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Simon Hunt, City AM's City Editor recently wrote a column calling ThisBank's rebrand "the most anodyne, innocuous name they could possibly come up with." So naturally, we had to invite in the bank's CEO to explain the name choice.
They also spoke about how to make a new bank stand out in a crowded field, and the potential impacts of a change in Labour leader.
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0:00
I'm here in the studio today to speak to
0:01
this bank. Rather unusually, this bank
0:04
is called This Bank. It was previously
0:06
known as Jamaica National, but the
0:08
London-based business underwent a major
0:09
rebrand at the beginning of this year
0:11
with a new name, a new logo, and a host
0:14
of new financial products.
0:16
I have to confess, I've been vocal in
0:18
sharing my own thoughts about the
0:19
rebrand. In a column earlier this year,
0:22
I said it could cause confusion if this
0:24
nomenclature were adopted more widely
0:26
across our high streets. Imagine walking
0:28
into town, I wrote, popping into a
0:31
grocery store called This Supermarket
0:33
before swinging by This Corner Shop for
0:35
a copy of the daily This News, and then
0:37
heading over to This Pub for a pint of
0:40
This Bitter.
0:42
But setting aside my silliness, I'm very
0:44
pleased to say I'm joined this morning
0:46
by This Bank Chief Executive, Chris
0:49
Wearing, who can tell me more about the
0:51
rebrand. So, thanks very much for coming
0:53
in, uh, Chris. Um, first of all, I
0:55
guess, you know, you don't see you do
0:57
see rebrands on the high street now and
0:59
then. Um, but I guess it's less common
1:02
with banks. So, I guess could you tell
1:04
me a bit about how the rebrand came
1:06
about and what the thinking behind it
1:07
was?
1:08
>> Well, I think you've stolen probably
1:09
quite a lot of that cuz our world
1:11
domination plan to have this beer, this
1:14
this high street, um,
1:16
and, uh, you know, I think this
1:17
newspaper I'm going to have to abandon.
1:20
I think there's two things. We wanted to
1:22
have a very simple, plain, yeah,
1:25
uh, banking to me is is a fairly simple
1:28
product, right? So, by changing things
1:31
and making it a glamorous or anything
1:33
else is not what we want to do. We want
1:34
it to be very simple and also very
1:36
appealing to people that it didn't offer
1:38
anything. We are very clearly, all we
1:40
want to do is do good banking better.
1:42
Uh, and we looked at a number of
1:43
different variations. And as we've left
1:46
Jamaica, we wanted to make a very clear
1:48
message that we are a standalone bank
1:50
with new investors, and we thought this
1:52
did quite well.
1:53
>> And I guess for the uninitiated, how do
1:56
how do you go about a rebrand of this
1:58
kind? I mean, do you bring in external
2:00
consultants and do they offer you
2:01
suggestions or how does it work?
2:03
>> we we employed a independent agency
2:06
called the F Agency who came in and
2:09
offered us sort of three alternatives
2:10
and you looked at one end we had very
2:12
sort of what you call bank names, you
2:14
know, like the the the the Monmouth or
2:16
something you know, something with a
2:16
real standing and on the other name
2:19
really kind of flippant and cool names
2:21
and we wanted something in the middle.
2:22
So we didn't want to be very, you know,
2:24
sort of standard and you know,
2:26
institutional and also we're not
2:29
we're not a fintech. So we didn't want
2:30
to have a really cool name, you know, so
2:32
we wanted to be in the middle and it was
2:33
very much I think uh as we went through
2:35
all the research with customers it was
2:37
the one the the best thing about it is
2:39
nobody forgets the name, yeah, which
2:41
makes it very memorable obviously.
2:42
>> And it does it does it does give that
2:44
impression of like a sort of straight
2:45
talking institution.
2:48
Uh you know, we've seen a few sort of I
2:50
guess rebrands with fake names recently
2:52
like Dog Aid Smith rebranding to TG
2:54
Jones which is just an invented name
2:56
that doesn't seem to have gone extremely
2:58
well for them. So I can I can see the
2:59
merit on on from that perspective. Um
3:02
and I guess what in terms of the actual
3:04
sort of products that you're offering
3:06
now, how have they differed to to what
3:08
to what you were before?
3:09
>> Uh so so they haven't changed yet. So
3:11
we've got a plan over the next sort of
3:13
two to three years as part of our
3:14
strategy to develop. So we have new
3:17
savings products coming soon which is
3:19
slightly different to the norm. But I
3:21
think again our key theory is not to
3:23
recreate the wheel. Savings are very
3:25
simple, lending is very simple, but just
3:27
to do it better. So we really focus on
3:29
having very good relationships with any
3:31
intermediaries we work with and also
3:33
most importantly with our customers.
3:35
So you know, we have a we have a UK
3:36
based call center in Southwark in London
3:38
of all places just around the corner and
3:41
you know, we we make sure
3:43
uh none of our call center advisors can
3:45
spend as long as they want on a call to
3:47
make sure they resolve a customer's
3:48
issue. So to me we give a kind of what I
3:51
would describe as an old banking service
3:52
you'd have gotten, you know, the high
3:54
streets and we're bringing it onto the
3:56
telephone and just just doing it
3:58
properly and making people feel people
3:59
feel confident that, you know, we've got
4:00
their money and we're looking after it
4:02
as we look after our own or probably
4:03
better in my case.
4:04
>> I guess what's interesting we reported a
4:06
few weeks ago that last year was the
4:10
first year in the UK for for many many
4:12
years
4:13
in what in which there wasn't a single
4:16
new banking license application. And I
4:19
wondered what what you think about what
4:21
that says about the the state of the UK
4:23
banking scene at the moment. I mean on
4:25
the one hand you could argue that it
4:27
means there are fewer people coming in
4:29
at the one end but you could also say
4:31
actually
4:32
several new banks have emerged the past
4:34
decade or so that have been successful
4:37
and that's a sign of the industry
4:38
maturing.
4:40
>> I I think it is maturing. I think you've
4:41
got such a range you know,
4:44
of different products that most you
4:46
know, there are a lot of banks
4:48
large ones and and the small ones and I
4:50
think you know, in essence
4:52
we are well banked you know, in the UK
4:55
it's well banked and it is it's a
4:56
massive investment to to get involved in
4:58
a bank. There's a huge amount quite
4:59
correctly of capital required. It you
5:02
know, it's not it's not the easiest
5:03
business to be in.
5:04
>> And how do you go about differentiating
5:07
products to to claw a share in the
5:10
market from from rivals?
5:11
>> So the same thing is service. So you
5:13
know, and and this is I think this is
5:15
the thing is you know, instant access
5:17
savings account is the same the world
5:18
over in the UK.
5:20
Therefore you just have to give a better
5:22
service to customers and a good solid
5:23
rate at all times. So it you know, it's
5:26
the whole thing I say to the all of the
5:27
staff is
5:28
we don't need to be different. We just
5:30
need to be better give a better service
5:32
do things in a better way, you know,
5:33
answer customers when they call make
5:35
sure that they if they have a query you
5:37
answer it and that way you create a
5:39
differentiation which is actually
5:41
missing. Most people want you know,
5:42
shiny things and and discounts and
5:44
deals. No, just do the do the job
5:46
properly and I think customers really
5:48
are starting to respect that.
5:49
>> I imagine it can't be a particularly
5:50
easy time running a bank at the moment.
5:53
I mean we've seen the big a lot of the
5:54
big British banks
5:56
set aside
5:58
hundreds of millions of pounds relating
5:59
to
6:01
bad debt in connection with the Middle
6:03
Eastern conflict. We've seen projections
6:06
of inflation not not hitting the sort of
6:09
double digit levels it did a couple of
6:10
years ago but going up significantly.
6:12
We've seen
6:14
what was projected to be multiple
6:16
interest rate cuts at the beginning of
6:17
the year all all torn up and now we we
6:19
could expect several rises.
6:22
So how do you navigate all of this
6:23
uncertainty as a as a banking chief?
6:25
>> Well, I think there's I think there's
6:26
three things. I'm very lucky I have a
6:28
very good team around me.
6:29
And secondly, we are I mean we're lucky
6:32
we're a boutique bank. So we're not
6:33
massive. We can we can navigate and be
6:36
very agile dependent on the conditions.
6:38
And you know again, if you go back to
6:40
fundamentals, people will always want to
6:41
save and people will always want to
6:43
borrow money. So as long as you're
6:45
making sure that you have the right
6:46
management in place and that you're not
6:48
taking you know silly risks, then you're
6:51
in a good place. And I think as as
6:53
things you know and then you have to
6:54
make sure you support customers who
6:56
can't pay a loan or you know who are in
6:58
difficulty with their savings.
7:01
>> I guess is it is it harder for you to
7:03
sort of calculate risk or calculate
7:05
credit risk in this highly uncertain
7:07
environment or
7:08
>> I think I suppose that's an obvious
7:09
answer
7:13
it it is both politically and the global
7:17
situation.
7:18
Nobody can tell and from day to day you
7:20
just don't know what's happening.
7:22
So you just have to both be thinking
7:24
about what could happen. So you've got
7:26
you know your risk ahead of it and then
7:28
when when things happen make sure you
7:29
react quickly rather than waiting to see
7:31
what other people do. But it is I mean
7:33
without a doubt it's a very uncertain
7:35
time in the world.
7:36
>> And as well as global uncertainty
7:38
there's also quite a lot of domestic
7:40
uncertainty at the moment. If you've
7:41
been keeping abreast of all the
7:43
headlines,
7:44
I guess what one thing that's on
7:47
on bankers' minds at the moment is
7:50
in the event that we do suddenly have a
7:52
new government in the in the months
7:54
ahead, and it's a a government that's
7:58
a sort of a lurch to the left relative
8:00
to the current one, will something like
8:03
a bank tax be back on the table and how
8:06
worried are you about that?
8:08
>> To be honest, it's not something that's
8:10
jumping to mind ahead of mind. I think,
8:12
you know, again, you deal with the cards
8:14
you've got. If there's a banking tax,
8:15
we'll pay a banking tax. We're not
8:17
overly worried. I think the challenge is
8:19
that to some extent banking is stagnated
8:22
and should be there to help the economy
8:24
and help people get, you know,
8:25
businesses, customers to get the things
8:27
they want. And if you overtax it, then
8:30
the very nature of it will put pressure
8:32
on people to to survive as banks.
8:34
Yeah, we have a huge amount of
8:35
regulatory capital put aside already.
8:38
Yeah,
8:39
and yeah, a lot of banks, yeah, we've
8:41
done very well. We've gone from
8:42
loss-making when I started to now highly
8:45
profitable.
8:46
But we're not, you know, we're not out
8:47
of the woods by any circumstance. And
8:49
additional taxes are going to hit not
8:51
the big banks, but the smaller ones.
8:54
>> I guess lastly, obviously you've
8:56
completed this rebrand now. You've set
8:58
ambitious growth targets. Who are you
9:02
looking to sort of acquire as as
9:03
customers? What does the ideal This Bank
9:05
customer look like?
9:06
>> I think we want to
9:09
I think people There's a lot of interest
9:11
in the younger generation. And then
9:12
there's a lot a lot of interest in the
9:14
super wealthy. So, and we want to be
9:16
appealing to you know, the middle
9:18
England as I would describe it. People
9:19
with a house and in a steady state who
9:21
just want a partner they can rely on,
9:23
you know. And I think they've been
9:25
forgotten somewhere in the world against
9:27
those that are new and exciting and
9:28
those that are have huge amounts of
9:30
money. So, we we want to appeal to
9:32
to the general public.
9:35
>> All right. Well, thanks very much for
9:36
for coming Chris.
9:38
And thank you to listening to this
9:40
journalist complete this interview with
9:41
this bank.
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