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| Juan Maria Nin: Leading the bank´s growth and new product innovation
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Spain's la Caixa has been voted the leading provider of Internet banking services in Spain and Europe's top bank for Internet services to private clients, according to a new poll by AQMetrix. In Spain, la Caixa, under the aegis of Juan Maria Nin, has become the leading provider of quality acrossthe- range Internet services - the first bank to win such an accolade. These services include private; personal; corporate; professional and business banking; online international commerce; brokerage and trading services. According to AOMetrix, la Caixa has also emerged as a Europe's leader in providing Internet services for private banking clients and achieved a rating of A1A1 - beating off competition from heavyweights such as Deutsche Bank, Lloyds TSB and Crédit Agricole during May, June and July. This achievement is a big success for la Caixa and enabled it to secure the top rating of A1A1 in the six business areas measured by AQMetrix, topping the bank's success in the spring of 2006 when it also received the AQMetrix top ranking; however, it was based on five business indices not the six used in the most recent survey. The research by AQMetrix shows that la Caixa's personal banking services enjoy the largest subscription numbers throughout Europe. Worthy of note, too, is the fact that the bank's financial portal has emerged as the most visited in Spain (with 29.4% of Internet bank users having accessed it) - according to Nielsen NetRatings' most recent statistics. The figures endorse the healthy picture of la Caixa's online banking business, boasting business volume three times that of its competitors'. Globally, la Caixa's Internet-based banking services are second only to France's Credit Agricole in terms of online users. The last twelve moths have seen a rise of 13.8% in the number of la Caixa's online users to 5.29 million customers, 2.48 million of whom are regular users. Number 1 in Europe AQMetrix's summer findings (May- July 08) confirm la Caixa's preeminent position in Europe as the leading provider of Internet-based, private banking services. According to AQMetrix's ratings, la Caixa is the only bank in Europe to qualify for an A1A1 rating, ahead of banks such as: Deutsche Bank, LloydsTSB and Credit Agricole. These results, as the bank's Director General Juan Marin has acknowledged, are a clear reflection of the ongoing challenges being met by la Caixa to provide clients with the best possible service, through the innovative use of the best available technology. la Caixa's customers benefit from 750 optional services and features available via the Internet. Prominent amongst these are: personalised correspondence (allowing the user to make real choices in terms of the way they communicate with the bank), the option to personalise the menu on the ATMs, access to a broad range of accounts, the ability to stagger credit card payments and to receive personalised mobile phone alerts. Services such as these have boosted transactions with 1.375 million registered during the last 12 months - a jump of 36.6% la Caixa can also boast in excess of 300,000 companies using the 'Linea Abierta', la Caixa's online service. This is available in 18 languages and features an entry screen, which can be customised to suit the user's requirements. In addition to the conventional financial services extended to the business sector, la Caixa also offers a range of specialised services, such as: the provision of online credit documentation (with instant visual confirmation, the moment the SWIFT message has been sent to the issuing bank) or the supply, in real time, of international transfers, together with confirmation of receipt and the beneficiary's notification. The bank of the future As part of its innovation strategy, la Caixa seeks to incorporate the latest technological developments into its online services; and the growth in its multimedia content has been one of the effects of this policy. The addition of videos is a reflection of this, as they provide a stimulating context in which to show customers discussing their experiences and commenting on the ways those bank's services have enabled them to find solutions to their financial needs. A Youtube presence (es.youtube.com/lacaixa), is yet another aspect of la Caixa's multimedia development. This allows it to interact with a broader Internet community, share its videos and gauge the response to them. la Caixa strives to include a value added dimension to its financial service provision to its more than two million customers. In this way, for example, it has set up 'My Finances', a highly effective tool, freely available to its clients, for controlling monthly income and expenditure. In fact, this is a new online service, designed to facilitate the control over one's finances through: realistic budgeting, a detailed breakdown of money transfers and card transactions, and personalised information displays - using a variety of formats. In corporate terms, la Caixa also provides an 'Open Market' service. This aims to facilitate contacts and commercial relationships with more than 70 countries and over two million companies. The potential benefits to its business clients include the possibility of expanding not only their customer base, but also, their distribution and supply networks. By Paul Meehan
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