In a wide-ranging survey conducted by Asset Benchmark Research (ABR) as part of this year’s The Asset Triple A Treasurise Awards 2024, CFOs and treasurers were asked to share their opinions on the qualities that they appreciated the most in their bank service providers.

ABR, the data analytics unit of The Asset, trawled through thousands of words – opinions shared by this year’s participants to ABR’s annual Treasury Review. Together with the Review, The Asset received the opinions of over 600 respondents from multinationals to large local corporates as well as medium to small-sized companies across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Europe, North and South America.

In the first of its kind, ABR deployed a simple natural language processing tool to identify the attributes that were recurring and grouped them accordingly. Here are the qualities that stood out:

Professional (14.5%) – Instead of the possession of knowledge and experience, a service provider’s conduct and attitude mean more to the client. No doubt, clients seek “professional advice” and “sound judgment” from them. But being patient, friendly and mentally stable is also necessary. Professional is not only being rich in knowledge but also manifests maturity and manners at the same time.

Proactive/responsive (12%) – Back-and-forth communication needs to be effective. Bankers need to be responsive and able to provide comprehensive and quality answers to enquiries. They have to do follow-ups on requests. They need to be able to lead cross-team coordination to show they are proactive.

Strong understanding (11.7%) – The most advanced solution might not be the most suitable solution. Therefore, having a strong understanding of what are the client’s most pressing business needs is crucial, and so being able to provide strong industry insights. That is how understanding is different from pure knowledge.

Excellent service (10.7%) – Be observant and well-prepared to meet client expectations. Preemptively knowing what the client needs without them having to express them is what sets a service provider apart. That means offering a well-planned and smooth process, as well as “good project management” and “good implementation”, both of which were highlighted in the survey. To achieve this, a service provider must be observant of the client and wholeheartedly understand the situation – standing in his/her shoes.

Supportive (10%) – Eagerness to support the implementation of a solution down the wire is critical. CFOs and treasurers cite “can-do attitude” and “positive mindset”, despite the challenges along the way. In short, never say never and overcome the glitches as a project gets underway.

Knowledge/expertise (9.3%) – Themes such as digitalization and ESG are becoming more embedded in the world of financial services. Nowadays, service providers need to be knowledgeable and with strong expertise in these fields. They need to be ready to respond to their clients’ queries and needs, and to figure out the appropriate solutions.

Problem-solving (7.6%) – Ability to lead the client through the process of implementing a solution. A service provider is praised for the ability to solve hiccups that stall a solution and carefully navigate challenges to arrive at the endpoint.

Responsible/trustworthy (6.9%) – A responsible and trustworthy service provider is the one a client wants to build a stable and long-lasting partnership with. He/she should pay attention to detail, can provide clients with step-by-step guidance, and always carry a customer-focused mindset.

Prompt/readily available (6.9%) – High efficiency is always desirable in today’s fast-moving business environment. The ability to implement and deliver the solution promptly, adapt efficiently, and be readily available in time of a special request can leave a lasting positive image with clients.

Helpful (6.9%) – It is an important trait in building a good relationship. That’s why clients say helpful, being kind, passionate, and considerate are what they value in their working relationship with service providers.

Innovative (3.8%) – Despite all the rage that we hear about it, clients do not necessarily cite this as ahead of the others. Indeed, by being innovative, clients describe it more as daring to change, to try new things, and to be able to think out of the box. Being agile and nimble in executing problem-solving ideas adds to this trait.

The Asset Triple A Treasurise Awards reveal the 100 individuals who shared many of these traits that make them 2024 Triple A Industry Achievement Awardees. Click here.

To learn more about these awards, please click here.

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