Henk Paardekooper, CEO First Bank: “We see that businesses and people are regaining confidence and this is what is required the most”

“2021 has really started on a very good footing. It was a health crisis but obviously with economic and financial consequences. Romania has done here very well. In many rankings in Europe, they are not coming out on top, but when it comes with dealing with the health crisis and mitigating the financial and economic consequences, Romania is really in top 3 in Europe,” Henk Paardekooper, CEO First Bank said during the Financial Forum 2021 organized by The Diplomat-Bucharest.

The economy in 2020 decreased by 3.9 percent, which is very good achievement if we compare it to many other countries and economies.

Let’s not forget in Romania we didn’t have only the pandemic, we also had the draught in the agriculture, which is also a significant contributor to the economy.

Earlier this week, Standard & Poor’s, the largest rating agency, put the outlook for Romania from negative to stable and that was not expected. The market expected this to happen maybe at the end of this year, but it is also already happening at the beginning. That is very strong signal for international support and also from investors.

The economic growth perspective is around 5-6 percent for 2021, and that is in top 3 in Europe. What we see in First Bank is that the first quarter has started off well, very solid, very robust. We see that businesses and people are regaining confidence and this is what is required the most.

The moment that people feel that the pandemic will be over soon, then confidence comes back, people will start to invest, to buy, to spend. People have really saved money; companies have also postponed investments plan where they could. I believe with this confidence coming back around mid-year, with the vaccination rates significantly increasing, we should see a strong economic boost.

The amount of savings in the banking system has significantly increased. That money is there to be deployed, to be spent and to be given to businesses and consumers for loans. One of the side effects of the pandemic could actually be that the financial intermediation which is low could actually go up.

Our vision is to be digital with a human touch. Clients have accelerated the acceptance of technology to do banking services. Banking is an essential service. It was always mentioned that groceries, and pharmacies should remain open, but do not forget that banking is in fact an essential service for the economy

We have seen around 10 times more transactions through digital channels. This will not decrease after the pandemic, people got used to this new way of dealing with banks and I certainly call that a shift.

Cybersecurity is a very important topic. It’s important that banks have good risk management and control in place. What is equally important is that clients using banking services become aware of the risks themselves.

We want to support people and businesses achieving their goals by offering efficient and simple products and banking services. I would like to say I’m very optimistic that 2021 is really going to be a very nice year.”

The Diplomat Bucharest organized Financial Forum event in online format, on April 21,2021. The conference joined leaders spearheading digital initiatives in their organizations to offer insights into their digital transformation journey’s in fintech & banking, as well in capital markets and insurance.

The fast evolution of digital in all industries mirrors in the behaviours and innovations brought by banks,  financial institutions to meet the clients’ needs to abstain from overspending, navigate risks, and usually deal with their finances better. FinTech services and products are more and more designed for particular functions inside the financial ecosystem and customization is key to win more clients and portfolios.