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Finance flows easily through global hubs like New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. However, developing regions, where investment is often needed most urgently, can be challenging to access financially.
From complex local currencies to heavy regulation, even major organizations neglect certain regions deemed too risky to operate in. This leaves it up to specialist bodies to provide the wholesale banking services that connect developing regions to global finance and the transformative potential it offers.
Since its founding in London in 1833, before Queen Victoria had ascended the throne, Crown Agents Bank has been doing just that.
“What we’re doing here in terms of a strapline is bringing prosperity to the markets that we serve,” CEO John Samkubam tells The CEO Magazine.
“We look to provide the services that open up emerging markets.”
Today, Crown Agents Bank provides access to more than 120 currencies across 800-plus currency pairs, with clients across the public, private and development sectors.
“We are specialists in foreign exchange in African currencies, but we’re also specialists in payments, getting money in and out of hard-to-reach jurisdictions,” Samkubam explains.
“Some of the larger banks have exited certain jurisdictions in the Caribbean and Africa, and they can’t make payments, so we step in and help.
“We are a United Kingdom-based bank regulated by one of the leading regulators in the world, but we look to provide services that open up emerging markets.”
Now in his sixth year at Crown Agents Bank, Samkubam has brought a wealth of experience to his role, with almost 30 years in the finance sector under his belt.
“My career has been very varied. I qualified as an attorney, I’ve worked in compliance and I’ve worked in risk management,” he reveals.
“Obviously, if you are covering African markets, risk is a very important aspect to be constantly conscious of.”
Following stints with banking giants Deutsche Bank and HSBC, he has enjoyed the greater intimacy offered by Crown Agents Bank.
“There is a much clearer purpose in the organization, and one that you feel much closer to as an employee,” he says. “We’ve had dramatic changes in the past six years and the organization has grown significantly.
“Historically, we were all based in one place in London, and now we are looking at having a regional strategy where we will have CEOs covering various regions of the globe.”
“If you’re building anything new, you need to build a certain amount of patience to see it succeed.”
Part of Samkubam’s strategy as CEO for Africa is seeing Crown Agents Bank have a more active presence in the jurisdictions it serves.
“What we’re looking at doing in Africa is putting boots on the ground, which we’ve not had previously,” he explains. “We’ve always been an offshore bank with local partners but no employees on the ground.
“That would mean local licenses in some African jurisdictions, which would allow us to grow our business significantly and provide a vast array of services, as well as give us deeper market penetration.
“These changes are all setting us up to better serve the clients that we have.”
While these changes may indeed better serve its clients, this doesn’t stop inertia from being one of the biggest obstacles for Crown Agents Bank.
“The biggest challenge is change. Change itself is very difficult to effect,” Samkubam points out.
Part of this, he explains, is the difficulty of operating in new markets and hiring new people.
Adapting to local sensibilities is crucial, with Samkubam recognizing that Africa requires a relationship-driven approach that emphasizes trust and human connection, rather than a blunt and task-driven approach favored in Europe.
And even when change is accepted, often accompanying it is an undesirable yet growing tendency for short-termism. Samkuban believes this must be resisted.
“Years of experience have taught me that you need to be patient. We live in a world today where people say patience is a virtue, but I think we lack a lot of patience,” he reflects.
“People build a new business and they want to see revenue straight away. People onboard a new client; they want to start doing business straight away. If you’re building anything new, you need to build a certain amount of patience to see it succeed.
“The solution is going to be delivering sustainable revenue rather than being quick to market but unprofitable and unsustainable over the long-term.”
Crucial to Crown Agents Bank’s vision of sustainability are its long-term partnerships. Samkubam admits openly that without them, the organization would cease to function.
“We can’t do what we do without our partners. Every single one of our financial metrics is driven by partnership,” he says. “We’re a relatively small organization so we can only succeed by building relationships and partnerships with banks on the ground.
“We can’t make payments without working with a local partner, either a bank or a fintech that actually distributes the funds to the final beneficiary.”
“We can’t do what we do without our partners.”
The bank’s network of trusted partners stretches across the globe, with specialists such as ACIOE Associates helping to unlock complex markets. Its collaborations are driven by a shared purpose to help unlock growth in regions that have historically been overlooked.
“We’re bringing in both investment capital and development capital into a lot of emerging markets,” Samkubam says.
“We’re proud of that because it actually allows the emerging markets to grow and prosper. That’s the raison d’etre, if you like, of Crown Agents Bank.”
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