SME Banker of the Year 2024 nominee: Rohit Garg
We are introducing the nominees for the SME Banker of the Year 2024 Award – dynamic and inventive leaders who have dedicated themselves to serving SMEs. Their unwavering commitment to the SME sector has left a considerable impact on this crucial segment of the economy, positioning them as outstanding leaders in the realm of SME banking. Take the opportunity to learn more about these exceptional nominees and be inspired by their steadfast dedication to serving SMEs!
Rohit has a work experience of 27 years across markets in South Asia, Middle East and Africa. He has worked for global banks and Regional Banks in the middle East. Having worked for 18 years in SME Banking sector, he has also conceptualized and launched the first SME Digital Bank in the UAE and is currently the Group Head for Business Banking at Emirates NBD Group. With strong digital capabilities backed by decades of client Relationships, ENBD group is enhancing financing and support to this critical sector at a rapid pace and creating opportunities for the clients to prosper.
In the course of your career, what have you seen change in terms of demands/needs of SME clients? And what role should a bank play in meeting these demands?
The banking needs of SME clients have undergone significant changes over time. Initially, there was a strong emphasis on traditional banking services and financing only. However, in recent years, there has been a shift towards wider services and transaction banking products like Trade, Cash management and payments along with financing and debt. SMEs now seek more efficient service requiring online banking platforms, mobile apps, and digital payment solutions to meet their day-to-day operational needs.
Furthermore, there's an increasing demand for personalized financial solutions tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities that SMEs face. Access to real-time data analytics, cash flow management tools, and financial advisory services has become crucial for SMEs to make informed decisions and navigate complex market dynamics.
Overall, the transformation is marked by a greater reliance on technology, data-driven insights, and a desire for financial institutions to act as strategic partners supporting the growth and sustainability of SMEs.
What have you found to be effective in leading your SME banking team/in your leadership position?
- Customer Empathy: It is very important to stay connected to the client and be empathetic to their needs. The customer requirements keep evolving and staying connected and empathetic to their needs is non-negotiable.
- Building a good team: A team is as good as its weakest link and having a skilled, motivated and high performance team is a pre requisite to serving our clients needs.
- Embracing Technology: Implement digital tools and platforms that enhance efficiency, streamline processes, and provide better services to our clients.
- Compliance & Risk Management: Given the diverse nature of SMEs, understanding and mitigating risks are crucial for sustained success. We have robust screening mechanisms in place for both onboarding new customers and for ongoing monitoring of our portfolio.
Briefly describe, what would be your top 3 achievements/ projects delivered by your bank for SME customers?
- Building out our Digital offering across Acquisition, Transactions, Servicing and engagement for our customers. This has bought unprecedented convenience and benefit to our clients in a short period of time across their entire life cycle.
- Growing our customer financing by 85% over 2 years. As one of the largest banks in the region, we offer significant support to the growth of our clients in this very important sector for the economy and we have especially focused on this segment post covid
- Enhancing our Relationship management and specialist sales force to serve our clients. We have increased our frontline teams as we grow to deliver on our promise of exceptional service and continue to give a choice to our customers.
What would be the most significant business case that you've applied and learned the most out of it? Both positively or negatively?
One of the most significant business case was to embed digital capabilities in a manner that delivers customer benefit and value. I believe that Digital is a means to an end and not the end itself.
As we enhance our digital capabilities, we have ensured that our customers get a frictionless, seamless and convenient banking experience. This is mainly due to consistency in processes and the availability of the same 24/7.
Along with this it is imperative to maintain the human interaction. Our customers should know that while they have the option to bank with the convenience and flexibility of online banking, they also have access to a physical branch where experts are available to listen to their queries and provide them the required solutions. Ensuring that we deliver on this promise has given us exceptional results in both customer NPS and financial results for the Bank and something that I am really proud of.
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