Transcript of the video
A: Alexandre Decroocq
J: the journalist
J: Alexandre, what is your role?
A: I am a private banker for key clients at BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Monaco.
J: We can imagine a lot of things when we hear “private banker”. What exactly is your daily business?
A: The daily business of a private banker is first and foremost to take care of their clients’ portfolios, both in terms of their investments, and their financing needs. Being a private banker also means prospecting, being someone who can find other potential clients.
J: Could you define two or three necessary qualities for your job?
A: I would say the first quality is listening. Our customers need to open up with us, so that we can identify opportunities with them and provide them with the right advice. I would say you also need persistence, because it's a very competitive business. You have to be agile, because you have to work with multiple in-house experts. It’s like being the orchestra conductor of the relationship.
J: Do you identify their investor profile?
A: They have different cultures, different expectations, a different relationship to risk. So you have to be a sort of chameleon. Try to adapt to the customer in order to respond in the best way possible.
J: What exactly is your background and what type of jobs did you have at BNP Paribas?
A: I’m a graduate of a business school. I immediately wanted to start working in London. I was hired in the trading room in London, and I developed my technical skills in terms of products.
J: Can you say that a private banker must have seen a range of situations?
A: You need to be able to speak as well about cultural and financial subjects if you want to serve this clientele. It may be hard to become a private banker when you are fresh out of school. It's a job of experience where you learn something new every day, where you meet new clients from diverse backgrounds. Clients can be company owners, wealthy family heirs, or young entrepreneurs...
And that's another thing I find interesting about this job, there is always something new!
J: Can you describe the strengths of BNP Paribas?
A: I think the strength of BNP Paribas lies in the fact that we are both an integrated and diversified group, in other words, we are diversified in terms of business lines. And integrated because we are able to create synergies across these different businesses, so that we can serve our customers with a 360° approach, which can’t be done by just any bank.
J: Thank you very much Alexandre.