INTERVIEW
How to stay ahead of SMEs’ financial needs
ANEXT Bank’s CEO talks about why digital banks are the key to this challenge.
T
oh Su Mei recalls a time during the early days of her career when a former colleague made a data entry mistake in the bank record of a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). “That seemingly small mistake ended up affecting the SME’s request and access to a credit line to fund his business operations. That was when I realised banking was more than just a job for me,” Toh, CEO of ANEXT Bank, told Asian Banking & Finance. Prior to that, banking just seemed the natural course of action given Toh’s education background, saying that she “stumbled” into the industry after graduating with a major in Economics. But moments such as this cemented to Toh how critical their role is to small and medium enterprises. “I’ve not looked back since my first experience where I witnessed first-hand how the right financing solution and quality of banking services could make or break a business. And for small and medium enterprises, this was even more apparent,” she said. It became more than just banking to Toh. “It was an opportunity for me to make an actual difference – it’s not about financing a business, but a person’s livelihood and aspirations. Constantly and actively listening to customers is key, and I enjoy the deep relationships built with my customers in this process. If I somehow had to choose my first job again, I’d pick banking and do it all over again!” the CEO explained. Decades later, Toh is now Chief Executive Officer of ANEXT Bank, one of the newest digital-only banks granted a license to operate by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), with over two decades of serving SMEs both in Singapore and across the region. Prior to her new role, Toh was regional head, SME loan product management & alternative lending for DBS Bank. It was a role that prepared Toh to lead one of the country’s most anticipated virtual banks, and she has incidences like the one she shared earlier in mind as she and her team took advantage of their structure as a digital-only bank to find ways to better service SMEs. “[A] key differentiating factor for digital banking is the ability to ensure a consistent service and operating model at scale versus say a RM-led [relationship manager] approach where incidents like what I shared earlier, will be far and few,” the ANEXT Bank CEO shared. You made the jump from being a head in a traditional bank to becoming the chief executive of a digital-only bank. So far what has been the difference? Tell us about your leadership style. What kind of work culture do you cultivate as the CEO of ANEXT Bank? Traditional bank or digital bank, I believe that for it to be successful, its people have to be passionate and obsessed with the desire to understand and serve customers. That’s
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It became more than just banking – it was an opportunity to make an actual difference (Photo: Toh Su Mei, CEO, ANEXT Bank)
why for us, having the right people and culture is the most fundamentally important part of setting up the business. I strongly believe that with the right people, you can achieve anything as one team. Our local team is formed by people that are passionate, driven and leaders of their own fields. Over 90% of our staff at ANEXT Bank are local hires, [and] they bring with them a range of industry experiences from banking, fintech to technology. The average working experience of the team is more than 15 years. I’m also an advocate of an open and transparent company culture, people are encouraged to speak of their minds freely, take ownerships and collaborate.
There is no lack of trying by the banking sector. The challenge is the rapidly changing needs of SMEs
Why does the banking sector still find it hard to meet the financial needs of SMEs in Asia? There is no lack of trying by the banking sector for sure. The challenge is that the needs of SMEs today are changing rapidly - the markets they operate in, the business models they adopt and the financial needs they have are much more diverse each day. As a digital bank, we are looking to tackle these diverse needs by providing financial services at scale – for example, providing more accessible and effortless financial services to SMEs of all sizes, and not just to the bigger boys. As business models evolve towards a hybrid and digital-
