It’s been a big year for Credit Corporation, with full year 2022 operating profit and dividend payouts – both up 25 per cent on last year – capping off the company’s 45th anniversary in June. CEO Danny Robinson walks Business Advantage PNG through plans to become a niche commercial bank after the [bank] regulator recently fast-tracked the finance company’s application for a full banking licence in Papua New Guinea.

Credit Corporation PNG’s Danny Robinson.

Business Advantage PNG (BAPNG): What was the driving force behind the company’s decision to apply for a full banking licence?

Danny Robinson (DR): Our full banking licence strategy recognises the mature nature of PNG’s equipment finance market and the difficulty we’re likely to experience substantially growing the existing business beyond our current market share. Given the company’s limited upside for growth in existing markets, the plan to become PNG’s fifth commercial bank represents a step-change in growth.

BAPNG: What will a full banking licence allow you to do that you couldn’t do as a finance company?

DR: An unrestricted banking licence removes the minimum customer deposit requirement, and this is important because it will give us the capacity to offer cheque and savings accounts to our existing and new to bank customers in addition to our existing term deposits product. It would also allow us to sell foreign currency and we are already in negotiations with a correspondent bank.

‘We will be operating as a bank once this is in place by March/April 2024.’

BAPNG: When do you envisage the transformation from finance company to a niche commercial bank being complete?

DR: We are in final negotiations with a supplier for a new core banking system and we will be operating as a bank once this is in place by March/April 2024.

BAPNG: Why do you think the regulator granted ‘approval in principle’ for Credit Corp’s full banking licence within four months – well ahead of others in the queue?

DR: The regulator’s vote of confidence in Credit Corp reflects our 45-year presence in PNG, and our position as a publicly listed entity, with good governance and compliance, a highly respected board and senior management team – plus a strong balance sheet.

BAPNG: Given the limited growth upside for Credit Corp, what are your immediate growth aspirations as a bank, and how do you plan to differentiate from other banks?

DR: Within three to five years, we expect to capture at least five per cent of PNG’s banking market and will continue growing the customer base with competitive products and excellent best-in-class customer service. We also plan to increase our share-of-wallet by targeting the full banking needs of our very profitable and high-value customers, which include commercial businesses, SMEs and high net-worth individuals.

We also plan to make the transactional banking customer experience best-in-class. That means faster turnaround times, a more responsive customer service experience, and being served by people who know what their products and services are. Instead of having a branch network, we see a cloud-based digital platform as the way to go, with each customer being assigned a relationship manager.

Due to poor experiences with existing banks, our customers are now asking when they can switch to us. If we service and relationship-manage them properly, I expect around 80 per cent of existing customers will move all their transactional banking business to us.