Then Standard Chartered Gobbled Up ANZ Grindlays Bank

And Thus Began A GCC Bank Rebranding Success

Then Standard Chartered Gobbled Up ANZ Grindlays Bank.

So what does that have to do with the transformation of The National Bank Of Ras Al Khaimah To RAKBANK?

When Standard Chartered Bank bought ANZ Grindlays Bank, I was part of the crisis communications team, albeit a junior cog, denying for a long time that no, ANZ Grindlays Bank with its large and productive South Asian franchise was in no way willing to be acquired by its competitor.

As Head of Marketing and Sales of personal financial services unit I was also tasked with dealing with the media, talking to them in denial even as the big boys from Melbourne came to Dubai to tell the staff that all is well and that these are rumours.

I was naive and still wet behind the ears. The manipulators in Melbourne were Machiavellian and looking for a quick buck, handsome bonuses even if for committing harakiri and slaughtering a goose laying golden bottom-lines.

Strange are business logics of bankers. Sometimes, most times.

And after playing hide and seek, shadow dancing, lot of puppeteering, Melbourne finally announced the harakiri and severance of the Grindlays innard.

A remunerative part of the business was shed and long-drawn name of the Bank had been truncated.

Now it was the turn of the top wigs of Standard Chartered to assure the detritus of the ANZ sellout that we were an integral part of the new, integrated unit.

The wetness behind the ears were quickly drying up.

The boys were just four and three years respectively and I had to take care of elderly parents too.

Even while signing the integration song in harmony with the new bosses - I was even part of the integration video shot as part of the communication blitz to hardsell the new deal - had learned that corporate falsetto is usually just that and without any depth or substance, and often false promises.

So I re-started the hunt for daily bread and a little more.

It was 2000, businesses in Dubai, UAE and GCC were booming.

The Dutch bank ABN Amro was revving up their machinery and wanted to grow their sales team.

Extremely well-tuned to the vibes of the market at that point, I had learned that they were looking for a Head Of Sales.

Calls were made, the dots connected and a job was offered.

At the same time, again, through the contact network, I came to know that a local bank, not very well heard of, were aggressively planning to get into the retail banking market which was burgeoning and was looking for a Marketing Manager.

It had a tiny discordant unit in constant friction with the senior management and they wanted someone who would clean up the book and set up the unit from scratch.

But despite having been in the UAE for about five years, I had not heard of the bank, so I wanted to know what it was all about.

So I drove up and down the length of the UAE, from Shams and Rams near the border of Ras Al Khaimah and UAE with Oman and in the reverse direction up till Al Ain and Abu Dhabi, checked out all the branches and saw that there was a massive opportunity to give a new lease of life to the conservative sounding bank brand.

More intent on a creative pursuit like marketing, rather than a rather banal sales head job, I did not have to think twice about taking

A few calls and a couple of meetings later, I was offered the job and after the mandatory resignation processes, joined The National Bank Of Ras Al Khaimah as Marketing Manager.

Can never forget the date - 16 Saturday, 16 September 2000 and after my last day at ANZ Grindlays being Thursday, 14 September.

But with fire in the belly and eager to create some notable, innovative banking and financial service marketing, I was sure that success in the dog-eat-dog retail banking market would also have a lot to do with the lure of the brand and that a long institutional name, which sounded more like the title of a legal document, moniker that would induce sleep in customers by the time it was used to address them over the telephone, needed a change for a crisp short moniker.

Took a while, a long while to convince the senior management of the need to rebrand the bank.

And finally, it happened on 17 February 2001.

Cannot believe it is 21 years.

Congratulations to RAKBANK celebrating the anniversary of its rebranding.

Proud to have played a part for a tenth of it. Joined the then 'The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah' as Marketing Manager in September 2000 and was instrumental in re-branding it as RAKBANK by February 2001.

In October 2002 was given the additional responsibility of bolstering its nascent sales force. Built it from scratch - zilch to around 200 - by first quarter 2003.

Great, fun times at the workplace and off it.

Best wishes to RAKBANK for the future.