Andrew Beane’s journey to becoming CEO of HSBC Malta took him all over the world. From the UK and Chicago, to Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, he meticulously rose through the ranks of one of the world’s best-known banks – sitting on the executive and risk committees of HSBC Europe among his many roles.

He took on the position of HSBC Malta CEO in November 2015, but already had a relationship with the island. “My aunt is Maltese, so I have always had a connection to the country,” Andrew says. “I love the place, so coming here was an emotional decision as much as a rational one.”

This personal affiliation aligns perfectly with Andrew’s sense of responsibility to society here in Malta.

“I see my role as serving others, not the other way around,” he explains. “I feel a great sense of accountability to the 200,000-plus customers that we provide services to, and to the 1,300 people and their families that work for us. I know that decisions we take affect people’s lives and there is nothing more significant that shapes my thinking.”

The past four years have been an exciting time for Andrew and his team, although he highlights the fact that the organisation has been largely focused on its risk management transformation, which is now in its final phase.

“We are at the end of a rigorous multi-year plan to ensure everything is stringently in place for our regulators – both local and international – to have complete confidence in us. There is no doubt that the market is facing challenges, and scrutiny continues.

“So, by completing this important phase, we are now ahead of the market from a competitive perspective, albeit behind the scenes. This is a landmark achievement for us. If we didn’t get this right, then there would be no way we could create the fun stuff for customers or generate dividends for our shareholders – but now we have.”

Andrew believes this development will mean that HSBC Malta can now focus on being a bank that’s both great for customers, and which has the very future-focused view to succeed in these complicated times.

“Digital is a huge part of that future,” he says, adding that it is this digital strategy that led to the recent closure of seven local branches. “80 per cent of all global banking transactions are now conducted online, with 45 per cent of those on mobile. That’s huge, and we are responding to that.  

“There has been a silent revolution in how people do their banking all over the world, and at different speeds.  

“In Malta there have been some significant differences. On the one hand, the island has the highest social media penetration in Europe. On the other, the use of online services – like banking – has been slower than in many other parts of the world.”

Now, though, that number is set to increase, not least because HSBC Malta has launched its new mobile banking app. This has already enjoyed very positive take-up among customers.

“The shift to digital isn’t a replacement of face-to-face banking but it is a commoditisation of the basic transactions that don’t really revolve around personal relationships,” Andrew continues.

“There are two elements to banking – the meaningful moments in people’s lives, and the day-to-day stuff. Customers want access to talk to people that can give them advice and comfort at crucial times – such as when they’re buying a house or considering an investment – and we are there for them more than ever.

“But, equally, when it comes to the run-of-the-mill transactions such as paying a bill or transferring money to a friend, they want to be able to do this quickly and easily, at the touch of a button.  

“And that’s exactly the service offering that we have now put out there. It’s our most exciting technological launch in 15 years, with our brand new internet banking and mobile banking app. It’s all about integrating customers’ banking services to suit the way they want to live.”

The results of this are certainly promising, with profits at the bank up 30 per cent in the first half of 2019 when compared to the first half of 2018.

“To achieve this we have made strides as a retail bank and our commercial business has stabilised. We have also made good progress on cost control, credit control, and our underlining profitability. Getting to this stage may have been expensive but it was worth it, and our long-term view is that we have emerged safer, stronger and more sustainable.”

Discussing the wider market in Malta, Andrew says economic growth on the island is set to remain better than the EU average but is likely to slow down a bit. “I think that’s a good outcome,” he says. “If you grow too quickly, you stress the sustainability of your growth. Thus, I would say the overall economic outlook is positive.

“The nuances of the banking sector do make things more complex and the main longterm issue we are facing relates to interest rates. Arguably, debt is now too cheap and the value for savers is too low – so a bank is caught in the middle of that in a rather inconvenient way.

“There is no doubt that this is going to be a problem that bankers will have to think about, as it is an issue that isn’t going away. The system now favours the borrower not the saver, and something will have to be done about that.

“For me, though, the most important thing locally is that we come to see increased focus on consumer protection as we go into 2020. While there is already some good regulation in place, thoughtfulness is needed to ensure people really understand the risks they are taking when they invest in bonds and equities.

“The historic rule of thumb is to diversify and that, I think, requires some coordinated, concerted effort from the authorities to make sure people ultimately understand when they are putting their capital at risk.”

Meanwhile, Andrew stresses that HSBC Malta is very much at the forefront from a compliance perspective; it has 35 per cent market share in banking but over 85 per cent market share compliance-wise.

“Honestly speaking, this doesn’t make sense. The industry as a whole now needs to go through the kind of transition we have gone through, from banks, to other third-party financial service companies, to the police. The industry is going to have to place compliance above short-term profitability if it wants to ensure longterm sustainability.

“Should this worry the person in the street? Not normally, but the consequences of action not being taken could be restrictive in the future. Pleasingly, both the MFSA and the Government have made statements that suggest a good action plan is in place, but the test will be in the implementation not the announcement.”

Finally, Andrew looks squarely at HSBC Malta and its plans for 2020. “The key element for us is for our key customer-focused offering to flourish. We have launched it and, so far, it is doing extremely well. We will become the leading bank for customer service, from both a digital and a face-to-face perspective, and the reality of that is very exciting.”

Whoswho.mt is proud to be serialising MaltaCEOs 2020, a high-profile publication consisting of 50 in-depth interviews with leading CEOs in Malta.