Tthe rewards of better SME banking are highly worthwhile, not just for banks and their SME customers, but for the economy as a whole.
In most countries Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) represent a substantial proportion of economic activity, and typically account for well in excess of 50 per cent of total employment. However, developing a successful SME banking business is sometimes difficult, especially in Emerging Markets. Lack of reliable market and company information, and weaknesses in the local business environment and culture, can pose serious challenges.
The experience of many banks, both in developed and emerging markets, is that developing a successful SME banking business means adopting novel approaches to meet specific local circumstances. We have extensive experience in providing practical consulting and training covering most of the issues facing banks looking to operate in this market, and to help them build sustainably profitable SME banking businesses.
Download GBRW's SME Banking & Finance Capability Statement.
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SME Banking & Finance Courses
SME Banking & Finance Team
GBRW has a team of experienced banking and finance practitioners with practical experienceto develop your SME banking and finance business. Our team can mobilise on-site or remotely to work side-by-side with you to maximise the potential of this segment. SME banking and finance is the foundation of a successful wholesale banking and finance franchise, where large corporates increasingly deliver lower risk-adjusted returns. Our approach emphasises differentiating the Customer Value Proposition (CVP) to overcome the 'price trap'.
Jeremy Denton-Clark
Director, GBRW Consulting/ Learning/ Expert Witness
Jeremy has been a Director and Company Secretary of GBRW Consultancy since 2000. He joined the GBRW group of companies after 32 years of experience as a professional commercial banker in the City of London, the last 8 years of which he was the Chief Executive Officer of a merchant bank.
Jeremy started his career in the foreign exchange department of Kleinwort Benson before moving on to the control of advances made by the French and Belgium branches of the National Westminster Bank. Moving back to London he joined for 13 years a bank owned by commercial banks in the United States, Scandinavia and Germany where he was appointed a Director and General Manager. Jeremy was then appointed the Chief Executive Officer of a merchant bank in London specialising in trade finance, private banking and lending to SMEs.
Jeremy has been a banking consultant for over 20 years and resident in Moscow, Bucharest and Zagreb on bank restructuring projects. He has delivered 52 consultancies in more than 20 countries. He is a specialist in corporate governance and organisation structure; development of a bank’s strategy and objectives; capital adequacy, funding and liquidity; risk management as well as lending to SMEs and mid-cap corporations including recovery of portfolios of NPLs and individual loans in default.
He has been a Non-Executive Director of a commercial bank in the Balkans for 4 years, an advisor to the CEO and Executive Board in a number of banks in developing markets and a trainer on technical banking topics in numerous countries.
Johnny Rizq
Director, GBRW Consulting/ Learning
Johnny is a senior level financial services strategist with a 35-year career as a strategy consultant and trainer, banker, economist and financial journalist. Prior to joining GBRW in 2010, he was for 14 years the head of Lloyds Banking Group’s International Advisory Services business, directing and leading financial sector consulting and training assignments across the globe, with a focus on transitional markets. He was also the head of Strategy & Innovation for Lloyds Bank’s Corporate Transaction Services unit, a business with a turnover of more than $500 million.
Johnny’s main strengths and interests lie in strategy development and implementation, organisational development, business planning, financial inclusion, and addressing the financing needs of SMEs. He has particular expertise in Balanced Scorecard development, on which he has run workshops and delivered consulting projects for a number of banks. By helping them apply structured analytical tools and methodologies, Johnny enables his clients to position themselves strategically in the market to take advantage of changing opportunities, and to manage their risk exposure, while making optimal use of their capabilities and brand image. His professional experience covers a range market segments, including SME, Retail and Corporate banking, as well as specialised product areas such as Trade Finance.
He has worked extensively in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, Central & Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Johnny has a BA in Economics. He speaks English, Arabic, French and Portuguese.
Mike Coates
Joint Managing Director, GBRW Consulting/ Learning
Mike is the Deputy Managing Director of GBRW Consulting. Following over 14 years' experience as a professional banker and financial services consultant, he joined the GBRW group of companies in 2011.
During his 10 years with Lloyds Banking Group in London, Mike worked in retail and corporate banking, finance, and risk management. Mike also spent five years with the International Advisory Services department, a specialist unit within the Financial Institutions Group focused on delivering Lloyds Bank branded consulting and training for banks in emerging markets. On leaving Lloyds Bank, he then spent three years as head of financial sector consulting at a leading economic development consulting firm.
Mike has specialist expertise in strategic and financial planning for financial institutions, credit risk management for SME and corporate borrowers, and business analysis and Management Information Systems. Mike has worked on business development and consulting projects in over 25 countries throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He is also an experienced training instructor, leading courses focused on strategic marketing and Customer Relationship Management for bankers addressing the Small – and Medium-Enterprise (SME), commercial, and corporate markets.
Mike holds a BSc in Financial Services from the University of Manchester, as well as the esteemed Associateship of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB). He has also been the lead researcher and co-author of several well-regarded studies and publications.
Nate Dickerson
Director, GBRW Consulting/ Learning
Joining in 2012, Nate Dickerson is the Director of Credit Risk Management at GBRW. Nate’s banking career started with Chase Manhattan, where he enjoyed a 13-year career. Responsibilities included domestic and international debt restructuring, credit administration, and relationship management. While at Chase, Nate also developed and delivered credit risk management training for Chase’s Credit Training Program.
Nate has been engaged as a consultant for over twenty-five years providing consulting and training in more than 20 countries in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Advisory services have focused on problem loan management, enterprise restructuring, corporate governance, credit risk management, loan assessment, institutional and industry assessments, organizational design, and human resource management.
During this time, Nate has also designed and delivered training programs for lending professionals serving the small and medium enterprise (SME) and microentrepreneur markets. Training programs have addressed Problem Loan Management; Out-of-Court Workouts; SME Credit Analysis; Commercial Credit Assessment; Understanding and Appraising a Business Plan, and Credit and Non-credit Risk Management (from the Branch Prospective). His training design and instructional skills have been honed on scores of training workshops conducted for such organizations as RMA, American Institute of Banking, National Bankers Association, Banking Skills Training and Consultancy (Vietnam), Omega Performance, and Egyptian Banking Institute.
Nate holds a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School, with a concentration in international finance and management information science, and a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University, with a major in philosophy.