Directions banking business, which are commonly called premium and private banking in the world financial system formed over the centuries. And it is not at all necessary to serve the client in a separate room with expensive furniture. This aspect is not excluded, but it is far from being the main one.
AT different countries this type of service was created under the influence of various economic and historical factors. Clients of Swiss banks, for example, needed a special level of confidentiality, American clients initially had to solve problems related to taxation, the British at one time had many features associated with the inheritance of capital. But in all cases, clients needed special help from bankers.
Banks operating on Russian market, joined the process of developing this service regarding world history recently. It is all the more interesting to see what transformations this segment is going through now.
Our interlocutor is the head of the department for working with premium clients of Raiffeisenbank Kirill Matveev.
- Kirill, let's first define the concepts, VIP service, premium service, private banking ... What do banks invest in these concepts and what are the differences?
Globally, the idea of premium service is a personal service for significant client(premium), plus improved conditions for banking products and non-banking privileges. Private banking - complex work with the client, his capital and business, including not only financial and investment, but also insurance, legal and tax support.
Premium customers regularly study offers not only of their main bank, but also of other banks, they are quite mobile and try to maximize the benefits from working with the bank. When choosing a private banking client, he rather relies on the longest possible asset management. This difference is also manifested in the expectations of clients in terms of service: private banking clients address the bank not only with questions on direct banking products, but also related ones related to their business, as well as family members (for example, taxation features, advice on selecting real estate, etc.). ). That is, it is important to understand that a private banking client comes to the bank for a solution, and not for a product. The client of this segment needs a comprehensive solution for their business and investments. Private banking employees develop and offer such solutions, which requires expensive infrastructure. Of course, some of these services are also available for premium customers, but in a more standard version. Offering solutions designed for private banking clients to premium clients is simply inefficient.
All these differences are based on the fact that clients of one segment may simply not be interested in the services of clients of another segment. For example, the service of free access to priority pass business lounges, which is very popular for premium clients, is not relevant for private banking clients, as they prefer to travel first class or business aviation, planning trips with the help of personal assistants.
Many banks provide all levels of service in one segment with the collective name "VIP-service", but the differences I have listed are a weighty enough argument to separate the private banking and premium banking segments, as we do - to define various criteria to assign a client to a particular segment and offer different service models and sets of products and services. Such different segments have one similar feature - ultra-high service requirements, both from the client to the bank, and offered by banks for clients. I note that most often, when talking about VIP service, we are talking about premium service.
- Have the consumer preferences of premium customers changed in recent years?
To begin with, over the past three years, the client itself has not changed much. As before, the age of our premium clients is 30-50 years old, 70% of them are men, the annual income is more than 2.4 million rubles (from 200 thousand rubles per month). Clients lead an active lifestyle, go in for “status” sports (alpine skiing, tennis, hockey, football, fitness clubs), devote time to personal development, have hobbies and hobbies, and travel a lot.
- This consumer model has not changed at all in the context of the general economic downturn?
Of course, our clients cannot help but react to these changes, so their financial behavior has changed. At the same time, no cardinal changes have taken place; rather, we are talking about a correction in the structure of consumption.
Premium customers have not completely abandoned foreign travel, unlike more mainstream customers. As before, they spend a lot of time abroad, traveling, working trips. Our bank card statistics show that in recent years, spending abroad has doubled or more for many premium customers, which is similar to the growth of the exchange rate.
The share of spending on restaurants and entertainment decreased slightly, but still remained considerable. Of course, due to inflation, food costs have increased.
However, one should not conclude that a premium client is such a spender who, despite the fall of the ruble and general inflation in the economy, continues to squander money right and left. This category of clients is accustomed to a certain level of comfort and tries to maintain it at any time. economic situation. More affluent clients always try to rationally approach monetary issues, act according to the principle “a penny saves a ruble”. Therefore, they usually have savings for “difficult times” and invest in various assets in advance in order to have an additional source of income, as they have an individual financial strategy built with the help of a personal manager - in fact, this is the basis of premium banking services.
This approach is one of the reasons for the lower sensitivity of the wealthy segments of the population to periods of crisis. For example, in the memorable December 2014, premium banking clients' funds were distributed between currency and ruble instruments in the proportion of 70/30, which, of course, made their sleep a little more peaceful than everyone else's.
- Does your statistics allow you to highlight any regional features, for example, the preferences of customers in the Urals?
If we talk about the expenses of premium customers of the Urals, then in the first place they have expenses for groceries and daily necessities. This pattern is also typical for other regions, except for Moscow and St. Petersburg, where the share of spending on restaurants and entertainment is higher. Interestingly, premium customers are more likely to visit convenience stores than large hypermarkets. In second place are the costs of air tickets and travel - here the Urals premium customers behave similarly to any other customers of this class.
- Is it profitable to work with premium clients? What share of your bank's income is premium services?
The share of premium services in the retail income of the bank is not prevailing, as we universal bank and offer a wide range of products. Significant is the fact that this income is less dependent on the economic situation than, for example, retail lending, which explains the fact that more and more follower banks are also beginning to single out this segment and create separate products for it. Someone has just launched this direction and is at the beginning of the journey, someone has extensive experience working with such clients and improves the offer and service every year. But in general, everyone is fighting for good customers, which is especially important in times of crisis. We were one of the first to start working with a premium audience, and it’s easier for us in this regard - we already have a stable client base.
- What kind character traits Would you single out the behavior of clients in this category with the onset of difficulties in the economy - distrust, jumps from currency to currency, something else?
2015 turned out to be a difficult year, both for clients and for the banking market as a whole. Many clients were at a loss from the kaleidoscope of events and news. In an environment where every day the news is full of headlines about currency fluctuations, bank losses, mass layoffs, etc., it is very difficult to keep a sober mind.
Raiffeisenbank turned out to be in a better position - our historically conservative policy of asset management and risk assessment in times of crisis is fully justified. Thanks to the timely measures taken and the available margin of safety, Raiffeisenbank was one of the few remaining profitable in 2015.
For customers who keep large amounts of their own funds in banks, the reliability factor has come to the fore. It was premium clients who felt more relaxed last year: firstly, they could call their personal manager and just talk about what was happening, talk about their worries (our clients actively used this opportunity), and secondly, many of them was financial plan, and the crisis had no tangible impact on its achievement.
- What products and services have been added to the premium banking line under the new conditions? What are you planning to implement this year?
Product line updates are a response to changing customer needs. In 2015, we were actively engaged in replenishing the line of investment products that are relevant taking into account the situation on the foreign exchange market and market valuable papers. Introduced new structural products in currencies with capital protection, updated trust management strategies, program investment insurance life (ISZH), began to provide brokerage services.
This year we have a plan to replenish the line of offered bank cards and we will continue to develop insurance products. In the near future we will launch a premium banking program especially for clients health insurance, unique for the Russian market, with the possibility of treatment in any clinic in Russia and Europe.
- It would be interesting to follow the evolution of this trend in the Russian market using your example. What was the difference between Raiffeisenbank's premium banking at the time of its launch and now?
We were among the first to single out a separate category among our clients - affluent. Since we are part of a European banking group, we have seen from the example of colleagues from Western countries that at a certain level of development of the banking sector, everyone comes to the need to single out a segment of wealthy customers and offer them other products. Raiffeisenbank decided to launch premium banking in a difficult year 2009, despite the fact that it was a year when it was risky to introduce any completely new concepts. However, we did not abandon our plans, and it was the right decision.
At the beginning of the journey, we simply identified, according to certain criteria, customers who, according to the level of income or account balances, fit the concept of premium, and “by default” began to offer them premium services. After a couple of years, in an evolutionary way, we came to the need to introduce not only clear criteria, but also to offer this service to customers as a separate product - the Premium service package.
At the first stage, this led to some outflow of customers, but those who remained were already consciously approaching the choice.
And since then, the number of our clients with the Premium package has been growing. By the way, many banks that introduced premium services as a separate area after us already took into account our experience and immediately created a package offer.
Of course, over these seven years, the clients themselves have changed, their requirements for the bank and premium services. Together with the general evolution of the market, we are also developing: for example, once premium managers conducted financial consultations with clients using a simple chart on paper, then we introduced a European financial planning methodology adapted to our market with more complex logic. Now we are thinking about separate software. Over the years, the requirements for the level of personal managers have become more stringent - we have a methodology for developing employees to the level of competent financial consultants that has been honed over the years.
- How do premium clients come to the bank? What is the best way to attract them?
The main, and the simplest and most reliable source of premium customers of any bank is to improve the level of customer service for existing ones. Sberbank is in an advantageous position here (due to the fact that they have a historically huge current client base) and VTB24, also due to the size of the bank and the number of customers served. salary projects. Raiffeisenbank also has good competitive advantages, since the bank's policy in the first years of operation in the Russian market was to focus on a relatively wealthy audience. Then the range of services offered expanded, but the reputation of “a bank not for everyone” remained, and the level of income of the average client of our bank is certainly higher than that of many competitors.
Now, with the abolition of "wage slavery", when each person can choose a bank for himself payroll service, a new round of banks' struggle for these customers, including applicants for premium services, began. We even introduced a new free service criterion in our premium direct segment based solely on using us as a payroll bank.
- Which aspect of premium service is valued higher - quality or cost? In other words, what is a premium customer paying for?
A premium client does not have to pay for anything at all. We have Free Premium Service Criteria where the customer is not charged anything extra.
In other words, I am a fairly wealthy person, I have an "X" of rubles that I do not need for current expenses.
I can put these X rubles under the mattress at home, but then inflation will gradually eat up this money, and I will not get anything, except, perhaps, moral satisfaction from the fact that I constantly see them and can control them. The second option is to put this money on deposit in some dubious bank, even under high percent. This brings a sense of daily anxiety for the safety of funds. The third option is to invest my X rubles in various instruments that my personal manager has selected just for me. I am much more confident in the safety of money (perhaps more confidence only in the case of “under the mattress”), this money begins to work for me and at the same time I receive a whole range of privileges and services from the bank, for which in any other scenario I would have to to pay. And this is not only about banking services ah, but also other services that make my life easier. As an example - the concierge service, which you can call on almost any issue from the selection and booking of a trip to finding the nearest veterinary clinic.
In addition to additional privileges, banks are trying to prepare more interesting product offers for customers - higher deposit rates, reduced rates on loans, special investment products, the absence of certain commissions on day-to-day operations, etc.
- Show on concrete examples How can you manage finances so that the client saves?
Strictly speaking, the savings are divided into two types - spent less than expected or received something for free. If we talk about the first type, then premium customers, using platinum cards, receive discounts from program partners Visa privileges, Mastercard and programs of the bank itself. If we take as a basis the fact that the average premium client spends about 100 thousand rubles on cards every month, then his savings can be up to 10 - 15 thousand. Or if a premium client needs consumer credit, then the bank will give him a loan at a fixed rate, the best for all retail customers of the bank. Free privileges would also cost the client a lot - for example, for a family of four to visit a business lounge, the client would pay $ 120. This is how it turns out that premium customers, without saving on themselves, save on the services they are used to.
Financial institutions are ready to offer a higher standard of service to clients with a higher level of income and placing free funds in banks. Such clients are classified as premium. They have access to services that banks do not provide to ordinary mass consumers. Such services include, for example, increased cashback on cards, free access to airport lounges with an increased level of comfort, insurance for the period of tourist travel, personal service at bank offices.
Various Russian banks offer their customers a different set of premium services. In this article, we will consider what characterizes the privileged service in the country's leading banks -,.
A set of services for privileged clients of the largest financial and credit organization countries - - is called "Premier". How does this bank single out people with a higher status?
Each premium package owner is assigned their own personal manager. He is always ready to provide his client with qualified advice on any financial issue. Serving people with more high level income is carried out in dedicated office areas. Communication with bank employees takes place in a more comfortable and trusting environment. Waste of time waiting in line is completely eliminated.
Of course, a personal manager does not sit in one place all the time waiting for the visit of his ward. However, the premium client has the option to call him and make an appointment at any time convenient for him. You can make a call from the Sberbank Online mobile application.
Premium customers of the bank receive plastic cards with increased bonuses Visa Platinum Premier or World MasterCard Black Edition Premier. Cashback when paying with such plastic at gas stations and when calling a taxi can reach 10%, when visiting restaurants - 5%, when paying in supermarkets - 1.5%. Recall that the standard size of bonuses "Thank you" is only 0.5%. A package holder can receive 5 such cards - for his whole family. For servicing privileged plastic bank status clients does not take money. For ordinary person servicing a card with similar conditions will cost 4,500 rubles a year.
At opening deposits in the amount of more than 700 thousand rubles, holders of the Sberbank Premier service package will receive better rate- 0.8% higher than provided by standard conditions. This will bring them additional profit of at least 34 thousand rubles a year.
Also more attractive become conditions for buying/selling currency. When exchanging one thousand US dollars for a Russian national currency privileged customers will receive an additional benefit of 1,000 rubles.
If necessary, a participant in the Sberbank Premier program can rent a safe at a bank with a 20% discount.
Sberbank premium card holders receive Priority Pass cards for free. They allow them and their relatives access to airport lounges with a higher level of comfort. Silence always reigns in such halls. Their visitors are provided with free drinks and snacks, as well as Wi-Fi.
Sberbank insures premium clients and their families free of charge during tourist trips. Insured people are reimbursed for the expenses they incurred during treatment as a result of transport delays, premature return from a trip, loss of luggage, compensation for material damage to third parties.
Clients with an elevated status receive free of charge such useful services as high-quality medical service. They can without payment use the services "Second Medical Opinion", "Cancer Insurance", "Telemedicine".
Another service for owners of the Sberbank Premier package is assistance in preparing documents for the return of part of the taxes paid(which saves time and 1,500 rubles).
How much does a Sberbank premium service package cost? The first 2 months of services are provided free of charge. In the future, the cost of the package will be 2 500 rubles per month. However, under certain conditions, premium customers of the bank exempt from monthly fees. No monthly fee will be charged if:
Special services for clients with an elevated status are provided by and. According to a well-known analytical agency Frank RG, premium service of this particular financial organization is the best in Russia.
The bank's privileged customers are issued with Alfa-karta Premium, Alfa-Travel Premium and Aeroflot Premium cards. For purchases on this plastic is charged cashback up to 3% or miles, which can be exchanged for air tickets or upgrades.
Premium customers who have more than 1.5 million rubles in bank accounts and make purchases with cards in excess of 100 rubles per month receive the opportunity free access to airport lounges with an increased level of comfort(minimum 4 visits per month). For such clients, it is also provided free insurance for the period of travel.
For cardholders Alfa-card Premium and Alfa-Travel Premium is available 24/7 concierge service. A dedicated bank employee is ready to provide them with any assistance in organizing trips and planning holidays.
Alpha Premium program members and their family members are provided free of charge comfortable car for travel from home to the airport and back.
Premium services of Alfa-Bank can also use free of charge, if the following requirements are met (optional):
If the requirements are not met, the receipt of premium level services becomes paid. Price - 5 thousand rubles per month.
What benefits do the bank's premium clients have? They have the opportunity to use the plastic card "Multicard Privilege". This plastic gives the user one of the following benefits (optional):
The selected option can be changed every month.
VTB clients with a higher status serviced in dedicated offices or dedicated areas. They are assigned personal manager. Them premium products available bank (deposits and loans), which are not provided to the mass of ordinary users.
Privileged clients of the bank with assets worth more than 2 million rubles are given free access to airport business lounges on the Priority Pass card (from 2 to 8 visits per month). As in other banks, customers with a higher VTB status are issued free travel insurance and provided round the clock concierge service.
Original services of VTB Bank - assistance to privileged customers on the roads and their insurance bank account. Roadside assistance involves technical and legal advice, free engine start, fuel delivery, evacuation from the place of breakdown. Account insurance protects against illegal actions swindlers and robbers.
VTB's privileged services are also shareware. No fee will be charged, if a person fulfills at least one condition of the bank:
In all other cases, the cost of receiving a package of services is 5 thousand rubles per month.
Similar privileges are enjoyed by the owners of the bank 's large assets . The provision of services to such clients takes place in dedicated dedicated office areas. Attached to each of them personal manager.
Premium customers can issue plastic cards Visa Signature or Mastercard categories world black Edition with cashback up to 3% and conditionally free service . The list of premium cards of the bank includes 9 different products. Depending on the conditions of the card and the preferences of its owner, accumulated on plastic bonus points can be used to buy air and railway tickets, pay for hotels, purchase fuel for cars, etc.
Privileged customers of the bank can use the services 24/7 concierge service. A personal assistant will help them with booking a ticket, a hotel room or a table in a restaurant, checking in for a flight, renting a car, delivering gifts and flowers.
When traveling abroad bank insures free of charge premium clients. The amount of insurance payments can reach 100 thousand euros. They are allocated a Lounge Key card (an analogue of the well-known Priority Pass), which makes it possible visit airport lounges with a higher level of comfort. If certain requirements are met, no fee is charged for the visit of a privileged client of the bank and one of his guests. Members of the premium service program can order from 2 to 24 times a year free trips to the airport in a comfortable car(the number of trips depends on the size of the assets in the bank).
Premium Package provided free of charge if the recipient fulfills at least one of the following requirements:
If the client does not comply with the requirements, a commission in the amount of 2 500 rubles per month.
Clients with special status receive plastic cards with increased cashback. There is a 1% refund on every purchase they make. If a person receives cashback only from 3 categories chosen by him, then 5% of the spent amount is returned. Bank partner stores are ready to return up to 30% cashback to their customers.
Attached to the recipient of premium services personal manager. Elite clients of the bank are provided concierge service, including auto concierge(assistance with car repair in a car service).
Travelers are given free insurance (which also applies to their family members), as well as 2 visits per month to airport lounges with a Lounge Key card.
The cost of premium services is 1 990 rubles per month. However pay maybe not be charged if the bank's client fulfills one of the requirements:
Citi Priority preferred card holders are provided with more comfortable conditions by the financial institution during their holidays and travels. The amount of money on that plastic can be stored in 10 different currencies . For cashing out money in Russian and foreign ATMs commission is not charged.
Preferred customers receive free travel insurance. Abroad they are given unlimited internet access(The location of points with unlimited Wi-Fi connection is indicated on a special website).
If certain conditions for the turnover of funds for plastic card privileged customers becomes available concierge service and free access to airport business class lounges(from 2 to 4 visits per month).
To learn the premium package no fee, Citibank customers must meet one of the following requirements:
If conditions are not met, premium service will cost 1 500 rubles per month.
By comparing the range and cost of premium services provided by Russian banks, you can choose the option that suits you best.
websiteWith the PRIME service package you become a member of the UniCredit Prime Club 7 preferred clients. UniCredit Prime Club is an individual approach, competence and efficiency in solving your financial issues.
Conditions for free use of the PRIME 8 service package:
If the average monthly balance or the amount of transactions decreases, the fee for using the PRIME service package is 3,000 rubles per month.
1 Package of premium banking services PRIME.
2 The Bank pays remuneration on a monthly basis, during the month following the reporting one. The maximum amount of remuneration for spending in restaurants and entertainment is 10,000 rubles, for other purchases it is not limited (the total remuneration for the main and additional cards). The full list of categories for accruing cashback is in the Bank Card Service Rules of JSC UniCredit Bank with the possibility of paying remuneration for using the card.
3 Enter.UniCredit Internet Bank.
4 Mobile app Mobile.UniCredit.
5 When withdrawing cash from an ATM of a third-party bank, a fee may be charged from the client in accordance with the conditions of this bank.
6 One free visit per month for each million rubles of average monthly balances with UniCredit Bank in the previous month, but no more than 10 free visits during a calendar month. When visiting a business lounge to check a card, an amount equivalent to 1 USD is temporarily blocked. After the verification is completed this amount will be unlocked (usually within 10 business days).
7 Club of privileged clients UniCredit Prime Club.
8 Balances on current accounts and deposits opened with UniCredit Bank are taken into account as average monthly balances, including the amount of insurance premiums under investment and accumulative insurance life from IC Ingosstrakh-Life LLC and IC Ergo Life LLC concluded with the Bank starting from August 28, 2017, and funds on the accounts investment funds managed by TKB Investment Partners (JSC), which were acquired from the Bank. Purchases are understood as operations for payment for goods, works and services in trade and service enterprises, including on the Internet, made with the main and additional ruble cards and reflected on the account for the calendar month. Receipts include funds received by transfers from other banks, including from the card of another bank to the card of AO UniCredit Bank, as well as intrabank transfers from accounts legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
Premium banking services, or Premium Banking, is a relatively new concept for the Russian banking services market. The pioneer of the Russian premium banking market is Citibank, which introduced Russian clients award program Citigold in 2002. In 2009-2011, specialized bonus programs appeared on the market in banks with foreign participation - Raiffeisenbank and UniCredit Bank, then in the largest and most advanced private Russian bank - Alfa-Bank. Later, their premium programs were presented largest banks with state participation - Sberbank and VTB24. Since 2014, competition in the premium service market has become tougher: within the framework of strategic planning, the development of the premium segment has become a priority in an increasing number of banks. In 2014-2015, a record number of bonus programs entered the market: they were launched by FC Otkritie, Promsvyazbank, Rosbank, Rosselkhozbank, Bank St. Petersburg, etc. In the face of growing competition, previously launched bonus programs also underwent significant changes . Given that the premium service of the largest players in the banking market has already been formed, the market is gradually entering the stage of progressive stabilization, and more and more banks say that they do not set themselves the task of increasing client base. The main priority is to improve the quality of service for current customers. The market shares of premium service market participants are assigned to certain players, and for smaller banks, the successful launch of a premium service program is becoming increasingly difficult.
Source: Frank Research Group
Under the Affluent segment in the Russian market, banks mean customers with total account balances from 1–4 million rubles, as well as customers with monthly income from 250 thousand rubles in Moscow and from 150 thousand rubles in the regions. At the same time, the analysis of clients by income and balances is carried out in parallel, that is, even if the client does not have funds in bank accounts, he can be attributed to the Affluent segment only by the level of his income. “If we see that a client has monthly receipts on the card of more than 250 thousand rubles, then we are interested in him, because, perhaps, he has savings in some other bank, and we want his savings to be with us”, - one of the representatives of banks shared his approach with us. Perhaps there really are savings, or perhaps they are not, but the bank is already ready to offer the client a premium in service and take on additional costs. Thus, in the Russian market, premium banking services are received not only by customers who are ready to deposit 2-3 million rubles, but also those clients who hold much smaller amounts on current and card accounts(300 thousand - 750 thousand rubles), fulfill certain requirements for turnover on the card (from 20 thousand rubles per month, combined with small account balances - up to 100 thousand rubles per month), receive loans in the amount of 2-3 million rubles or simply open a premium card.
Due to the fact that the premium banking market in Russia is quite young, many banks are only at the stage of forming their own understanding of the Affluent segment and how to build premium banking services. The main goal-setting is often the development of premium banking services in the sense of increasing the market share, while a deep analysis of the income and expense components of the segment's business is not carried out. At the same time, the situation will change dramatically: as the key rate of the Central Bank decreases, the level of earnings of banks on balances should decrease, which will limit the ability of banks to provide additional benefits to a significant number of customers.
As the premium service market matures, more and more banks will take the path of tightening the principles of customer segmentation. Banks will allocate separate categories those clients who can really qualify for premium banking services, and those who can only be a premium client in the future.
For example, during a certain period of his working life, the client begins to receive a fairly high income, shows good turnover on the card, and arranges a mortgage. Today, for many banks, such a client already falls into the premium service channel. However, from the point of view life cycle it does not have accumulations, and on closer examination should fall into the Emerging Affluent segment, which precedes the Affluent segment, which primarily implies the presence free funds that the bank can manage as part of premium banking services. In this case, accounting for card turnover, maintaining card balances, and having a mortgage from a certain amount will only be indicators that in the future, as savings grow, the client can fully move into the Affluent target segment. And since, according to statistics, the annual income of a client in the Emerging Affluent segment, as a rule, steadily increases and at some point the client naturally "grows" to premium service, it is important for the bank simply not to lose this client. Often, it is the fear of losing a promising client that forces banks to offer premium services now, but only the level of target profitability can help banks decide where it is worth “cultivating” an Emerging Affluent client - within the framework of premium services or beyond.
Promsvyazbank, which was reorganized by the Banking Sector Consolidation Fund at the end of 2017, dropped out of the top three in the new Frank RG rating for service quality in the premium banking segment, follows from the company's annual review (available from Forbes). Last year, the bank took third place, and in the current version of the rating it moved to fifth. The first place went to Alfa-Bank, which displaced last year's leader - Raiffeisenbank (second place this year). Citibank and Sberbank ranked third and fourth, respectively.
The decline in Raiffeisenbank's position was caused by a change in the rating methodology, explains Lyubov Prokopova, Project Director at Frank RG. “This year, when assessing the level of service, we took into account not only the results of our “mystery shopping”, but also the results of a survey of premium customers. Compared to last year, Alfa-Bank performed better at the “mystery shopping” stage and received high satisfaction ratings from its customers, which allowed it to take the first position in the rating,” explains Prokopova.
Frank RG experts rated Promsvyazbank a C (on a scale from A to D) in terms of reliability, service, non-banking privileges, debit card offers and loan conditions. The bank received the highest category "A" only for the conditions on deposits and for tariffs for non-banking products and services.
It is noteworthy that this is the only credit organisation from the top 5, which received the highest rating for terms of deposits. Alfa-Bank and Raiffeisenbank have a “C” rating in this category of services, while Sberbank has a “D” rating.
Wealthy Business Development Director retail business Alfa-Bank Aleksey Ermakov notes that the bank offers its customers to increase interest rate for opening a package of services. At the same time, clients receive not only a higher return on investment, but also many other products and services that allow them to get the maximum benefit from the bank.
Kirill Matveev, Head of the Premium Clients Department at Raiffeisenbank, in turn, assures that the bank constantly analyzes the feedback it receives from clients. “If earlier the market of premium banking services was primarily of interest to more conservative clients who have serious savings that were kept on deposits and accounts often without active operations, but now the picture has changed dramatically. There is a demand for premium banking among active users who often use banking products and constantly make transactions. For example, they pay mortgages, transfer salaries to the bank, and often use cards. Moreover, their account balances may not be very high, but there is a large turnover of funds,” says Matveev.
The evaluation of premium services was carried out according to the parameters combined into nine categories. Reliability, level of service, remote banking, tariffs for banking products and services, conditions for deposits and accounts, investment offer, offer for debit cards and conditions for loans and credit cards were evaluated.
According to Lyubov Prokopova, the reorganization of major players in 2017 had an overall impact on the premium segment. During the period of negative information background around large banks, which eventually fell under recovery, there was an outflow of premium customers, as the amounts they kept on their accounts exceeded the guaranteed DIA 1.4 million rubles. After the situation was resolved, some clients began to return, Prokopova notes. However, due to a decrease in reliability, Promsvyazbank dropped from third to fifth place compared to last year, she explains.
As Vitaly Rogovoy, head of the department for the development of the wealthy client segment of Promsvyazbank, notes, premium clients of his bank identify three key factors as criteria for choosing a service: stability and reliability of a financial institution, conditions for the program and product line, quality of service and personal service.
Now the banks that have been reorganized in 2017 (FC Otkritie, Promsvyazbank, Binbank) are faced with the task of attracting deposits from the population, so these banks have rates slightly higher than the market, says Pavle Samiev, managing director of the NRA. In his opinion, this situation will continue for about another six months.
However, rates alone are not enough to compete in the premium banking segment, you also need high-quality customer service, good remote services and investment programs, enumerates Samiev. Nevertheless, it is impossible to say that the banks that have been reorganized will not be competitive in this segment, he adds.
Premium banking is aimed at customers with a monthly income of 250,000 rubles or more with free in cash from 2.5-3 million rubles. It does not imply an individual approach in the products offered, but provides customers with additional options that are not available to a mass client: service without queues from a personal manager, an increased rate on deposits and savings accounts, a platinum or black card, extended card privileges - bonuses, miles, cashback , priority pass, travel insurance, etc.
Also, a competent premium manager can advise the client on the placement of funds in investment assets: mutual funds, structured products, stocks and bonds.
One of the trends in the premium banking market is just an increase in the intensity of sales of investment products, Lyubov Prokopova comments on the results of the study. “As part of our research, we found that the average share of investment in a premium client portfolio increased from 3-5% in 2016 to 7-10% in 2017,” she says. However, some banks exceed these figures. For example, at Citibank, which ranked third in the rankings, but received D grades in the categories of remote customer service and debit card offers, the share of investment products in the portfolio of premium clients is significantly higher - 38% on the Russian platform, says Olga, head of Citigold and Citigold Private Client Vaksina. She noted that before starting customer service, all premium personal managers are certified to sell investment products according to Citigroup's global requirements.
At the same time, the sale of investment life insurance (LIC) continues to dominate, which is quite an alarming sign, since many clients at the end of 2017 did not receive the return they expected, Prokopova notes. According to her, this can lead to an outflow of dissatisfied customers.
In general, for Last year there were no dramatic changes in the premium banking market - big players launched their programs a long time ago and continue to develop them, says Prokopova. “Also, the places of banks in the rating have been fixed and from year to year they are kept at approximately the same positions. It is difficult for banks to make a qualitative leap. According to the results of this and last year's survey, reliability and service level are of the greatest importance for a premium client - indicators that are most difficult to influence in the short term,” says Prokopova.
Also, there are no new players in this segment. This is partly due to the fact that launching a bonus program from scratch is too expensive for the bank, Prokopova notes. “Even more challenging for new players is finding and retaining the right amount of qualified management teams,” she concludes.
Mikhail Doronkin, an expert at the ACRA Banking Ratings Group, agrees that the positions of banks in the premium service segment traditionally practically do not change, since premium clients are quite conservative - in addition to reliability and brand, they focus on the quality of service both in branches and remotely. Also important is the level of interaction with a personal manager, which usually takes more than one year to build. For such clients, an attentive attitude and a clear understanding are more important. financial needs and tasks than the cost of maintenance or more high stakes on deposits, explains Doronkin.
This largely explains why banks that have been bailed out may have experienced a decline in demand from premium customers, he adds. “Often, reorganization is accompanied by a change not only of key personnel, but also of line managers, and also introduces uncertainty into the development strategy, which can negatively affect the quality of customer service. For the premium segment, even a small “failure” in the service can be critical,” the expert notes.
Anton Ionov, head of EY private client practice, adds that the services that Russian banks provide to clients do not differ much from each other, so there is nothing to compete with. “Such a variety as can be obtained by a private individual in foreign bank on investment products, is not observed in Russia. Perhaps this is due to strict regulation, and perhaps also to the fact that not much time has passed since the advent of market economy, and neither banks nor clients are ready for a set of such tools,” Ionov sums up.
