Customer Satisfaction and Product Development of SCB

Main purpose of this report is to analysis Customer Satisfaction and Product Development of Standard Chartered Bank. Other objectives are to observe the customers reaction towards the new product development of SCB. Report also describe the call centre, ATM facilities, ibanking and other facilities provided by SCB. Finally discuss other alternative customer services of the origination and provide the recommendation for improvement of SCB.

OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT

• To observe the customers and their satisfaction towards the products and services of SCB.
• To observe the customers reaction towards the new product development of SCB.
• To study the services of Branches and various Booths of SCB.
• To describe the call centre, ATM facilities, ibanking and other facilities provided by SCB.
• To understand the other alternative customer services of the origination.
• To provide the recommendation for improvement of SCB.

METHODOLOGY OF DATA COLLECTION

For achieving the specific objective of this study, data were gathered from both primary and secondary sources.

PRIMARY SOURCES

• Direct conversation with the respective officers of the branch.
• Face to face conversation with the clients.
• Customer’s opinion collected through Questionnaire.
• Observation of the banking activities.

SECONDARY SOURCES

• Various records of the bank.
• Different types of brochures.
• Website of Standard Chartered Bank.
• Different news letters of SCB.

SAMPLING:

POPULATION:

The population in the research is mainly the branch customer and employees this population has been selected mainly because we are conducting the survey on the perception about the   matter amongst the branch customer and employees.

THE SAMPLE UNITS:

The sampling unit in case of this research consists of the branch customer and employees

THE SAMPLING FRAME:

The sampling frame usually contains a list of elements from which the sample is drawn. The survey has been conducted at different levels of customers coming to the branch such as Priority customer, Excel Customer, Corporate customer And so on. And also the different levels of employees in the branch.

THE SAMPLING DESIGN:

The sample design used in this case is random sampling method. When taking the random sampling into consideration there is always a chance that error might occur. This happens when there is a difference in the sampling that is done during the course of the survey.

There are different types of sampling that can be done. In the case 0f our report we have also         used stratified sampling.

THE SAMPLE SIZE:

The sample size in our case is 50 customers of the different level and employees in the Banani branch.

THE SAMPLING PLAN:

We have gathered the data based on the focus group interview and experience survey through the questionnaire.

SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THE OVERALL SURVEY:

• The Speed of data collection: moderate to fast
• The respondent’s cooperation: Moderate

 INTRODUCTION

The Standard Chartered Bank opened its operation in Chittagong in 1947 which, at that time was the eastern region of the newly created Pakistan. The branch opened mainly to facilitate the post war re-establishment and expansion in South East Asia. The bank opened its first branch in Dhaka in 1966 and shifted it’s headquarter from Chittagong to Dhaka after the birth of the Republic of Bangladesh in 1971.

The bank increasingly invested in people, technology and premises as its business grew in relation to the country’s thriving economy. SCB acquired ANZ Grindlays Bank for 1.34 billion dollars in the year 2000. The new venture that is the merger was named as Standard Chartered Grindlays Bank. Now after the takeover it is known as Standard Chartered Bank. Recently it also has acquired AMEX bank and has grown even more in strength and size as well as customer base.

Extensive knowledge of the market and essential expertise in wide financial services underline Standard Chartered Bank’s strength to build business opportunities and institutional clients at home and abroad. Continuous upgrading of technology and control system has enabled the bank to offer new services, which include 33 ATM booths, Phone Banking services through call center, SMS banking and I-banking on a 24 hour basis through its 24 branches. Standard Chartered Banks services in Bangladesh, ranges from Personal & Corporate Banking to Institutional Banking, Treasury and Custodial services which has resulted in the expansion of the bank since its inception.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SCB

The name Standard Chartered basically comes after two banks which merged in 1969. They were originally known as the “Standard Bank” of British South Africa and the “Chartered Bank” of India, Australia and China.

Of the two banks, the “Chartered Bank” was established by Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1853. The key person behind the Chartered Bank was a Scot, James Wilson. He started “The Economist”, which is still one of the world’s pre-eminent publications and during his early days he also made his fortune in London making hats. He visualized the advantages of financing the growing trade links with the areas in the east, where none of the other financial institutions were present at that time and as such the Chartered Bank opened two branches in 1858 in Chennai and Mumbai. The same year the bank opened another branch in Shanghai. The following year the Chartered Bank opened a branch in Hong Kong and an agency in Singapore. In 1861 the Singapore agency was upgraded to a branch which in turn financed the rapidly developing rubber and tin industries in Malaysia. In 1862 the Chartered Bank was authorized to issue bank notes in Hong Kong. Subsequently it was also authorized to issue bank notes in Singapore, a privilege it continued to exercise up until the end of the 19th Century.

On the other hand, the “Standard Bank” was founded by Scot, John Paterson in 1862.  He immigrated to the Cape Province in South Africa and very soon he became a successful merchant there. He also visualized the great trading possibilities between Europe and his adopted country.

From the very beginning both the banks were keen to capitalize on the huge expansion of trade between Europe, Asia and Africa and to reap the handsome profits to be made from financing that trade and for that they expanded and prospered with time and decided to merge in 1969. After the merger the new shares of the Standard and Chartered Banking Group Limited were listed in the London Stock Exchange on January 30^th, 1970. Although the two banks merged in 1969, but their operations were being executed from two different headquarters, until on June 1980, the original building of the Chartered Bank was demolished and a new headquarter of the Standard Chartered Bank PLC was opened on March 20^th, 1986. Right after the merger the bank experienced continuous growth and expansion in United States and Europe, which led the bank to be one of the top 100 listed banks in the world. Moreover, it was also judged the best bank in the Asia-Pacific region in 1993 and 1994 for its excellent service and growth rate as well.

EXPANSION OF SCB

Acquisition has long been popular vehicle for expanding the scope of the organization into new business areas. Companies typically acquire a company when they lack important competencies (resource or capabilities) and very often they end up purchasing an incumbent company that has those competencies and they do so at a reasonable price.

The acquisition of Grindlays Bank from the ANZ Banking Group by the Standard Chartered Group on 1^st October 2000 was opportunity driven. It has given Standard Chartered an opportunity to expand into new areas where it was not operating at all. Moreover, buying Grindlays from ANZ now propels it from number five to number one among international banks in India, with some extra footholds in the Middle East. In addition to that, at 1.3 bn U.S dollars, it is hard to complain that Standard Chartered has overpaid. The financial ease is less compelling for ANZ shareholders, as there are advantages to getting out of a strategically peripheral business.

This acquisition of Grindlays Bank has added 6000 employees and 4 countries to Standard Chartered’s existing network of 27,000 employees and 570 offices in 50 countries. The end result is that Standard Chartered, which went into the 1997 Asian Crisis with strong business in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, emerges with additional core markets in India and Thailand. Moreover, the deal has made Standard Chartered the largest foreign bank by assets in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and the second largest in Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates. The bank had been seeking to expand in the region since the end of the Asian economic crisis, and has finally become successful in its expansion.

BUSINESS ACTIVITIES OF GLOBAL SCB

Standard Chartered Bank operates in every Asia Pacific market with the exception of North Korea and some 60 percent of the Group’s profits come from the Asia Pacific region.

Hong Kong continues to be major importance to the group and contributes 30 percent of the total profit with around 80 branches in Hong Kong and strong representation in China, Standard Chartered- a note issuing bank in Hong Kong – is well placed to continue playing an important part in Greater China’s development. A resident Group Executive Director manages the Group’s business there.

Consumer banking, Corporate and Institutional Banking are managed out of Singapore each by a Group Executive Director resident in the island state. Other East Asian countries of note for the Group Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand where, in 1999, the acquired 75 percent interest and management control in Nakornthon.

Standard Chartered is the leading international bank in Sub-Saharan Africa, operating several countries, the most prominent being Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ghana. The Group’s operations in the Gulf and south Asia are managed from Dubai.

Standard Chartered Bank provides a full range of products and services to its customers all around the world, some of which are mentioned below:

• Consumer Banking
• Personal Banking
• Global Corporate Banking and Institutional Banking
• Global Custodial Service
• International Trade Management
• Global Cash Management
• Global Institutional Banking
• Global Treasury
• Global Electronic Banking

BUSINESS/ CORPORATE BANKING OF SCB

Standard Chartered Bank’s corporate clients mainly comprise the top local and multinational companies operating in Bangladesh. The main objective of this department is to build and maintain positive relationships with their clients. As a result, each and every company is assigned a Relationship Manager, who maintains regular contacts with clients. Moreover, this department offers the following facilities to its clients:

• Project Finance.
• Syndicated Loans.
• Bonds and Guarantees, etc.

As figure 4.1 shows SCB offers corporate banking facilities to both local corporate and multinationals. Besides, it also provides commercial, institutional, quasi government or correspondence and treasury banking facilities.

MERCHANT BANKING

SCB is recognized as the leading financial institution in corporate finance services in Bangladesh. A professional management team caters to the needs of its clients and provides them with a wide range of financial services some of which are project financing and investment consultancy, syndicate debt and equity, bond and guaranties, local and international treasury products.

INSTITUTIONAL BANKING

The IBG of Standard Chartered Bank offers a wide variety of products and services to the different fund based organizations like donor agencies, NGOs, voluntary organizations, foreign missions, airlines, shipping lines and their personnel. It has global links with leading banking institutions, local banks, financial institutions and agency arrangements through its network of offices in 40 countries. The bank offers a full range of clearing, payment, collection and import-export handling services. The bank offers foreign missions, voluntary organizations, consultants, airlines, shipping lines, and their personnel the following financial services:

• Current accounts in both Taka and other major foreign currencies.
• Convertible Taka accounts (these funds are freely convertible to major international   currencies.
• Local and foreign currency, remittance, etc.

The verities of financial products offered by this department are:

• Vostro Accounts – IBG, Bangladesh maintains Vostro Accounts of banking and financial institutions worldwide. Customers maintaining such accounts can remit funds throughout the country through the Standard Chartered Group’s branch network as well as through – the Group’s local correspondent relationships.
• Nostro Accounts – In order to increase and promote the correspondent banking business worldwide, IBG uses Nostro accounts to Bangladeshi banks and financial institutions in almost all Es panning the Standard Chartered Group’s global network. Group branches and subsidies provide full clearing and payment services in the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and many African countries.  Worldwide payments services are facilitated by a network of branches supported by electronic cash management (available in select locations), fund transfer system and membership of SWIFT.

HANDLING OF TRADE FINANCE BUSINESS

International Banking offers the full range of services available under Trade Finance to its customers.  The Standard Chartered Group’s network in China, the Far East, the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, Africa, UK and USA makes SCB the natural choice of correspondents for advising, confirming, and negotiating their letters of credit in these territories.

COMMERCIAL BANKING

SCB offers different commercial banking facilities to all commercial concern specially those with particular involvement with import and export finance. It provides the finance facilities like trade finance facilities including counseling, confirming export L/Cs, and issue import L/Cs backed by its international branch and correspondent network. It also provides bonds and guarantees, investment advice, leasing facilities, project finance opportunities.

QUASI GOVERNMENT BANKING

The quasi government service of SCB helps the government by providing different financial service like efficient and knowledgeable management of trade business (import & export), skills in barter, swaps and counter trade deals. In addition, the opportunity of debenture finance for new projects, possibilities of hard currency loans and lease deals, the opportunity of syndicated hard currency, financing of loans and import L/Cs, highly efficient account management and remittance handling within country or abroad.

CORRESPONDENT BANKING

The International Network Service (INS) department offers its correspondent customers:

• Current account services where Taka settlement is necessary.
• The ability to issue bonds and guarantees in support of their customers business.
• Advising of L/C and negotiation of documents
• Market intelligence and status reports.
• Inter branch transactions facilities
• Risk exposures

PHONE BANKING

This department gives the following services:

• Operations of accounts over the phone
• Transfer of money between accounts
• Order Cheque books, account statement
• Any kind of query related to banking transactions

OTHER SUPPORT SERVICES

For providing all these services to customers efficiently, the bank undertakes some other necessary support services, which are described below:

CUSTODIAL SERVICES: THE EQUITOR

Headquartered in Singapore, SCB equitor fulfils the group’s strategic commitment to the provision of custodial service in Asia. Equator’s customers are primarily foreign global custodians and broker/dealer requiring cross border information as well as sub-custodian services. SCB, Bangladesh is responsible for the planning in Bangladesh, but the overall management of the custody business is based on Equitor’s international business strategy. Clients are offered a customized and comprehensive range of products and services, which include:

• Custodial services
• Brokerage, clearing and settlement services
• Securities lending
• Foreign exchange
• Transfer agent for institutional debt and equity offerings
• Delivery, receipt, settlement, registration and physical safe custody of securities

FINANCE, ADMINISTRATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT

This department performs the following activities:

• Administration, audit and back office operation.
• Taking care of taxation and financial control of the Bank.
• Keeping track of overall credit operation.
• Quality Control and Inspection

It is an important function of the Group’s management to provide quality services to customers and maintaining a good image.  Recently, the custodial and clearing division of the Group, the Standard Chartered Equitor, was the first financial institution in Bangladesh to be awarded the ISO 9002 accreditation. It received the recognition for Equitor’s quality system, excellence in the provision of custodial services and safekeeping, registration, settlement and corporate actions.

INFORMATIONAL TECHNOLOGY (IT) DEPARTMENT

This department helps to maintain communication with the different branches operating in Bangladesh as well as those that are operating outside Bangladesh. They are also responsible for maintaining the overall computerized system, such as Commercial Banking System (CBS), of the bank. They have a technical support team who solve all types of technical or system failures.

 HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

This department manages recruitment, training and career progression plan.  Standard Chartered Bank highlights the importance of developing its people to create a culture of customer service, innovation, teamwork and professional excellence. Details of the activities and policies of the department are discussed in a later section.

Personnel Policies

The number of staff members employed by Standard Chartered Group is nearly 600.  The number of officers exceeds the number of clerks, which is in stark contrast to local banks specially the NCBS.  The Standard Chartered Group pays great attention to recruiting high quality staff through proper evaluation and improves their skills through structured training. Reward and punishment based on strict performance evaluation and opportunities of promotion both nationally and internationally, are two important features of the personnel policy of Standard Chartered Group.

Recruitment, Training and Career Progression in Standard Chartered Group

The recruitment process is based on references, advertisements and internships.  Entry point screening is done by both a written and an oral test.  The medical record of the potential employee is very important and ones suffering from potentially life threatening and performance deterring diseases are not hired, even if they were other wise qualified.  The placement of the staff is done in two ways.  Either he/she undergoes a “management trainee” program with a probation period of nine months and is categorized as an officer leading to various managerial jobs, or he/she is recruited at a non-management level as banking assistants / support officers.  There is a structured training framework for all the employees, and a channel for moving people from national to international positions.  International graduate recruitment and personal skills development for entry-level employees are a part of the human resource development efforts at Standard Chartered Group.  Additionally there is an MBA program, courses at noted business schools, and incentives for self-development.

Controlling and Firing of Employees

Performance monitoring is continuous and strict at Standard Chartered Group. The average number of working hours in a week is between 42 to 55 hours.  The employees have daily assignments and are required to clear them by the end of the day.  The superiors monitor the subordinates, which is facilitated by the seating arrangement in the office.  Control mechanisms involve budgeting, rewarding, punishing, incentives, benchmarks, etc.  If the offence of the employees is not too strong, he/she is warned prior to the firing process.  Reasons for firing may involve: lack of efficiency, not performing to the level of satisfaction, breaking the Code of Conduct set by the organization, etc.

Advancement and Promotion

The advancement and promotion of a staff is based on performance.  An annual appraisal of staff is done at the end of the year where the assessment is based on fulfilling the SMART objectives, which is rated. The assessment process involves eight steps.  It begins with individuals rating a self-assessment form and at one point the manager obtains an overall performance from the ratings of the individual as well as consultation with his own superior.

Employee Benefits:

The employees are paid according to their rank and status in the bank.  The remuneration package is comparable to other leading foreign banks. The basic benefits that are provided to the staff members are briefly stated below:

Incentive Plans: Incentives are totally based on performance.  It is assessed by an annual appraisal of the employees.  After it is done, if an employee reaches a certain level of achievement then he/she receives a bonus.  Another incentive plan of Standard Chartered Bank is the “Spot Bonus.” If an employee performs exceptionally well for the interest of the bank, the bonus is awarded on the spot for the achievement.

Finally, there is another type of incentive called the “Bonanza,” although it is not considered as part of the employee benefits.  The incentive plan is activated under special circumstances.  For example, recently a deposit drive was activated in the bank and 42 staff members were awarded free air tickets as they managed to attain a certain level of deposits.

Pension Plans: The Bank does not have any pension plans for the employees.

Number of Paid Holidays: Standard Chartered Group allows 45 days paid holiday in a year for each employee.

Insurance Policies: Employees enjoys excellent medical insurance policy, but both the banks do not cover all its employees with life insurance.

Bonuses: SCB give bonuses to its employees twice a year in the two religious festivals of the country, namely the two Eids, apart from the performance-based bonuses mentioned earlier.

Recreation Facilities: The employees can play cricket in one of the major clubs of the country and the Bank pays the club fees.

Legal & Compliance Department

In the UK, Standard Chartered Bank is regulated by the Bank of England, while in Bangladesh local banking laws regulate it and rules set by the Ministry of Finance and Bangladesh Bank. It also encourages its staff to conform to an internal culture of ethical behavior and sensitivities to the culture and religion of the country.

Some of the key areas that the Legal & Compliance department has to take care of are: any kind of legal issues, to advise the CEO regarding all matters and the management on legal and regulatory issues, correspond regulatory compliance issues to MESA Regional Head of Compliance, and supervise internal control (e.g. internal audit).

External Affairs Department

This department deals with the advertising and promotions of the products and services offered to the customers. Moreover, it also maintains public relations and organizes public meetings in every quarter in a year.

Credit Department

The credit department approves the loans of Corporate Banking division.  The approval is mainly based on the risk analysis of the corporate clients done by the Corporate Banking division. This is a small division headed by Senior Credit Officer. The main function is monitoring credit facilities granted by the corporate banking unit. Its function is to make sure that credit has been provided in a right manner. This department ensures that internal controls of the corporate relationships are maintained. It is also responsible for providing MIS reporting of the corporate banking group. Moreover, for monitoring purposes there are different types of tools:

• Early alert reporting
• Additional review
• Log sheet accounts
• Excess monitoring
• Transactional monitoring

Social Welfare Activities Department

Standard Chartered Bank believes in the interdependence of world communities and hence the need of investing in community welfare.  In Bangladesh, Standard Chartered Bank is a corporate sponsor of the Young Learners’ Center in Dhaka and Chittagong, which were started by the British Council.  It is also involved in Fresh Water for Slum Area project with a major NGO.

PRODUCTS INFORMATION 

Standard Chartered Bank, a leading & outstanding foreign commercial bank in the arena of banking business, comes from the two original banks from which it was founded The Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China and The Standard Bank of British South Africa. To all intents and purposes, its on time delivered service to the customers as demand is considerably better than others. By means of day to day customer service, the customers are being well-informed concerned with its contemporary and up – to –the- minute invented products easily. It also thinks that Customer Care brings perfection to a bank and believes that effective Customer Care strengthens the product knowledge in to customer’s mind more positively and precisely.

My report topic is about Alternative Channels of Standard Chartered Bank. For this purpose firstly I have discussed about the services or channels (Call Center, ATM, Bills Pay Center and iBanking) of SCB now I am going to discussed about the Branch Banking of SCB. Branch banking services provide to the customers through SCB’s product. So I discuses about product information of SCB as follows:

CURRENT ACCOUNT

Individuals:

Resident Bangladeshis, Non-resident Bangladeshis, Foreign Nationals resident in Bangladesh.

Non– individuals:

Sole Proprietorships, Registered Partnerships, Unregistered Partnerships, Public Limited Companies, Private Limited Companies, Clubs, Associations, Societies, Charities, Nationalized Organizations, Autonomous Bodies, NGOs.

Resident Bangladeshis:

Anyone can open an account. It is to enclose the following things for opening account.

1. Copy of passport / Voter ID card / Driving License / Utility Bill (If the residence address is mentioned in AOF in pursuance of residence address mentioned in passport, then Voter ID card / / Utility Bill / Driving License will not be needed.)
2. Photographs of applicant and the nominee (Introducer will sign behind the photograph of the applicant and applicant will sign behind the photograph of nominee.)

RFCD Account:

Person ordinarily resident in Bangladesh may open and maintain RFCD A/C, even foreign nationals who residing in Bangladesh for more than six months.

Minimum Opening Balance:

Minimum balance required – USD. 1,000 or GBP. 500 or equivalent. No interest to be accrued if the balance falls below the minimum amount. Interest rate is based on international market rates and Bangladesh Bank guidelines – to be advised by Global Markets to all branches from time to time.

Non-resident Foreign Currency Deposit (NFCD):

A short-term foreign currency deposit account suitable for Bangladeshis living abroad, offering most competitive interest rates available in both local and international markets. Other features include:

• Interest paid in Foreign currency
• Can be opened for a term of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months
• Interest rates are tiered (based on amount and term)
• Interest payable on maturity
• Automatically renewable (with or without interest)
• Can be used as security against personal/ commercial loan
• Remittance in both Lcy and Fcy to any place in and out of the country

Non–Individuals:

Sole Proprietorship:

A sole proprietary concern is a business carried on by an individual owner in his own name or a trade name. While lending to a sole proprietorship, the banker should take a declaration from the owner that he is the sole proprietor and no other person has any interest in the business as partner or otherwise. He should also state that he, as the sole proprietor, will be personally liable for all dealings and obligations in the name of business. It is to enclose the following documents for the purpose of account opening.

1. Copy of Trade License.
2. Photograph of Signatory.
3. Photocopy of the passport of the proprietor.
4. Sole Proprietorship Declaration.
5. It is to attach Signature Card if there are more than 4 signatories.

JOINT ACCOUNT:

A joint account is a bank account conducted in the name of two or more persons, who are neither partners nor administrators nor executors nor trustees. It is necessary that before opening an account in joint names, signatures of all should be obtained with clear instructions as to who will operate the account or to whom money will be payable in case of death of any one or more of the joint account holders. In case, written authority signed by all is not taken, the money is jointly payable to the survivors and legal representatives of the deceased. In case of insanity of any one of the parties, original mandate given by them is revoked. In case all sign checks jointly and any one dies or the check is signed by a person or persons and who had been delegated the authority, the authority to operate is revoked.

CLUB, ASSOCIATION, SOCIETIES, SCHOOL, COLLEGES:

Clubs, schools, societies etc. are non-trading concerns formed for charitable, cultural, scientific, recreational, educational and similar other purposes, in the advancement of literary, scientific, cultural, educational and recreational pursuits. They do not have legal entity unless registered under the Societies Registration Act or some other Act and as such, can not be sued for any contractual liability. Ordinarily, these instructions have no inherent powers to borrow. Bankers do not favor making advances to such instructions, because the operators of such accounts will not be personally liable for the advance made by the bankers to their accounts since the members would have entered into contracts only in their representative capacity. If at all any advance is made to such instructions, the banker should obtain personal guarantee of the operators of such accounts and the members of the Governing Body, Executive/Managing Committee etc., in addition to the usual documents necessary therefore. Legal advice should be taken before considering such a proposal in regard to execution of documents.

PARTNERSHIP

A partnership is the creation of a contact between persons and it is by virtue of this contract that they associate themselves with a business. Partnership as defined in section 4 of the Partnership Act. 1932 is

“The relation between persons who have agreed to share the profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting for all”

The essence of a partnership is the sharing of profit; it is a compulsory element though not a conclusive evidence. The persons who have entered into partnership are individually called as ‘Partner’ and collectively a ‘Firm’ and the name under which they trade is called the ‘Firm Name’.

The three essential ingredients of a partnership are as follows:

1. There must be an agreement (written, verbal, or implied) between the persons concerned.
2. The agreement must be to share the profit of a business. (Business includes every occupation, trade and profession)
3. The business must be carried on by all or by any of the person’s concerned acting for all.

LIMITED COMPANY:

It is to enclose the following documents for the purpose of account opening.

1. Certified true copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company.
2. Certificate of Incorporation of the Company for inspection and return (along with a duly certified photocopy for Bank’s records)
3. Extract of the Resolution of the Board/General Meeting of the Company for opening the account and authorization for its operation duly certified by the Chairman of the Company.
4. Photocopy of Passport of the Chairman / Managing Director.
5. Photographs of Signatories.
6. Certified true copy of the list of Directors of the Company (Form IX).
7. Copy of Trade License.

NB: Current account is for any one who engages in frequent transactions.

Characteristics:

1. Non interest bearing account.
2. To withdraw how many times the accountholder wishes.
3. It is for daily transaction.
4. Over Drafts (OD) are given on the Current Account for loan facilities. Currently there is only one OD facility for individuals: Cash Line OD. For organizations, they can avail OD facility in their current account. These facilities are part of the corporate arrangement outlined in their Business Credit Application (BCA) and agreed to in their Banking Arrangement (BA) letter. Interest is applied on the utilized part of the OD facility.
5. To provide ATM (Automated Teller Machine) card (Only for individuals but not for corporate account. In the proprietorship ATM can be issued by the name of proprietor).
6. To provide Cheque Book.
7. Opening balance is BDT. 50,000.00

Facilities:

1. No ledger fee.
2. Free phone banking.
3. Transaction fee is free up to 7^th
4. ATM card and Cheque Book are delivered instantly if the customer chooses “Welcome Account”. But in this case ATM card and Cheque Book will be provided without the name of the account holder.
5. Inter city transaction fee up to BDT. 1, 00,000.00 is free.
6. No fee on opening balance.

Extra Value Savings Account:

Extra Value Savings Account (EVSA) is a high-powered savings account targeted to people with a higher disposable income. It has all the features and benefits of the savings account and a few extra benefits available for EVSA.

EVSA provides the customer with big discounts on service charges of lockers, pay orders, demand drafts, and issuance of foreign currency and even entitles the customer to preferential rates on SCB’s overdraft facilities. At the same time the customers earns competitive interest rates on customer’s saving deposit and enjoy discounts on food and shopping at selected merchant outlets on display of the EVSA ATM card. In combination, these features easily make EVSA the most profitable savings account available.

Benefits:

1. Free personal accident insurance coverage for one year.
2. A withdrawal limit of BDT. 40,000.00 on ATM Card.
3. 50% discounted service charges on payment orders and demand drafts.
4. 50% discounted service charges on issuance of foreign currency and Traveler’s Cheques.
5. 50% discount on service charges of lockers.
6. .50% discount on offered rates of overdraft facilities.
7. Free personalized 25-leaf chequebook.
8. Free phone-banking services.

ACCESS ACCOUNT

Access account is an account in which only ATM Card is issued and using only ATM card the transaction is continued. Only the individual person can open this account

Characteristics:

• Interest bearing account only if the balance exceeds BDT. 100000.00.
• It is maximum for payroll.
• To provide ATM (Automated Teller Machine) card.
• Opening balance is BDT. 20,000.00

Facilities:

1. No ledger fees.
2. Free phone banking.
3. No monthly fees.
4. ATM card and Cheque Book are delivered instantly if the customer chooses “Welcome Account”. But in this case ATM card and Cheque Book will be provided without the name of the account holder.
5. Inter city transaction fee up to BDT. 100000.00 is free.
6. No fees on opening balance.
7. No prior notices to withdraw money.

FIXED DEPOSIT

When money deposited by a customer is not repayable on demand and is payable only after the expiry of a specified period from the date of deposit or after a specified period of notice, such deposit is called a Fixed Deposit.

Repayment:

Usually advances against fixed deposit receipts are automatically adjusted on maturity from the proceeds of the deposit receipts. If, however, repayment is made before due date, the deposit receipt is returned to the customer after cancellation of the discharge thereon. All notes of lien taken in the deposit register and ledger are also cancelled.

Documents:

1. Demand Promissory Note.
2. The Fixed Deposit Receipt duly discharged on revenue stamp by the depositor and pledged to the bank.
3. Letter of authority duly signed by the depositor in favor of the bank to adjust the advance from the proceeds of fixed deposit on maturity for liquidation of loan or overdraft account.
4. Letter of continuity (in case of over draft only).
5. Letter of lien executed by the depositor. This generally contains the clause of set-off.

Education Savings Scheme:

The Education Savings Scheme gives the customer the opportunity to create long term wealth for their children. Through this scheme the customer can invest part of his/her monthly income in equal monthly installments and at maturity the customer will be rewarded with a handsome amount that the customer will be able to use to defray any expenses that the customer may have to incur.

Convenient:

Unlike the other banks in Standard Chartered the customers do not require to come to the bank or send someone to deposit the installments. Installments will be deducted automatically from any transaction account that you will be required to maintain with SCB.

Features:

1. This is a fixed term savings scheme to be sold in units.
2. Customer can buy any number of units.
3. The scheme requires an initial deposit Tk. 10000.00, which will be followed by monthly installment of Tk. 1000.00 per unit.
4. The scheme is for 3 years, 10 years, or 15 years.
5. It will be a non transactional account where interest will accrue on daily basis and will be credited on monthly basis.
6. The sign – up fee for the scheme will be Tk. 250.00 per unit, with a minimum of Tk. 500.00 and maximum of Tk. 2000.00.
7. If any customer desires to discontinue the scheme prior to maturity, a penal fee @ Tk. 250.00 per unit (with a minimum of Tk. 500 and maximum of Tk. 5000.00) will be deducted from the account and the balance proceeds (calculated on the amount incorporating the last interest credit amount, the fraction days will not be considered) will be credited to his transaction account.
8. Failure to make three consecutive installments will result in immediate closure of the scheme and a penal fee @ Tk. 500.00 per unit will be charged.
9. In case of forced closure (non payment of three consecutive installments) before 1 year, a penal charge @ Tk. 2000.00 per unit will be charged.
10. The interest rate applied on the collection account will be 3% higher than the rate offered on the scheme account.

Schedule of Tenure and Terminal values for one unit:

Fig: Schedule of Tenure and Terminal values for one unit

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION, PROUCT & SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

Now a day, in modern banking, the main intention goes towards the customers and for the satisfaction of the customer’s demands. For this reason new products as well as services have been implemented for the satisfaction of the customer. SCB launched several new products for this purpose.  SCB have some unique products in the market for which it is now the market leader in respect of providing services and implementing new products.A short description of some new arrival products of SCB are given below:

BUSINESS ACCOUNT

Business account is the latest attraction for the customers who mainly operated current account for the business purposes.

The business account is a current account checking taka through which funds can be freely deposited and withdrawn by SMEs. Transactional requirements of SMEs, that is, collections and payments in the form of cash, cheque, pay order, demand draft and remittances can be performed through this account.

KEY FEATURES:

• Higher Debit card withdrawal limit of BDT 50000 (Sole Proprietor only)
• Full wavers on online intercity transactions.
• Full wavers on over the counter transaction charge
• Free issuances of cheque books
• Account maintenance fee is applicable for only one account
• Fast track services-
• 24hr ATM network
• Online banking
• Evening banking
• Call Centre (Sole proprietor only)
• iBanking(Sole proprietor only)

DOCUMENTATION:

Documentation required in opening the account includes:

• Account opening form
• Specimen Signture card
• Standard terms and conditions
• Mandate including board resolution for incorporated entities
• Transaction profile

DOCUMENTATION FOR EXISTING CUSTOMERS:

• Account opening form
• Sign-up form (Business Account Agreement Form)
• Board Resolution for incorporated entites

REQUIRED OPENING BALANCE:

The required opening balance for the Business account is BDT 500000

CAN INTEREST BE EARNED IN THIS ACCOUNT?

Interest can be earned from the business account. The current account is linked to a STD account from which customers can earn interest on any idle funds on their daily balance.

The business account pays tired interest with higher interest being paid for higher balances in the STD account. Interest is accrued daily and credited to customers’ account at half year intervals. Minimum interest earning balance is BDT 250000.

RATE OF INTEREST FOR BUSINESS ACCOUNT:

Balance BDT 250000- BDT 999999 @ 2.5%

Balance BDT 1000000 & above @ 3.75%

FEES AND CHARGES:

All product & services related charges other than those mentioned in (2) would be applicable according to prevailing Schedule of charges.

RESTRICTIONS ON THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AMOUNT PER TRANSACTION:

There are no restrictions in the minimum and maximum amounts. Withdraws will be made from the current account. Any shortfalls in this account will be made up from the STD account. Thus as long as there is adequate balance I the STD account, any amount of withdrawal is possible.

CALL CENTRE

A Call Center is a central place where customer and non-customer calls are handled by an organization, usually with some amount of computer automation. Typically, a call center has the ability to handle a considerable volume of calls at the same time, to screen calls and forward them to someone qualified to handle them.

OBJECTIVES

To provide cost effective alternate delivery channels to customers in order to attain service excellence in terms of:

• 24 / 7 one window service.
• Convenience and easy accessibility.
• Quality and Responsiveness.
• Technology based solutions
• Free of Charge

Standard Chartered Bank’s 24-Hour Call Center is the easy answer to our customers’ banking needs. No more queuing at branches and it’s absolutely free.

NECESSITY-CALL CENTRE

• Increasing Customer expectations-convenience, easy accessibility, responsiveness, 24 /7 one window service, and technology based solutions.
• Alternate channel-divert calls from branch; reduce queues, resulting in enhanced branch service quality.
• Feedback center of the bank-one point complaint center, effectiveness of marketing campaigns, response to new product and services.
• Competitive edge-pioneer in introducing State-of-the-art call center with IVR service allowing financial transactions.

Introducing the latest addition to Standard Chartered Bank’s wide range of services-our State-of-the-art call center, the first of its kind in the country. Whether you are an accountholder or a credit card holder, if you wish to pay your utility bills at the touch of a button, settle your credit card dues or simply enquire about your account, contract our call center 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It isn’t just basic functionalities (enquiries, duplicate statement request etc) anymore, in addition to all those services; the following financial transactions are now at your fingertips:

• Credit card bill payments
• Utility bill payments
• Fund transfers within the same master

All above the transactions are made over Phone. All just a simple phone call away. No more standing in long queues or worrying about late payments. With the new Standard Chartered Bank Call Center, banking has never been easier.

To enjoy one stop banking solution just dial 8961151/0173041400-19.

 HOW TO APPLY FOR PHONE BANKING:

To avail SCB’s call center services, a bank account holder (liability or asset) has to complete the “Call Center Form” available at all branches. The application is forwarded to Account Services for generating TIN (Telephone identification Number). The customer can collect his/her desired branch after two working days from the day of submission of the application.

For Credit Card customers, the TIN is generated over phone. The cardholder contracts the Call Center after the necessary security checks have been conducted, generates the TIN himself/herself. Process is stated below

Call 8961151/0173041400-19

Press 1 for Bangla or 2 for English

Press 2 for Card Services

Press 3 to generate a new or forgotten TIN

Call will be forwarded to CSR (Customer Service Representative). After verification, Customer call will be sent back to IVR to generate the 4 digit TIN.

The over all function is to generate Credit Card TIN, which is generated just press 123 or 223 over Phone.

• A TIN will remain valid even if it is not used for any period of time
• In case of replacement TINs, the previous TIN is deactivated automatically when the new TIN is generated.

SERVICES OFFERED:

The Call Centre has two components. The automated system IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and the human interface CSRs (Customer Service Representatives). The CSRs are divided into two units: Branch Banking and Credit Cards. The services are provided through both IVR and CSRs as detailed below:

SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH IVR:

IVR services are divided into Financial and Non-financial transactions.

IVR NON-FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS:

• Balance inquiry
• Transaction details
• Duplicate statement request
• Cheque book request (only for liability accounts)
• Online TIN generation (only credit cards)
• Existing TIN change
• Currency and Deposit rates (USD, GBP, Euro, Yen, AUD and CAD)
• Product information (Banking accounts, Personal loans, Auto loans, Credit cards, Flexi loans, Priority accounts and small & medium enterprises)
• Forms by fax

What should the customer so when his or her ATM/Debit card is lost/stolen?

The customer should contract the Call Centre (8961151 or 0173041400-19) immediately and instruct them to stop the card. He or she can also go to a branch to report the loss. The branch or call center staff will block (which we term ‘making a card HOT’) the card in the system that will ensure it cannot be used.

How can one get the replacement card?

If the customer has blocked the card through the call center, he or she can fax an instruction to them (Fax no-8963236) to issue a replacement card. Otherwise, he or she should go to the nearest branch to request a replacement.

How many days does it take to get a replacement card?

It takes three working days for the replacement card to be ready.

Will the replacement card have to be collected from a branch or will be sent to the customer’s corresponding address? Can the customer request to block the card from one branch and collect it from another?

The replacement card has to be collected from the branch. The customer can specify any branch that he wishes to collect the card from. He or she should mention the branch from which the card is to be collected, on the request from.

Can the bank issue a dummy card while the replacement is under process?

No, that cannot be done.

Can the customer send an authorized parson to collect the replaced ATM/Debit card and PIN?

No, delegation of authority is allowed in this regard.

What is the life span of ATM/Debit card?

ATM card is valid for five years from the month of issuance.

What are the charges of ATM/Debit card?

BDT 600/= plus 15% VAT is charged for the card annually.

BDT 600/= plus 15% VAT is charged as replacement fee.

When is the annual fee charged?

The annual fee is charged on the last date of the year, that is 31 December of the year.

Is there a charge for blocking a card when it is lost or stolen?

No, there is no charge involve in such situations.

OVERALL EXPLANATION

From the above explanation, we find that customers have given different opinion in respect of all the questions. And from their opinion we found that there are some lacking in the services done by the various part of standard chartered bank as well as there are also some strengths in different sectors. We find that the overall performances of call center are better than teller and PFC services. PFC services need better improvement as it is the most important in the branch service. From different correlations it is found that there is a negative correlation between teller services and the services of call center as well as the negative correlation between PFC services and Call center services.

During the course of the undertaken study, several findings have been stumbled upon with which have been summarized and discussed below,

1. Standard Chartered Banks superior customer service providing is due largely to its affiliation with a large parent company and strong brand image.
2. The bank is constantly expanding and improving its performance.
3. Existing products come with new attractive features to their customers .
4. New products have been gradually improved according to the choices of the customers and for their satisfaction.
5. Although the current offering for the personal loan is a lucrative one, there is still scope for further improvement which would be beneficial for the bank as well as the customers.

Financial institutions have always played an imperative role in strengthening the economic infrastructure of the country. Banks such as the Standard Chartered Bank have been at the forefront on this role. Although right now the products contribution in comparison to the other products is not that high, it can certainly be hoped that with proper modification and policy change it will surely become a large profit earning sector for the bank. The different features of the product identify it as a convenient way for the consumers to avail those products for a variety of purposes to assess the different aspects of the products applicant.

The performance of the product also shows clear indication about the increasing trend of the products customer base. Day by day the numbers of products are increasing for the product and the recent acquisition of the banks such as American Express Bank and ANZ Grindlayz Bank can only help to increase and raise the performance of the product.

Finally it can be argued that product development for consumer’s credit program of Standard Chartered Bank has been operating more or less in the desired direction. However, we have identified some loopholes of the program which needs special attention. We hope that if the existing problems are addressed properly the bank will be able to expand the program as per their target and it will continue to provide more revenues in maximizing the wealth of the bank in the years to come.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

No financial system can operate if banks do not function according to commercial criteria. While supervisory and regulatory measures can help in this regard, on their own they will not be enough. They must be accompanied by a Government commitment, publicly announced and backed at the highest political level, that banks will be allowed to operate without any direct Government interference in their commercial decisions and that banking laws and financial discipline must be rigorously enforced without regard to persons. Implementation of reforms may involve pain and costs. But experience elsewhere in the world suggests that the longer the delay, the greater the pain, sacrifice and costs.

As an organization the Standard Chartered Group has earned the reputation of top foreign banks operating in Bangladesh. The organization is much more structured compared to any other foreign bank operating in Bangladesh. It is relentless in pursuit of business innovation and improvement. It has a reputation as a leader in financing manufacturing sector.

With a bulk of qualified and experienced human resource, Standard Chartered can exploit any opportunity in the banking sector. It is pioneer in introducing many new products and services in the banking sector of the country. Moreover, in the retail-banking sector, it is unmatched with any other foreign banks because of its wide spread branch networking thought the country.

From my point of view, the following recommendations can be judged and applied for the bank’s betterment.

• If the problems can be effectively controlled, it will have beneficial effect on the service quality of CBS, which will reduce dissatisfaction that has arose in Reliability and Tangibility.
• The existing setup can be improved by adding a few more employees.
• It has been seen that there is a gap between the marketing people and the operations people of this service. To bridge up this gap, a member of the operations team may join the sales people during presentations to potentials customers.
• Lack of openness often drives customers away. All kinds of rules and instructions must be disclosed to the customers so a to make it convenient for him to take a decision.
• Banani branch has to deal with a lot of customers of the bank, that is why it needs to focus more on efficient service and more staffs are required in the front office.
• Each PFC’s at the branches should be assigned to deal with different services. Therefore, services need to be identified which are common and which create pressure on the front desk so that one PFC don’t have to reduce the extra pressure on the front desk of the bank.
• More promotional offers should be made for current accounts bearing large balances.
• A good number of customers preferred ATMs in between Shantinagar and Bangla Motor, Lalmatia, Old Dhaka area, Mirpur. So all these area have a good potential for the bank.
• ATMs need to be maintained properly to stop customers switching from SCB to other banks as quite a few have now installed ATM services.

Standard Chartered Bank is one of the oldest banks in Bangladesh. It has more experience in local conditions that many of the local banks. But the current market scenario is totally different from any other time in the past. Monopoly on the basis of image and institutional back up are no longer sufficient to attract the customers unless they are matched by insurance of proper customer care. In the final analysis, it is the customer who can make difference between making the business. Therefore, the bank should be on a constant vigil to ensure reasonable and competitive level of customer service and satisfaction.