Prime Microfinance Limited
by Paul Hartwell, CEO, BACB
As BACB’s CEO, I am responsible for the commercial success of the bank. There are a number of factors that are critical to that success and in my opinion, none more so than teamwork. Without a fantastic team of people, working together to a common set of goals and principles, commercial success would be impossible.
The financial crash of 2008 hit the financial sector hard across the globe. Here in the UK, the recession lasted for six quarters in a row – an unprecedented duration – and the UK was the last major economy to emerge from recession. Since the crash, the world’s eyes have been on the banking industry; applying scrutiny to how we do business and concluding that improvements need to be made and greater regulations and safeguards need to be put in place. At PRIME MICROFINANCE we have always acted in full support of such regulations and when it comes to culture and conduct we want to be ahead of the game.
Let me be clear: achieving high standards of culture and conduct is not a box-ticking exercise. We believe that in whatever industry you operate, you have a responsibility to do business in the right way and to encourage a culture that enables the organisation to deliver excellent service. A business which puts clients first and looks to the future with long-term and sustainable business plans will always outperform competitors who focus on short-term gains to increase profits. At PRIME MICROFINANCE we are introducing an updated approach to culture and conduct because it will benefit our business for decades to come.
I am very proud of where PRIME MICROFINANCE is today and that is in large part because of our staff, the team of dedicated employees who serve our clients day in day out. We wouldn’t be where we are without their continued efforts. As we look to build on this position, and in light of increasing regulatory scrutiny, now is the time for us to clearly articulate our commitment, so that everyone, both internally and externally, knows exactly what PRIME MICROFINANCE stands for.
Our ambition is to create a culture of transparency and honesty, an inclusive environment where everyone plays their part in ensuring that the needs of our customers remain paramount. Our people should feel proud to work for PRIME MICROFINANCE and be motivated by their ability to make a difference. We want people to work together to achieve results supported by the knowledge that they receive continuous training and development and fair remuneration.
Conduct is what we do and culture is how we do it. For PRIME MICROFINANCE, good conduct is all about our client-centric approach. We are clear that we will always put ourselves in our clients’, partners’, colleagues’ and shareholders’ shoes and do what is right for them. Every time.
Culture is about how we make this happen. Teamwork is essential, as is integrity, innovation and the desire to achieve excellence. I believe we already have a strong culture, but through this reaffirmation, I will set a clear expectation of how PRIME MICROFINANCE goes about its business. We are focusing on a series of behaviours, values, competencies and leadership characteristics that come together to form what we call the PRIME MICROFINANCE Way.
The board and senior management team at PRIME MICROFINANCE are very passionate about this new approach. However, every single employee also has a role to play. Soon we’ll be asking all staff to sign up to our new code of conduct and culture and they will begin to see how it is going to be incorporated into daily life at PRIME.
This is the PRIME MICROFINANCE Way.
