An investment banker working in private banking is an absolutely unique person endowed with an emotional intellect, empathy, and able to respond at lightning speed to any market changes and technical problems. Oleg Borunov, MCB Executive Vice President, talks about where such people come from and their value system.
High-net-worth individuals resort to private banking not because they’ve seen a catchy commercial advertising a bank wanting to have a good reputation. What matters in this banking segment such clients entrust their capitals with is the customer service rendered on a personal basis via dedicated bank advisers. Developing a private product is by no means speedy as building a reliable relationship takes time and is fixed by tangible results and trust. This is the key component, and that’s where much depends on the personal manager responsible for the capital, deposit, investment product, and decision making. Business will be business, but while communicating, the clients and their advisers willy-nilly establish close and friendly relations. That’s what private banking is all about. Talking about friendship, I always recall stories from my childhood. Our bank holds the so-called Secrets of Success Meetings with our top managers, at which they talk about themselves and answer their colleagues’ questions. Once, I attended one too, and after it, I was told my teammates’d learnt a lot of new things about me even though we’d known each other for about 15 years. Well, I’d shared some stories from my childhood and student life, i.e., things unrelated to our work. I grew up at the nexus of two epochs when the USSR became modern Russia. I remember the times of rationing when we’d spend five hours or so queuing for margarine. We’d have to register our queue position at 2 a.m. to have a chance to buy some milk when the shop opened at 7 a.m. Nevertheless, those hardships toughened us up and laid the foundation of our personalities. Back then, we did not realise it. But looking back, I understand it’s the things which happened in my childhood that made me what I am now. Saying we, I also mean my sister and my male cousin. We had a small age gap and went through many things, joyous and dangerous, together. My cousin and I used to get up at 5 a.m. to go fishing. We made our fishing gear ourselves of whatever we had at hand: sticks and willow branches for rods, some old rusty hooks, and old car-tire inner tubes for fishing boats. We found those tubes in rubbish heaps, patched the holes in them, tied them together with ropes, and fixed wooden planks between them. Such were our tiny fishing vessels, each complete with a couple of narrow boards for oars. It was rather chilly early in the morning, so we’d wear thick padded jackets, wadded trousers, and swampers. ‘On board’ those rubber constructions, we’d get into the middle of the pond where the local men did boat fishing. At one fine dawn, there started a good fish rising, and at that very moment, a rubber patch came off my cousin’s boat, and that silly tube started deflating rapidly, so he was about to drown! I still remember those adult fishers laughing out loud while there I was, knowing that floating atop a rubber something, I had no chance to take off all that heavy apparel. We were 10 or 12 years old at the time, so making a quick decision, let alone calling for help, was no easy matter at all. I’ll never forget the terror in my cousin’s eyes! Terrified as I myself was, somehow or other, I managed to push & drag his ‘boat’ to the shore. When it deflated, he was already standing waist-deep in water. We found ourselves in many other risky situations that our children, luckily or unfortunately, will never face. I’m sure all those experiences did help me in my life later. In investment banking, all kinds of things happen every day, so many decisions are to be made very quickly. The choice is usually between making a profit and avoiding a loss. Sometimes, though, it’s inevitable operational risks. They often appear in late December when everything seems to be all right, but, all of a sudden, something goes wrong, and you have only five minutes to contact whoever necessary and settle the accounts in the right way. Milliards or even scores of milliards can be at stake, so you cannot possibly fail as it would entail huge losses. So, you must not lose courage and figure out what to do and who to call to straighten out the situation in the nick of time. The second decisive factor in the investment business is trust and good relations within the team. I’ve known mine for quite a long time. In teamwork, reliability and common values worked out together are of paramount importance. We’re more than just co-workers. We’re also friends, which does not hinder our work but is of great help. In others, I love sincerity and trustworthiness. I myself do my best to be goal-committed, straightforward, outspoken, and not too blunt or overemotional. I’m a 100 % perfectionist, want things done right on time & in the right way, and expect all to mind our current plans. If a ship is to move on, all her holds must be dogged lest she quickly founder. At the same time, I know by experience one should not be fearful of making mistakes. Error correction is a necessary part of making progress. Ideal scenarios exist only in dreams, while a blunder gives you a chance to get better. Working as a team, we managed to develop several areas while the banking sector was stagnating. And in late 2017, our bank launched an investment programme. Our sports project, we started both accidentally and purposefully when we got acquainted with Ilie Cebanu. Establishing trust-based relations with the Moldavian footballer proved to be the right decision and a promising perspective. The project is for athletes, those with sizable assets and beginners, spending a lot of time in training camps and needing help to manage their finances. Our job is to teach them the basics of financial competence and what their capitals can afford. This knowledge will help them to move on and grow after their sports careers are over. Not only were we the first to launch a sports line, but we also received the first award for a green project. It’s become another molecule in our bank’s DNA, so to speak. Not many know what ESG stands for. It’s Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance. The main feature of the environmentally-oriented projects and the financing raised by corporate clients within the ESG is targeted use of the funds allotted for constructing environment-friendly facilities. For example, we’ve just helped Atomenergoprom Corporation issue the so-called Green Bonds to finance building a wind park. What concerns the public today is protecting forests from pollution and switching over to ecologically friendly methods. We will develop them and consult our clients on what to start with and where to use them. I myself am keen on sports games. Moving on, reaching for the goal, and being Number One are their part & parcel, so they train your will and teach you to strive for victory. That’s how I view the essence & mission of my work. As to my personal goals, they’re set by my love for my family. Mine is a two-part life. The larger one, I live with my team at work. However, everything I do there is for the well-being & happiness of my family. I want my children to be healthy, learn the right things & skills, reach their goals, be they small or big, and move on. There’s no greater purpose in life than the family. Whatever we do and achieve is for their sake. I am always happy to be with my family. When I return home, my children and our dog rush headlong to greet me, so my wife says, ‘OK, I’ll let them jump upon you first and then give you my hug’. We love reading books and watching TV series together, all of us sitting side by side on the couch. These are indeed happy hours as well as those when we discuss the day’s news. My children’s kindergarten and school lives are also quite eventful, so we always have a lot to share at the end of the day, thus ‘unloading’ our minds and resting in a cosy family atmosphere. No family can function without trust, love, and friendship. Nor can a successful business. We learn from each other to do our best & utmost both in business and in our relationships. So far, there’s nothing I could complain of, as I’ve got everything I need for growing, living an abundant life, and feeling happy.