The role of the Senior Relationship Manager, Elite & Diaspora Banking, is centered on providing a highly responsive, relationship-based offering to high net-worth affluent individuals, ensuring their financial needs and service expectations are met. The job holder acts as a dedicated and primary point of contact, delivering financial solutions aligned with the segment value proposition. This position requires leveraging the bank group’s expertise to maximize value for both the customer and the bank, while strictly upholding high standards of integrity, professionalism, and ethical conduct to foster long-term relationships.
Key Responsibilities
- Acquire new high net-worth affluent customers in line with the segment criteria, country strategy, and sales targets.
- Proactively identify and realize cross-sell opportunities within the portfolio to maximize life cycle opportunities, guided by the segment value proposition.
- Conduct thorough needs analyses for all customers (new and existing) to ensure all product opportunities identified are appropriate.
- Comprehensively explore customers’ short and long-term financial goals and keep abreast of changes in their financial position.
- Implement a comprehensive calling/contact management programme for the customer portfolio, supported by documented call reports detailing opportunities.
- Proactively manage the portfolio to maximize revenue (fees, margins, and sales), minimize costs and risks, and strengthen the customer relationship.
- Ensure the customer remains central to the approach of maximizing sustainable value add to both parties.
- Establish, build, and strengthen one-on-one relationships based on mutual respect to enhance customer retention and generate word-of-mouth referrals.
- Maintain equal focus on both investment (non-borrowing) and borrowing customers.
- Commit to Service excellence and superior service delivery aligned with SLAs and turnaround time commitments.
- Educate customers on the value of self-service channels (Internet Banking, ATMs & Mobile Banking) and facilitate customer migration to these channels where appropriate.
- Ensure customers are well-informed regarding lending application processes (e.g., vehicle finance, home loans, overdraft, credit card, personal loans), credit maintenance (e.g., annual reviews), and account conduct expectations.
- Clearly inform customers of contract/account terms, fees, rates, and commissions, and be prepared to articulate the value added if pricing is challenged.
- Ensure timeous migration of qualifying customers from the Branch to the Elite Banking segment.
- Retain ownership of customer requests, complaints, and applications, following every task through to completion while providing regular updates.
- Identify when customers require specialist advice and arrange appropriate introductions (e.g., wealth specialists, credit specialists). Generate leads and follow up to ensure customer satisfaction.
- Determine when customers require SME or Corporate expertise and arrange introductions, building strong working relationships with respective colleagues.
- Build strong working relationships with enabler and fulfilment functions (including credit specialists, product specialists) to shorten turnaround times and ensure SLA adherence.
- Manage credit and operational risks according to laid down policies and procedures.
- Take accountability for credit management of the portfolio, including completing referral reports and acting on exception reports to eliminate excessive accounts. Ensure all accounts are properly limitised and reviews occur timeously.
- Build knowledge of product and credit application processes to eliminate rework and ensure acceptable customer turnaround times.
- Maintain proper records (filing, updating customer records on the bank system).
- Ensure limits are loaded, market segment codes are correct, and all fields are accurately captured on the system, maintaining the integrity of all portfolio data.
- Attend promptly to all correspondence related to the portfolio (emails, calls, documentation, queries, complaints).
- Monitor initial activation and usage of transaction accounts and proactively mitigate dormancy.
- Follow proper procedures for closing accounts, including recovery of outstanding funds/fees.
- Manage subordinate staff (Relationship Officer/Transactional Banker/Private Banker’s Assistant) according to HR performance management best practice.
- Cooperate effectively with team members, sharing information and providing support.
- Actively seek to improve team skills through constructive feedback, coaching, and training.
Key Relationships
- Reports to: Head, Elite & Diaspora Banking
- Customers of this Position: High Net worth individuals within the bank.
Qualifications and Competencies
Knowledge
- Thorough understanding of the high net-worth individual and affluent market (profile, lifestyle, financial needs).
- Deep knowledge of the segment value proposition.
- Sound knowledge of all relevant products and channels for this market, including qualifying criteria, features, benefits, pricing, and efficient product usage.
- Understanding of the bank’s service level arrangements and service provision networks.
- Knowledge of competitor products and services.
- Working knowledge of SBM Bank Strategy, country strategy, and segment strategy.
- Knowledge of the local market environment and financial issues impacting the portfolio.
- Working knowledge of bank systems.
- Thorough understanding of credit principles, application, and maintenance processes.
Experience
- Banking experience, preferably dealing with high net-worth individuals in a portfolio context.
- Strong sales background.
- Experience in upholding the highest levels of service.
- Experience in successfully completing credit applications.
Skills and Attributes
- Relevant business/financial qualification (BA/BSc/HND).
- Ability to interpret financial statements, assess sources of income, and perform basic customer affordability calculations (debt to income ratio, loan to value ratio, installment to income ratio, etc.).
- Ability to sell financial products based on unique customer benefits, leveraging knowledge of products and competitive differentiators.
- High levels of computer literacy (capturing/updating customer database, completing applications, ensuring credit maintenance).
- Mature and professional demeanour.
- Effective networking abilities, both internally and externally.
- Strong Communication, negotiation, and persuasion skills.
- Independent, socially confident, and quick to build credibility.
- Ability to listen and probe customer responses effectively.
- Advanced sales and consulting skills.
- Achievement-oriented, embracing challenging targets.
- Self-motivated and energetic.
- Consistent, honest, and trustworthy – demonstrating integrity.
- Ability to remain calm and focused under pressure.
- Able to handle difficult conversations with confidence.
- People management skills (team building, motivation, coaching).
