CONSUMER FINANCE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR - THAILAND WEALTH MANAGEMENT PLATFORM OF THE YEAR - THAILAND
THE SECRET TO AN AWARD WINNING WEALTH MANAGEMENT PLATFORM
A conversation with Dusanee Klewpatinontha, Head of Wealth & Preferred Segment, CIMB Thai Bank.
CIMB Thai may not be a big bank in the conventional sense; however, its strength lies in the ability to leverage its ASEAN-wide regional platform, as well as a strong offering of investment products. Growing the wealth business is no easy task, but the bank has managed to record strong annual growth year in year out. People tend to associate ‘Wealth’ with just deposit or mutual funds, but in reality, there is so much more. For example, CIMB Thai is the first
bank in Thailand to make structured notes available to its preferred clients by making the minimum ticket size more manageable, at ฿1m. “We also have a wide selection of bonds— to be able to sell ฿15b worth of bonds in a single IPO is a testament to the strong interest from our clients. We are also able to refer our clients to our regional businesses such as Singapore – a key edge for clients looking to diversify their investment portfolio,” said CIMB Thai Bank Head of Wealth & Preferred Segment Dusanee Klewpatinontha. “I think other banks are wary of product cannibalization, so they might not have as many products available on shelf. In contrast, we take a client-centric approach because
“Clients often ask why do we invest so much time and effort with one-on-one sessions. Well, we want to win their hearts.” ultimately we want what is best for our clients,” she added. Aside from its products, CIMB Thai takes great pride in providing exceptional service.
For example, it has organized over 200 one-on-one workshop sessions with clients, educating them about Inheritance Tax planning. “I personally conducted these sessions in Bangkok as well as in the upcountry. It gave me the opportunity to get to know my clients better, to understand their needs and be able to recommend products truly suited to them,” said Dusanee. “Our clients often ask why do we invest so much time and effort with these one-onone sessions when we are not making any money out of it? Well, we want to win their hearts.” This past year CIMB Thai also launched My Wealth, a new system that consolidates client data from multiple platforms into a single dashboard. The record of clients’ past purchase is readily available on My Wealth, which helps the bank’s sales team to create a personalised client investment portfolio. More importantly, My Wealth’s alert system notifies clients when their deal reaches maturity. My Wealth allows CIMB Thai’s sales staff to provide its clients with a true end-to-end service. CIMB Thai also has a dedicated data management team working behind the scenes to analyze client investment profiles to recommend better products that suit the clients’ needs.
WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE CIMB
Mrs. Varang Chaiyawan Director & First Senior Executive Vice President, Thai Life Insurance PCL. “CIMB’s reputation as a renowned regional bank led me to become a customer of CIMB Preferred. Even with high expectations, I was still
impressed with the tailored advice and personalized service offered by my relationship manager. My career in the insurance industry often requires me to look from the macro perspective, but when it comes to my personal investment portfolio, I need a consultant who can reliably keep me upto-date on opportunities as the market moves. I appreciate my relationship manager’s expertise, can-do attitude and ability to drive results that match my investing preferences. CIMB’s attentiveness to customer needs is unmatched and is what sets them apart from other bigger banks.”
Mr Viroj Lerthirunvibul Partner at T.S.C. Siam Construction Company Limited “What impresses me most about CIMB Thai is the sheer number of financial products they have available on shelf, the selection is bigger than
other banks in my experience. Additionally, their sales staff is very knowledgeable and they take the time to educate clients to help them better understand the products. As a client, I rely on my Relationship Manager to open doors to exciting investment opportunities, they have done a great job anticipating my needs and recommending products that suit my investment preference. When I first became a CIMB client around 10 years ago, I only had a deposit account. Now I have everything from insurance, bond, deposit, mutual funds, as well as structured products. I think I have every single product CIMB has available on shelf.”
ASIAN BANKING AND FINANCE | DECEMBER 2020 73