In the Hot Seat

Mags Brennan, Head of Business Banking at permanent tsb is also the current President of Chambers Ireland. Combining both roles ensures Mags has a good understanding of the pressures SMEs are currently facing regarding Brexit and of course of Covid.

Mags is no stranger to the world of Chambers, having been a Board member of Cork Chamber when Mags was based in Cork in a previous Banking role and now Mags has been on the board of the Chambers Ireland for several years representing Cork Chamber.

Allan: Lets start with your role as President of Chambers Ireland. Juggling your paid position in permanent tsb with your voluntary role in Chambers during a pandemic working in the banking sector is no easy feat

I joined permanent tsb on March 4th, 2020 and nine days later we had the first lockdown. I did not have time to get to know the organisation in the usual way, but I got to see how we dealt with the crisis that was Covid by quickly supporting our customers, both Personal and Business, with Payment Breaks and other working capital needs. This was no easy feat for any bank given it was a first for all banks, but it was brilliant to see how permanent tsb became that community serving communities across the country. The experience I have in the SME market and indeed the experience I had dealing with the pandemic and ensuring our Business customers got supported gave me real insight into the challenges in the market. This has obviously really supported me in my role for Chambers Ireland also.

Allan: The Chamber network’s involvement with SDG’s is gaining huge momentum, our alignment with Goal 13, Climate Action is front and centre of work in Kildare. What incentives or programmes have PTSB to offer to support SME’s?

Permanent tsb has started our own Sustainability journey and I am actually a member of the banks Sustainability Committee. While we are working on improving our own carbon footprint, we are also working on providing products, propositions and services to our customers to support their own sustainability plans. In the meantime, I would tell all SMEs to look at how energy efficient they are and look at putting some energy efficiency solutions in place in their own businesses. Something as simple as changing the refrigeration in a shop can generate huge savings in energy bills for a shopkeeper. These solutions will not only help with Climate Action but will also help with cost efficiencies for businesses which of course are even more important in a post pandemic or indeed post Brexit environment. Permanent tsb want to support Business customers in financing an energy efficiency solution and will take future cost savings into account when credit assessing the loan.

Allan: The banking sector seems to be changing on a monthly basis of late, PTSB, a huge supporter of County Kildare Chamber plays an active role in engaging with businesses. Explain your business banking offering to our readers.

We have 25,000 SME Customers and we are building out our Business Banking offerings. We are establishing key partnerships to help build out our proposition and have recently announced a partnership with Bibby Financial Services which is providing Invoice Discounting solutions for our business customers. The Bank is continuing to make significant investment in building a Digital Business Banking offering which will rival any in the market. We really want to grow our lending business so we are happy to talk to any Business customer about their lending requirements.

Allan: Covid will soon we hope become less of an issue for businesses, SME’s will get back into offices and we all have go get used to the “new norm”. But SME’s may continue to have cashflow issues, lending requirements, legacy debts etc. How can PTSB support businesses in Q3 and Q4 of this year, what can you offer that differentiates yourself from your competition?

Well I guess while we have 25,000 customers, we are in a strong position to support Business customers across the market with their lending requirements including refinancing out of other banks or finance providers, which we believe will be necessary because of the changing market landscape and indeed the impacts of pandemic on businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Allan: Businesses often say to me the bank said no, I’m still waiting to hear back, the banks aren’t lending….. you must hear that a lot in your role as President of Chambers Ireland also. What are PTSB doing to rectify this?

I hate to hear that but unfortunately it is the reality of the market. One of the reasons I took this role in Business Banking was to try and change that perception. I want permanent tsb to be the bank that responds quickly with Yes or No or indeed No but we can do this instead and I also want us to be the bank that has a faster turnaround in drawing down funds for our customer as this is the other issue in the market. The first piece should be happening now and second will not happen overnight, but we are working on it.

Permanent tsb in County Kildare comes together as its 3 Branches located in Naas, Newbridge and Maynooth will operate as one Territory under the stewardship pf Eamon Fennelly, Territory Sales Manager.

Eamon has managed Branches in various locations in Dublin and has also worked as SME Business Manager in Dublin and North East regions of the bank. Excellent customer service is the key priority for Eamon and he instils this in the teams he manages on a daily basis. He has extensive experience in personal and commercial lending and would be delighted to speak to people who may need guidance in any of these areas. Eamon says “great customer care is the foundation of the success in our business and this is reflected by the large increase in our customer numbers in the last number of years. I look forward to serving the people and communities of Kildare.”

Eamon is ably assisted by Branch teams in Naas, Newbridge & Maynooth who provide an invaluable service to the communities of Kildare county. The Branch Lead in Newbridge Aoife Davy has been servicing the Newbridge community since late of 2017, prior to that Aoife worked in a number of Dublin branches over the course of 13 years. The majority of her team have worked in the Branch for many years and have developed strong relationships with our personal and business customers through positive interaction. Aoife says “a top class customer service and the guidance of our customers through their respective journeys are our key priorities”. Permanent tsb brand has a history as a trusted and respected brand and we are open, supporting & providing banking services to customers throughout Kildare. These services have been greatly enhanced in recent years with a focus on simple ways to bank and backed up by the most up to date digital and telephone technology that allow our customers to avail of our banking services 24/7. Our focus on Digital Transformation continues in 2021 further enhancing the digital experience for both our customers and our colleagues. These initiatives will support permanent tsb in delivering on our ambition to be Ireland’s best personal and small business Bank.

Permanent tsb is also prioritising SME customers with a new business banking team led by Mags Brennan. Mags explains why its personalised service is central to permanent tsb’s approach and needed in the current climate. “We can talk face to face, even if virtually, with every one of our business customers who is impacted by Brexit, or Covid-19, or both, and have a meaningful discussion. When Covid-19 hit in March 2020, we rang all of our customers, regardless of whether they are borrowing with us or not. We are looking forward to continuing to support our business customers in Kildare and increasing business lending throughout 2021 and onwards.”

Permanet tsb have a team of Business Banking Managers covering Kildare, Killian O’Flynn, Regional & Sectoral Head of Business Banking (killian.oflynn@ permanenttsb.ie) and Robbie Leonard, Business Banking Manager (robert. leonard@permanenttsb.ie). So please feel free to reach out for all your Business Banking needs.

We are also pleased to give something back to our communities and this year we will be fundraising for our chosen charity partners Breast Cancer Ireland and Oranmore Maree Coastal Search Unit. We will be planning various fund raising activities throughout the year in support of the services both charities provide to so many people across the country.