Jean-Jacques Bérubé, Deputy Vice-President — Merchant Relationships, National Bank of Canada
National Bank set to offer clients quicker loan setups
With a history stretching back to 1859, National Bank of Canada has remained an industry leader for more than 150 years by constantly innovating and looking out for its clients’ needs.
This Montreal-based banking institution serves more than 4,500 merchant and dealer partners across Canada through a dynamic team of 27 Business Development Managers operating at the local level.
National Bank’s Merchant Relationships team has real expertise that comes from experience.
Here’s a recap of an interview with Jean-Jacques Bérubé, who has had a 35-year career at the bank and has been Deputy Vice-President — Merchant Relationships, for the past 10 years.
Making dealers’ lives easier
Partnering with the auto sector, the Merchant Relationships team specializes in consumer financing.
National Bank has more than 20 years’ experience in this field and their team is fully committed to being an outstanding business partner for dealers.
Whether they’re giving dealers the support they need to maximize their sales, delivering fast financing or answering any questions that may come up, the team’s goal is to make each dealer partner’s life easier while streamlining the transaction for buyers.
Fast and easy: a winning combination
Simply offering financing solutions isn’t enough — being available to dealers is crucial.
National Bank focuses on convenience and speed when it comes to application processing. “What we often hear is that our payment process is fast and easy, which means there’s less paperwork to do,” Bérubé explained.
For example, in nearly 90 per cent of cases, the dealer receives an almost immediate reply in less than five minutes. “Our quick turnaround times put us out in front of the other financial institutions,” he added.
Coverage from coast to coast
Roberto Nardi, Senior Manager, Ontario and Manitoba
National Bank’s Merchant Relationships team covers the entire country.
Building out from well-established bases in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, the team has broadened its reach into Western Canada during the past two years.
“Every year, we’ve been expanding our market shares in the auto sector. We already enjoy a very solid reputation in Quebec. Now we want to sustain that growth and roll out our best practices at the local level in other provinces,” said Jean-Jacques.
In conjunction with this cross-Canada expansion, the team has revamped its structure. To ensure that dealers’ needs are being met, it’s important to have a deep understanding of the market and remain attuned to what people want.
Darren Kiley, Senior Manager, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia
The team now has three Senior Managers: Roberto Nardi is in charge of Ontario and Manitoba, Darren Kiley covers Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, while Nathalie Laforest oversees the Atlantic and Quebec regions.
“Dealers want Business Development Managers to be available and know their markets well — that’s what we can offer.” Every Senior Manager is backed by a group of Business Development Managers.
The new structure enables Business Development Managers to be accessible to clients locally and adjust to their specific needs.
In line with that approach, National Bank has recently extended its hours for customer service staff working out of Montreal so that dealers anywhere in Western Canada can count on convenient service hours.
Major initiatives on the way
This summer, National Bank will be continuing to upgrade its systems for this sector by making a major investment in new technology to automate the financing process.
In just minutes, buyers will be able to have their loan funds advanced and their account opened at the bank. The loan account will be opened automatically as soon as the funds are advanced and the dealer payment is made. “I think this will put us at the leading edge,” Jean-Jacques noted.
Looking forward
2016 was an excellent year and 2017 is off to a great start.
But that kind of performance certainly isn’t based on luck; it depends on the right mix of convenience, synergy, processing speed, promotional offers and, of course, personalized service. That’s a good recipe for a very successful future!
