W&F Issue 2 2018

www.wealthandfinance-news.com 32 Wealth & Finance International - Issue 2 2018 Established in 1990, Alfa-Bank is a universal bank offering every major type of banking operation available on the financial market, including corporate and retail lending, investment banking, leasing, factoring, and trade financing. Alongside its traditional banking services, the company also runs Alfa Private, a service for HNWI/UHNWI, which was established in Alfa Bank in 2007. Alfa Private assists in developing the widest range of personal and corporate banking solutions, knows the value of time and money, discovers new dimensions of financial and non-financial markets, takes responsibility for the quality of our partners, and promotes the development of business and intellectual communities. These solutions are completely bespoke, and as such Alfa-Bank and its staff work closely with clients to understand their goals and needs, and then tailor individual services to meet them. Here, Katerina discusses how this approach works and how it benefits the client: “Most of our clients have experienced private banking services before, and they are always pleasantly surprised by the exceptional standard of service they receive from us. Most of them know what they want now and what they have to want in the future. We do not say ‘no’ to our client until we are truly out of options. We can create unique products inside Alfa Group but if a client needs, for example, to buy bonds from another bank, we can do that as well. We go beyond the customary banking horizons, and this ensures that they always receive the solutions they need.” As part of this client focused approach, the bank takes great pride in its dedicated and professional staff. Alfa Private offices are the optimal platform for carrying out transactions related to acquisition and disposal of different assets, communicating with business partners, as well as for storing valuables in the bank’s safety deposit space. Alfa Private clients receive a truly bespoke solution which they fully understand and appreciate. “To ensure true excellence for everyone we work with, at Alfa Private we firmly believe that the specific skillset of each financial consultant should correspond to each client’s needs and level of understanding. For example, the consultant should be knowledgeable of tax residency and structuring, forex control, and peculiarities of various jurisdictions. After all, the client will likely not trust an intermediary and will not communicate with them. As such, we know that we have to improve the expertise of our people, and we are investing in this area constantly. We are constantly developing our staff and recruiting others, and this is having a positive effect on both our internal culture and our clients’ satisfaction. “Thanks to this approach, we have efficient services and product offers combining private and corporate interests, and these options are popular with our clients. These include structuring of financial and non-financial assets, M&A, the attraction of various forms of shareholder capital, and business consulting on so-called special cases. A team of experts working with the client gathers and structures into a portfolio everything that our partners, such as A1, Alfa-Capital, Alfa- Leasing, and Alfa-Strakhovaniye, can offer them. We also share an active position in issues of inheritance and its management.” Based in Russia, the bank has noticed the growing trend for de-offshorization in the market, as capital is coming back to Russia from other territories, as Katerina highlights. “In the Russian banking and investment market, the pending international exchange of tax information and higher transparency requirements for Swiss banks is contributing to capital’s return to its home country. This is affecting our industry, as some clients are demanding higher transparency of their banking service. A mere assessment of A New Approach to Private Banking Drawing on more than 28 years of experience in the market, Alfa-Bank is a Russian universal bank that carries out all major types of banking operations including servicing private and corporate clients, investment banking, trade finance and asset management. Below, Head of Private Banking Katerina Mileeva will tell us more about the bank and its Private Banking Service, especially as the latter was recently named Private Bank of the Year 2018 – Russia in our Global Excellence Awards. 1802WF19 “...we seek to facilitate communication with the bank not only for the client but also for their family and proxies. This is a new approach for the Russian market, and we are actively developing this area.” risks and profitability is no longer enough, they want look into the product structure and at detailed knowledge of terms and commission fees, as well as for an understanding of the advantages the offer gives them. This factor strengthens our position, as we can make an offer combining the high profitability provided by Russian instruments with the security of less risky Western ones.” Looking to the future, Katerina outlines the developments that will lead Alfa Private to even greater success as it seeks to continue enhancing the customer’s banking experience. “Moving forward, our core focus will be continuing to offer the exceptional services that our clients have come to rely on; and to achieve this we will go on developing expertise in daily banking services. We are first and foremost focused on the speed, limits, and flexibility of remote-access channels. Because of these channels, our clients do not have to visit the bank to complete most transactions. Looking further ahead, it is our aim to perform 100% investment and banking transactions remotely without the need for the client to visit the bank, while at the same time maintaining high security levels.”