麦肯锡案例研究2financeBuildingabankfromthegroundup

Buildingabankfromthegroundup

Anambitious,customer-focusedstrategycreatedabankunlikeanyotherinthemarket.

Theclient

HeadquarteredintheMiddleEast,theclientisoneoftheregion’slargestandoldestbanks.Itservesretail,corporate,treasury,andinvestmentcustomers,incorporatingmodernbankingserviceswithtraditionalpracticesandvalues.

Thesituation

Afterhalfacenturyofsuccessfuloperation,theclientwaslookingforwaystogrowitsbusiness.Aroundthistime,Malaysia’scentralbankinvitedtheclienttoconsiderexpandingtothecountryandofferedalicensetooperatethere.

ToassessthepotentialinMalaysia,theclientaskedMcKinseytoperformatraditionalmarketentryanalysis.Oncewepresentedthestrategicrecommendations,theclientdecidedtoproceed.Theyaskedustocollaboratewiththemastheyembarkedonanambitiousprogramtobuildthenewbankfromthegroundup.

McKinsey’scontribution

Themarketentryprojectwasourfirstforthisclient.TheclientselectedMcKinseybecauseofourstrongpresenceacrosstheMiddleEastandMalaysiaandourdeepknowledgeofthefinancialservicesindustry.Theclientalsoappreciatedourabilitytoassembleaninternationalteamofexpertswhounderstoodthechallengesinvolvedinaprojectlikethis(e.g.,retailoperations,banking,IT,marketing).Ourworkonthemarketanalysisresultedinastrongrelationshipandanaturaltransitiontothedevelopmentstrategyandimplementation.

Impact

WehelpedtheclientunderstandtheopportunitiesoftheMalaysianmarketandhowtocreateaninnovative,customer-focusedbankunlikeanyotherinthemarket.Forthenextyearandahalf,astheclienthiredaCEOanditsfirststaffinMalaysia,weworkedalongsidethemtodefine,develop,anddelivertheessentialelementsofthenewbank:

Distributionchannels

Productsandservices

Organizationandhumanresourcesplan

Technologyandoperations

Marketingandcustomeracquisition

Financialbudgetingandmanagement

Regulatorymanagementandadministration

Physicalinfrastructureandsiteplans

Withinthreemonthsoflaunch,thebankopened12branches,puttingitonscheduletomeetits5-yeargoalof50branches.Inaddition,thebankwasabletoattracttoptalenttofill300jobs.Ithasbeenwellreceivedbythepublicandthepress.

Thebankismidwaythrougha5-yearplan,guidedbythreeprinciples:

Convenience:ThenewbankwillhavemorebranchesandATMsataccessiblelocationsthananyotherforeignbank;longeropenhours;andworld-classtechnologyandefficientoperationstoreducecustomerwaittime.

Service:Customerswillbeguaranteedasuperiorbranchexperiencefromthemomentafriendlyfacegreetsthematthedoorthroughthesalesandserviceprocess.Thebankexpressesacustomer-firstattitudeintraining,marketing,andtouch-pointdesign.

Innovativefirsts:Productswillbedesignedwithacompleteunderstandingofthecustomerexperience.Processeswillbeuser-friendly,convenient,personalized,andlargelypaperless.

Definingtheopportunity

Theclientwantedtogrowinternationally,andMalaysiaappearedtobealikelysite.Ourmarketentryanalysisrevealedanopportunityforabanktodifferentiateitselfbycombiningtraditionalvalueswithefficiency,uniqueproducts,superiorserviceandbroadaccessibility.Theclientdecidedtoproceedandaskedustohelpbuildthenewbankfromthegroundup.

AlthoughmanyestablishedbanksalreadyoperatedinMalaysia,ouranalysisidentifiedgapsthatwerenotbeingaddressed.Byinterviewingindividualandcorporatecustomersandconductingfirsthandcompetitiveresearch,weconfirmedthatthesegapsrepresentedopportunitiesforourclient.

Broadlyspeaking,forexample,internationalbanksofferedstrongproductsandgoodservice,butwerenotconvenientoravailabletomostcustomers.Domesticplayersofferedwideaccessbutnotthesamequality,service,speed,andotherdistinguishingfactorscustomersdeserve.Meanwhile,insightsfromamarketingfirmweworkedwithrevealedthatMalaysiansdidnotassociatetrustwiththebankingsectoratall.Therewasaclearopportunityfortheclienttocombineefficiencyandpassion,high-performingproducts,superiorservice,andaccessibilitytoallcustomersinabankfoundeduponuniversalvaluesthatallcustomerscouldappreciateandrespect.

Tosucceed,theclientwouldneedtocapturepublicattentionimmediatelyandacquireandretaincustomers.Becausemostconsumersandbusinessesalreadyhavebankingrelationships,theclientwouldhavetopositionitselfasofferingserviceandvalueinsuchadistinctiveandpowerfulwaythatcustomerswouldbewillingtonotonlychangebanks,butalsobecomeevangelistsforthenewbank.

Thekeyquestionsfortheteamwere:

Whatwillthebanklooklike?

Whoarethetargetmarkets?

Whatdifferenceswillprovidecompetitiveadvantages?

Howcanthebankcreateagreatcustomerexperience?

Whatproductswillbeofferedatlaunch?Whatfeatureswillmakethebestconsumerbankingproducts?

Whatdoesheadquarterslooklike?Howmanybranchesatlaunch?HowmanyATMcenters,andwherearetheylocated?

Howdoweinitiatethehiringprocess?Whatexperiencesandskillswillhelpthebankdifferentiateitself?

Whatarethemarketingrequirementsforadvertisingandlaunch?Whatagenciescanbestdeliverfortheclient?

Whatarethecostsandoverallfinancialreturnsofthisstrategy?Wouldthisbeattractivetoheadquarters?

Thisprojectgaveustheopportunitytobebothstrategicandtactical.Asweassembledourteam,weintegratedindustryexpertisewithlocalpresence.

Becausetheclientneededallofitsexistingpersonneltomanageitssuccessfuloperationsathome,itbegantheengagementwithnoemployeesinMalaysia.Weprovidedresourcestofillthegaps,andastheemployeebasegrewfromonetomorethan300employees,weworkedwiththeclient,dayinanddayout,tohelpbuildthebank.

Webroughtinteammembersfromacrossourorganizationwithbackgroundsinbanking,financialservices,andspecificbusinessfunctions.Forexample,Robertprovidedthebusinesstechnologyandoperationsexpertisetohelpbuildthetechnologyandoperationsinfrastructure.Ei-Mynnledtheproductdevelopment,markettestingofalluniqueanddifferentcomponentsofthestrategy,anddevelopmentofthecomprehensivemarketingandpublicrelationsplans.OneprojectcolleagueisanexpertinMalaysia;othersinbankcards;stillothersinsales.

Ozgur,anassociateprincipalatthetimeandnowapartner,wasresponsiblefordirectingtheoverallteam,andhemadesuretheclientintheMiddleEastwasupdatedontheteam’sprogress.

Arjay,theengagementmanagerinMalaysia,hadtwopersonalgoalsfortheengagement:

Toworkcloselywiththeclienttoensurewedidthebestworkpossible(e.g.,presentstrongrecommendationsfocusedontheclient’ssuccess).

Tohelpindividualteammemberswhentheyneededhelp—andtostayoutofthewaywhentheydidn’t.

TheMalaysianCEOcameonboard1yearintothejourney.WorkingwiththeCEO,weidentifiedandinterviewedtopexecutivesearchfirmsandhelpedrecruitthefirst19employees.

Untilpermanentstaffwereinplace,wekeptthingsmoving.WecollaboratedwiththeCEOtoidentifywhichproductstooffer,howtoattractandkeepcustomers,andwheretolocatebankbranchesandATMs.

McKinseyandtheclientfunctionedasasingleunitthrougheachcriticaldevelopmentphase.Asmanagerscameonboard,weworkedcloselytointegrateeachofthemandtheirideasintotheprocessofcreatingthebank.

Ourcompetitiveanalysisrevealedweaknessesinexistingbanksthatourclientcouldusetoitsadvantage.Forexample,earlyonwewenttoanotherbankforaroutinetransaction.Whenwearrived,wetookanumberandthenwaitedandobserved.Experiencingthecompetition’ssub-parserviceinspiredideastomaketheclient’snewbanktrulydistinctive.Theclient’sbankiscompletelyorientedaroundservingthecustomer—fromlongbeforethecustomerwalksinthedooruntilafterheorsheleaves.

Wegatheredfactsrigorously,usingfocusgroupstolearnaboutcustomerpreferencesateverystep.Tohelptheclientmapoutpromisingbranchlocations,wevisiteddifferentneighborhoodsandcities,tookphotographs,andtalkedtopotentialcustomers.WedevelopedanegotiatingstrategyfortheATMnetworkswiththirdpartiesandthecentralbank.Wevisitedbuildingafterbuildingwithrealestateagentstofindtherightplacefortheheadquarters,accessibletoairports,hotels,andrestaurants.Weevenhelpedpickpaintcolors.

Togetherwiththeclient,wedevelopedorganizationalstructuresandincomestatementstocorrespondwithprojectedgrowth.WesetuptheITsystemwithbuilt-incoreprocessadvantages,suchasstreamlinedaccountopeningandservicing.

Wedevelopedtherequirementsforintegratedmarketingandexecution,identifiedpotentialagenciesandpreppedtheCEOandmarketingheadtomakethefinaldecisions.WealsoworkedwithaPRfirmtodeveloplaunchplans.

Allthewhile,ourteamfocusedonpreparingtheclienttotakefullcontrolatlaunch.Weworkedside-by-sidewithnewemployeesastheyjoined,mutuallybenefitingfromeachother’svariedskillsandsupportingthemuntiltheytookcompletechargeoftheirrespectivefunctions.

Discoveriesalongtheway

Wehadtochangethewaywethoughtaboutthebankingprocess.Ratherthansayingsomethingwasimpossibleorhasneverbeendonebefore,weaskedeachother:Wouldcustomerslikeit?Howwoulditwork?Canitbedonecosteffectively?Andthentogetherwefoundasolution.Thatledtoaseriesof“firsts,”suchasintroducingthefirstcombinationATManddebitcardwithbothcontactandcontactlessfunctions.

Themorefactsandinformationwegathered,themorewevisitedcompetitorsandspoketopotentialcustomers,themoreideaswegot.

Whenwelearnedittypicallytakes5daysforacustomeropeninganaccounttoreceiveadebitcardandPIN,wechallengedourselvestoimproveonthat.Wesetagoaltocreateeachcardonthespot,sothecustomercouldleavethebranchwithhisorhernewcardinhand.

Ourresearchledtoseven“InnovativeFirsts”fortheclient.Forexample,thebankreliesonautomatedtechnologyinsteadoftellers,makingtransactionsfastandefficientforthecustomerandthebankandallowingthebanktofocusonservingcustomers.

WealsodiscoveredthebankcouldtakeadvantageoftheMalaysiannationalidentitycardstostreamlinethecustomerexperience.Theclientisthefirstbanktoallowcustomerstousetheseidentitycards(oranyothersmartcard)toidentifythemselvesbyscanningtheircardatthedoor.Fromthatpointon,theydon’twastetimeenteringtheirpersonalinformationonformssuchasloanandchecking-accountapplications,andeveryoneatthebankcangreetthembyname.

Toachievethesebreakthroughs,everyoneontheclient’ssideandMcKinsey’shadtochangethewaywethoughtaboutthebankingprocess.Wecouldn’tbesatisfiedwiththestatusquo.Soratherthansayingsomethingwasimpossibleorhadneverbeendonebefore,weaskedeachother:Canthisbedone?Wouldcustomerslikeit?Howwoulditwork?Canitbedonecost-effectively?Andthentogetherwefoundasolution.

Thebank’slaunchattractedtheMalaysianprimeministeranddrewaccoladesinthepress.TheclienthassuccessfullyexpandedinternationallyandhashighpublicawarenessinMalaysia.

Thebankisontracktomeetits5-yeargoals.Itopened12brancheswithin3monthsandplanstohave50within5years.Thebankhasfilled300jobsandhasastrongmanagementteaminplace.Thestaffcontinuestodevelopnewproductsthatfulfilltheprinciplesofconvenience,service,andinnovation.

Amongtheclient’scomments:

“McKinseywasveryreceptivetonewwaysofdoingthings.Theyhelpedusgetawayfromdoingthingsthewaythey’dalwaysbeendone.”

“McKinseyhelpeduscreateaprofessionalatmospherethatisnon-hierarchical,whereideasaremostimportant.Theywereverygoodatcreatingacultureofempowerment.”

“ThewealthofexperiencesMcKinseybroughtfromotherindustrieswasvaluable.Ithelpedusseewhatworkedandwhatdidn’t.”

“McKinseywasverypassionateabouttheprojectandinvolvedineveryaspectofthebank.Theyhavehigh-qualitypeoplewhowereverycommittedtomakingtheprojectasuccess.”

“Workingsidebysidewiththeclient’sexperiencedleadersandinnovativethinkershelpedusdevelopinwaysweneverexpected.Forexample,IcouldnothaveimaginedhowmuchIwouldgrowbywatchingtheCEO’shumbleyetinspirationalleadership.Ithashadadramaticimpactonmebothprofessionallyandpersonally.Wecontinuetoworkwiththebank,andIamstilllearningfromthebank’steam.”

“Whenourimplementationteammadeitsfirstpresentationtotheclient,therewerehalfadozenMcKinseyteammembersintheroomandonefromtheclient—thepersonwhowassecondincommandoverallandtheleadonthenewbank.Thiswasthefirstpresentationforoneofourteammembers,aresearcher.Shehadexpectedonlytoobserve,buttheclientaskedforheropinion,andshegaveit.Ultimately,hemadehisdecisionbasedonherthinking.Thatmadeatremendousimpressiononourentireteam.Wesawthatwehadtheopportunitytoinfluenceanexperiencedexecutive,an