Built on Trust

Grant Parsons entered the role of CEO at Investec Bank Mauritius at a time of uncertainty.

Already a longtime manager at the bank’s Johannesburg-based parent company, Parsons was given the opportunity in 2021 to helm the Mauritian subsidiary and lead its 115 staff members. But it was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, so all of the ways a new CEO would seek to establish rapport with a new team were unavailable.

“I distinctly recall having to take a very long flight from South Africa, which normally would take four hours, but at this time took closer to 18,” he tells The CEO Magazine.

He was immediately confined under the country’s quarantine policy and subsequently forced to run the company remotely for his entire first year on the job. For a company that prizes quick and effective communication with clients and colleagues, this restrictive working environment posed a threat to the culture he hoped to foster.

Rather than succumb to his circumstances, however, Parsons devised solutions.

“We had to find new ways to stay engaged, both with our clients and with our colleagues and our teams,” he says.

“We found ways to maintain open and honest dialogue, and open channels of communication within the broader organization and with our clients, whether it was just with the phone or on Teams calls, or even remote entertainment technologies.”

Weathering these challenges prepared Parsons and his team to bounce back in the post-pandemic period. The technologies they adopted during the pandemic were integrated into the company’s later efforts to automate its processes and boost efficiency.

The lessons of remote working laid the groundwork for new processes, allowing clients to open accounts, conduct transactions and interact with the bank more seamlessly. “That’s been our focus in the past 18 months. It’s all about finding ways to be more efficient and deliver a better client experience,” he reveals.

Growth Phase

With Parsons’ new role came expanded responsibilities. In his previous role as head of corporate coverage in Johannesburg, he looked after listed corporate clients. As CEO in Mauritius, he is responsible for compliance, risk and growth.

Fortunately, Parsons is confident about leading the bank into a growth phase, even in an era of declining interest rates after several years of increases.

“Our challenge is figuring out how to grow our business in a more challenging banking environment,” he says. “Declining interest rates means less pressure on some of our clients as the cost of borrowing decreases, but then there’s also less margin we can earn on our assets as a whole.”

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Parsons’ plan for confronting this new environment of declining interest rates is to pursue greater operational efficiency. “We are exploring all sides of our business, looking for ways to offer a quicker and better client experience at a lower cost of acquisition,” he explains.

This includes making it easier for clients to open accounts online, providing new benefits to deposit clients and looking for growth areas on the lending side.

“We are also exploring ways to collaborate more closely with Investec in the United Kingdom, be that in property lending, transactions or fund finance lending transactions,” he adds.

Key to these growth plans is a culture within the broader Investec Group of nurturing deep client relationships. “We believe that our relationships are built on trust. We try to deliver an out-of-the-ordinary experience to our clients and to our people,” Parsons says.

“Our focus now is really about client access, client communication and really being open and honest with our clients in terms of the solutions that we can deliver.”

This focus on relationships extends to the bank’s partners and suppliers as well, according to Parsons, such as with the Mauritian management company Osiris Corporate Solutions. “Whether it’s a client–bank relationship or an employer–employee relationship, trust ensures honest feedback,” he points out.

“When you’re making mistakes or dropping the ball, your partners will tell you, and you’ll collectively look at ways to improve and deliver optimally from both sides.”

Global Citizens

Another selling point for the bank is its ability to make compliance a competitive advantage, Parsons says. “We all know the pain of opening bank accounts and the compliance and onboarding processes that are involved,” he says. “We want to turn our compliance into a positive experience for our clients.”

This is particularly important to Investec Bank Mauritius’ clients who consider themselves global citizens, of whom there are many. “A lot of clients live in different jurisdictions outside of Mauritius, so we provide them with an opportunity to open an international bank account with attractive interest rates,” he explains.

“We’ve got an innovative multi-currency debit card that we’re very proud of. So if you travel often between jurisdictions, you only need one card in your wallet instead of six or seven.”

Another service the bank offers to international clients is lending for second homes in Mauritius.

“We want to deliver a cost-effective, value-for-money service around all our lending transactions. We don’t want to overcomplicate our legal documents. We want to turn around our credit decisions quickly, so we want to keep lines of communication open and clear,” he says.

Parsons also empowers his team to make independent decisions about how best to serve clients’ individual needs. “Investec is an entrepreneurial organization, so we look for people who are creative, talented, passionate and energetic,” he confirms.

“Every person who works at Investec has an opinion that counts. When people come up with good ideas, we encourage them to run with those initiatives, because they’re the ones with the passion and the drive.”

Parsons says this ensures clients receive services that are personalized and unique. “We continually ask ourselves whether what we’ve delivered is out of the ordinary,” he reflects.

“Success is not just about the financial reward, it’s also about having a lasting impact and creating an enduring worth for all stakeholders.”