Rapid Digital Transformation during Quarantine

Interview with Head of Mortgage Merchandise and Digital, Rosbank, Societe Generale Group

CONSTANTINE FELUKOV: What’s your position inside Rosbank, and what units the financial institution other than different monetary establishments in Russia?

IGOR DMITRIEV: I’m Head of Merchandise, Advertising and Digital Enterprise at Mortgage and Actual Property Ecosystem Enterprise Line at Rosbank, Societe Generale group. I’m chargeable for launching and managing of merchandise, constructing of digital platform, program administration, advertising and marketing and digital acquisition, improvement of digital B2C & B2B channels.

Our financial institution is a digital enterprise chief in mortgage in Russia. We have been the primary financial institution to launch pre-approval by way of an online channel (at our web site), pre-approval by way of a chat bot (at Fb, in addition to at VK, which is Russia’s in style native social community) and a real-estate database with AI. If we speak about our normal method – we offer a number of paths for our shoppers to get their mortgage: on the web site, by way of chat bots, approval by telephone and at our companions (net, IOS and android functions).

We perceive {that a} sturdy market place on the forefront of collaboration with shoppers and companions is inconceivable with out fashionable back-office and credit score processes. Our primary precedence is lowering operational price, in order that we’re in a position to present a greater value for our shoppers and a greater profitability of our enterprise. We launched a large program of inner automation: AI & machine studying, robotization, doc recognition, a step-by-step course of for our department places of work, enterprise course of automation.

Alongside the event of classical mortgage merchandise, we’re working at growing an ecosystem and bundle merchandise for our shoppers and companions.

FELUKOV: What’s the aggressive state of affairs for the monetary establishments in Russia? How does Russia typically evaluate with different Western corporations when it comes to IT improvement and does being part of Societe Generale Group give the financial institution any benefits?

DMITRIEV: After I analyzed the choices of Russian banks 6 years in the past, a typical digital answer in our market had poor performance and design. During the last a number of years, the state of affairs has modified. Russian banking market is now one of the vital fashionable. Nevertheless, if we speak about probably the most fascinating market the place the brand new developments are happening – I might look to the Asia-Pacific area (APAC).

Clearly, being part of worldwide group permits to Rosbank to take many benefits. For instance, we’re in a position to share our enterprise expertise, design, and experience globally.

FELUKOV: Traditionally, how did Rosbank go about managing its IT division? What have been its IT practices, in what methods did it outsource its IT duties?

DMITRIEV: If we speak about our mortgage enterprise line, now we have a protracted historical past of evolution not solely when it comes to the challenge approaches (Agile, Scrum, LeSS, Waterfall), but additionally when it comes to the staff administration. Seven years in the past, we had solely 8 builders in-house and an outsourced staff of about 10 builders and analysts. At present, our staff consists of round 80 in-house digital analysts, product managers, system analysts and builders, and 30 builders and system analysts on an outstaff mannequin, and round 5-members staff on an outsource mannequin. We have now chosen to develop experience in-house, utilizing an exterior supplier to handle the versatile a part of our staff, and such “hybrid” staff proved to be fairly profitable. Fortuitously for us our primary accomplice for front-end options, an IT firm CMD-soft, understood our aim of getting in-house experience and, as a very good accomplice, tailored its method to raised adjust to our wants.

FELUKOV: May you inform the readers extra about Rosbank’s partnership with an IT firm CMD-soft?

DMITRIEV: Our partnership with CMD-soft continues for greater than 10 years. Through the interval of quick progress of our digital program, we had a few points: the velocity with which CMD-soft elevated its allotted sources was gradual, and there have been issues organizing collaborative improvement. Nevertheless, all points have been resolved and for final 3 years now we have a really efficient relationship.

I believe success of efficient collaboration outcomes from efforts of each side. CMD-soft understands our enterprise and challenge administration wants and is ready to present us complicated options for improvement of our digital platform: outstaffing specialists, outsourcing improvement and technical consulting. At our aspect, now we have discovered the small print of useful resource administration of our accomplice and perceive that we’re in a position to get a less expensive value if we plan our useful resource wants with a long-term method. I can be sincere to say that CMD-soft is a versatile accomplice, oriented on a win-win method to enterprise. There’s a in style saying within the IT trade: “We is not going to do it, as a result of it was not included within the technical necessities”, and I’ve by no means heard it from the managers of CMD-soft. As an alternative, what I hear is: “It was not included within the TR, however let’s discover an method to do it”. I believe it’s actually essential to have a accomplice with widespread values.

FELUKOV: When the federal government required quarantine and successfully shut down all retail places in March 2020, did that really feel like a risk to the financial institution’s enterprise?

DMITRIEV: Sure, that felt like a risk. Particularly so for out mortgage enterprise, as a result of previous to the shutdown a traditional enterprise course of had been to ask a consumer to go to a financial institution’s workplace to verify and signal the deal. Within the interval of quarantine, the visiting of branches turned troublesome.

FELUKOV: What technique and additional steps did Rosbank undertake to place itself on the profitable finish of the quarantine? How did the financial institution put together itself for the post-quarantine world?

DMITRIEV: Quarantine stimulated us to do what we at all times needed to do, however didn’t assume our enterprise would depend upon. Our technique has been to maintain the consumer protected and do the work remotely as a lot as attainable. That meant relying much more on the digital element, and offering methods to get rid of department visits altogether. And that’s throughout all our product choices and throughout all our protection space, i.e. throughout all of Russia.

We quickly launched a completely digital take care of our companions (with digital signage) and branch-less offers with our supervisor visiting the consumer. That required intense work, which our “hybrid” IT staff was in a position to soak up. And, it saved our enterprise transferring. It seems that this adaptation effort turned not solely a basis for anti-crisis response of our enterprise, but additionally a driver for future progress. For instance, utilizing digital signatures we have been in a position to present our mortgage mortgage for a consumer in Singapore.

FELUKOV: What’s Rosbank’s imaginative and prescient for future improvement, and what position does IT play in it?

DMITRIEV: I believe that primary rivals of banks are social networks and social media platforms, which at present are attempting to supply their very own monetary merchandise. I additionally consider that aggregators, that are at present the companions of banks, would be the first to depart banks behind in a battle for the primary contact with shoppers if they’re able to use banks as mere service suppliers. However banks possess an excellent benefit – long-term belief of their monetary experience, and supply a priceless worth – their cash administration expertise. The cash administration is very essential, as a result of in a broader sense it’s the administration of welfare and monetary way forward for the banks’ shoppers. I believe that banks will be capable of win the battle for shoppers. However to try this, banks want to remodel their enterprise fashions and in impact develop into IT corporations with a banking soul and a set of values.