A global bank breaking fresh new ground locally

Lynn Ockersz

Described as the largest foreign bank and the third biggest private bank in Sri Lanka, HSBC bank, with the reputation of being a global financial institution with a vibrant presence in many parts of the world, is today breaking new ground in its operations in Sri Lanka.

Having established a presence in Sri Lanka for over 114 years, HSBC is not only contributing to this country's development through numerous Corporate Social Responsibility projects but is getting closer to the "smaller" local businessman through an involvement with the local SME and micro finance sectors.

In this interview with the Daily News HSBC's Chief Executive Officer, Sri Lanka, David J.H. Griffiths discloses more about the bank's multidimensional existence:

Q: How would you introduce HSBC bank to the public ?

A: HSBC is a full service commercial bank, that has been in Sri Lanka for a 114 years. It is a global financial institution and we are in many parts of the world. Our regional head office is in Hong Kong, our global head office is in London.

In Sri Lanka we offer the full range of services and that includes, retail banking services, commercial banking services and services with corporate and institutional clients. Recently we got involved with SME customers and more recently we got involved with micro finance.

Q: Over your 114 year history in Sri Lanka how has HSBC contributed towards Lanka's development ?

A: We have been financing small local corporates which have become large local cooporates. We have been in very many areas of commerce. We have been also involved in bringing our ideas, our expertise and our technologies in banking to Sri Lanka.

We were the first bank to deal in ATMs and the first bank to start Internet banking. We are also active in Corporate Social Responsibility; so it is not only about making money. There is a lot of things we do for the community.

We also get talking to local regulators and in the formulating of regulations we are happy to give our expertise and knowledge.

Q: Could you elaborate on your CSR programmes?

A: We have done a lot of post-tsunami relief work. We got involved in rehabilitating a school building in Matara. We sponsored some houses with the Association for Lighting a Candle (AFLAC). To those traditional lace makers in Matara who lost their equipment, we supplied the necessary equipment to enable them to get on to their feet again.

We also financed a project by the well known local actress Anoja Weerasinghe, which was to help children who were traumatised, by the tsunami. Through acting and dancing they are helped to be motivated. So, we got into that project which culminated in a group of them being selected to perform at the Lionel Wendt theatre recently.

We have also got involved in rehabilitating a school which was damaged in the floods in Ratnapura about three years ago. We have since put computers and computer training and lots of technical support. We also support St. Joseph's School for the Deaf. From time to time the inmates are given hearing aids.

We have done two galleries at the National Museum. We are doing a third gallery which will open at the end of October. On the Arts side, therefore, we are helping restore the National Museum, gallery by gallery as it were.

We have the Horton Plains project which has been going on for several years. We have got involved in providing some support to help clear away the rubbish there. We are also involved in the Sinharaja rain forest, which is a project where some of our staff would go down and help the scientists and the botanists there to do a study and engage in record keeping in what is there.

So, we are involved in a wide range of activities and projects. There is also the Vesak lantern project. The idea behind these programmes is that our staff get involved in different types of projects. Not everybody wants to go to the rain forest or Horton Plains.

Others get involved in the Deaf School and Vesak lantern project. We have a young staff here. So it is important that we get them involved in CSR projects at an early stage in their career. Rather than make them wait until they are in their forties and get them to paint a room, for instance which wouldn't be an easy thing to do.

Q: You have been described as the largest foreign bank and the third largest private bank. What in your opinion has contributed towards your success as a bank ?

A: Over the years we have run a well-regulated business and we have maintained high levels of customer quality. As a result our quality customers continue to grow and we grow with them. We are not a bank for everybody but in recent years we have broadened our approach. For example, we have opened up the SME sector to help small and medium scale enterprisers.

We were involved in growing our local corporate customers; I mean our local corporate buyers. Because they would always stay in Sri Lanka and we would grow their businesses. So over the years, we have supported many local corporates who have really grown. People like John Keells, Aitken Spence, over the years they have shown tremendous growth.

Again, we are very straight in the way we apply our credit procedures. Therefore, naturally, we tend to have good quality borrowers, a low level of bad debts and we are able to grow our business. Our head office allowed us to bring in 30 million dollars as recapital last year. They would only do that if they think we are doing business the right way.

In addition to our customers it is obviously the staff who make the business work.

We do have systems and procedures in place. We do have automation and technology. But it is our staff who make everything work. We are in the people business. We have three expatriates out of over 1400 people. So, it is virtually run by our local colleagues. The success of HSBC is built on its customers and staff.

Q: Would you consider Sri Lanka as having the correct climate for the growth of the private sector in the banking industry ?

A: We see significant potential here. The 30m dollars as capital we brought in was for future business growth and we are convinced of the growth opportunities here and we are in a position to convince our head office that it is the case. We are looking at the SME sector in which we have had limited exposure hitherto.

We have just got involved in micro credit finance we are doing on a commercial basis, which is a new area of business we are learning to move along with.

Obviously, it is the big projects we are looking into. I think the South harbour project will be a tremendous economic boost for Sri Lanka. We see a lot of opportunities in the private sector.

SMEs is something we are developing. We were always doing SMEs but not really focused on it. Even the biggest, wealthiest people today, started off as SMEs. So, we are looking at that sector as hopefully giving rise to the John Keells and Aitken Spence of the future.

I think the regulatory environment is fair and equal to us, irrespective of whether we are a foreign or a local bank.

So, that also encourages us to look at the country as having future growth potential.

There are other infrastructure projects coming on. Obviously, the garment industry is looking to do further backward integration. Telecommunications is another big area of growth. The telephone density still has room to grow. The mobile phone industry is very capital intensive. So there are vast business opportunities here.