and systems.