Banif Bank has just started to line up potential clients for its first branch in St Julians, officially opened last Monday, but it is already planning another four within the next six months, vice-chairman and chief financial officer Duarte De Almeida said.
"We have a five-year plan. The situation in Malta has been thoroughly studied over the past two years. We can get there; the capital is already committed to take the project to its full extent. It is not something that we have to raise in the market. We have to show some dynamism without which we would certainly not be winners on this project," he said.
Banif is planning to capture 10-12 per cent of the banking market in the coming years and sees itself as a complement to the other banks, offering clients an additional service - rather than poaching them, a Banif spokesman explained. The branches will be smaller and more personal that those of the major players, which will no doubt enable it to keep its costs down. In fact, Banif Financial Group president Horacio Roque said that the bank would have just under 350 staff for its planned network of 22 to 25 branches.
Isn't it dangerous to announce such ambitious targets so early in the game? Dr Roque said that the pace of growth would be a natural response to the demand of the market.
"We will go as far as the market wants us to," he said.
Banif intends to offer all the retail services, such as internet banking, ATMs and home loans. However, it will eventually move into other areas like investment banking, where it has considerable expertise.
"We are relying on the strength of the group so we can tap into all the group experience to help us make an input into the market," Dr Roque said.
Its first task will be to create a reassuring high street presence - hence the need for a comprehensive branch network - with the middle segment of the market as the first target.
"Most of the banks in Malta came here to work with the private sector or with large corporations," Dr De Almeida said.
"As a retail bank we want to reach all the segments in the market but we have to select which ones we must target first. We selected the middle market as we can identify with them; this is the segment where we are very strong in Portugal and Spain."
Banif will not only be competing against the two major banks but also against Lombard, APS and Volksbank - as well as the retail financial service that Lombard plans to offer through the Maltapost branches.
"I think Lombard made the right move. We were advised of the situation before and think that Lombard - through this distribution network of Maltapost - will have a good way to easily reach all the people in Malta," Dr De Almeida commented.
"The problem for us is to find the right way to communicate and create the necessary relationship with people. We have to do this by offering the right service at the right time and at the right price."
Banif is currently putting together its product range and promised that it would be competitive. Does this mean lower charges or better interest rates?
"We will take into consideration all the aspects that can distinguish us from the other competitors but we will definitely not be the new rulers of the system. We understand that we have a small role to play in this market and have to learn first before we can introduce initatives to make the system more competitive and more attractive. But we first have to be very attentive to what all the other competitors do before we make our own move," Dr De Almeida said.
Banif, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, works in 13 countries in America, Europe and Africa, having started in Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal. It has the largest market share there and in the Azores. It is a listed company and has €4 billion under management in various funds including pension funds, mutual funds, real estate funds and equity funds.
Its advisory group specialises in mergers and acquisitions, as well as project finance, particularly with public-private partnerships.
It employs 4,500 people in 450 branches, including 57 insurance offices. It was recently given an A2 rating by Moody's.
Banif in Malta has four Maltese investors - Mizzi Organisation, Virtu Investments, P&G Group and SAK Ltd - each represented on board by a director. However, Banif will keep a majority shareholding.
"We have a five-year plan. The situation in Malta has been thoroughly studied over the past two years. We can get there; the capital is already committed to take the project to its full extent. It is not something that we have to raise in the market. We have to show some dynamism without which we would certainly not be winners on this project," he said.
Banif is planning to capture 10-12 per cent of the banking market in the coming years and sees itself as a complement to the other banks, offering clients an additional service - rather than poaching them, a Banif spokesman explained. The branches will be smaller and more personal that those of the major players, which will no doubt enable it to keep its costs down. In fact, Banif Financial Group president Horacio Roque said that the bank would have just under 350 staff for its planned network of 22 to 25 branches.
Isn't it dangerous to announce such ambitious targets so early in the game? Dr Roque said that the pace of growth would be a natural response to the demand of the market.
"We will go as far as the market wants us to," he said.
Banif intends to offer all the retail services, such as internet banking, ATMs and home loans. However, it will eventually move into other areas like investment banking, where it has considerable expertise.
"We are relying on the strength of the group so we can tap into all the group experience to help us make an input into the market," Dr Roque said.
Its first task will be to create a reassuring high street presence - hence the need for a comprehensive branch network - with the middle segment of the market as the first target.
"Most of the banks in Malta came here to work with the private sector or with large corporations," Dr De Almeida said.
"As a retail bank we want to reach all the segments in the market but we have to select which ones we must target first. We selected the middle market as we can identify with them; this is the segment where we are very strong in Portugal and Spain."
Banif will not only be competing against the two major banks but also against Lombard, APS and Volksbank - as well as the retail financial service that Lombard plans to offer through the Maltapost branches.
"I think Lombard made the right move. We were advised of the situation before and think that Lombard - through this distribution network of Maltapost - will have a good way to easily reach all the people in Malta," Dr De Almeida commented.
"The problem for us is to find the right way to communicate and create the necessary relationship with people. We have to do this by offering the right service at the right time and at the right price."
Banif is currently putting together its product range and promised that it would be competitive. Does this mean lower charges or better interest rates?
"We will take into consideration all the aspects that can distinguish us from the other competitors but we will definitely not be the new rulers of the system. We understand that we have a small role to play in this market and have to learn first before we can introduce initatives to make the system more competitive and more attractive. But we first have to be very attentive to what all the other competitors do before we make our own move," Dr De Almeida said.
Banif, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, works in 13 countries in America, Europe and Africa, having started in Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal. It has the largest market share there and in the Azores. It is a listed company and has €4 billion under management in various funds including pension funds, mutual funds, real estate funds and equity funds.
Its advisory group specialises in mergers and acquisitions, as well as project finance, particularly with public-private partnerships.
It employs 4,500 people in 450 branches, including 57 insurance offices. It was recently given an A2 rating by Moody's.
Banif in Malta has four Maltese investors - Mizzi Organisation, Virtu Investments, P&G Group and SAK Ltd - each represented on board by a director. However, Banif will keep a majority shareholding.