Zuercher Kantonalbank is introducing digital assistants for its relationship managers. Christoph Weber, the head of private banking, tells finews.com in an interview, in what way his bankers will adapt to new challenges.
Many relationship managers still take it as their main task to sell financial products, especially those of their own bank.
«This form of customer advice is a thing of the past, even if it is still being done quite frequently,» says Christoph Weber, head of private banking and deputy CEO at Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB), in an interview with finews.com.
Your Personal Adviser
Nowadays, a relationship manager is more of an individual adviser on personal finances, helping customers getting to grips with all questions regarding their monetary affairs, Weber said.
Aspects that need be discussed with clients include liquidity management, pension plans, mortgages and inheritance, Weber, 58, added. «The change of paradigm from the old to the new world for advisers is one of the biggest challenges facing banks,» he said.
New Tools for Today's Bankers
ZKB invested substantial financial resources into a program to make the crew fit for the new times. In spring, ZKB Private Banking issued its relationship managers with a tablet, an advisory tool that the managers are taking along to their customers.
Switzerland’s fourth-largest bank took a little longer to issue their relationship managers with such a tool. But the product they received is fully integrated into the IT system of the bank and the advisory process, according to Weber. He also emphasized that staff had to be properly trained to exploit the tools to their full potential.
Keep Talking
«It is supposed to be an aid for the discussion with a client and should not lead to a situation where client and adviser have their eyes on the tablet only and stop communicating with each other,» Weber said.
The advantage of using a digital assistant is that relationship managers are able to present their clients’ finances at a glance. That way, customers realize in an instant how much cash they hold as a percentage of their portfolio.
Negative Rates
The banks struggle with the enormous amounts of cash that their clients are holding. Lenders such as ZKB are using the money to refinance mortgages, but due to the negative interest rates they still face substantial bills from the central bank for their deposits. In 2016, ZKB had to pay 83 million francs to the Swiss National Bank.
The goal of the banks thus is to make customers invest their cash and ZKB has managed to get more wealth management mandates in recent months, adding to the 17 percent increase of last year.
Weber is adamant that the bank wants its relationship managers and clients to adapt the way they manage their assets. Instead of focusing on individual stocks, the bankers will compile a diversified portfolio in sync with the risk-profile of a client. «And we won’t simply stash our own products into the portfolios,» Weber promised.
Christoph Weber, 58, joined Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB) in August of 2008 as head of private banking a member of the executive board. He also is deputy to Martin Scholl, the bank’s CEO, and chairman of ZKB Austria.
Before joining the state-bank of the canton of Zurich, Weber was in charge of the Private Banking Nord division at Banca del Gottardo. From 2000 to 2006, Weber was member of the board at AAM Privatbank and head of the institutional and private clients’ business. Weber started his professional career as an apprentice at ZKB.
