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The head of SC First Bank, John Filmeridis, frequently tells staff not to worry too much that they will be at a disadvantage if their English isn¡¯t perfect. He even says English proficiency is not a prerequisite for staff sent overseas. The CEO of a bank created last year when the U.K.¡¯s Standard Chartered Bank¡¯s merged its Seoul office with Korea First Bank, in other words, is determined to relieve ¡°English stress¡± among staff inculcated in the belief that speaking the international language of business well is a must for success.
Insiders say that is just a small part of a strategy to beat Citibank Korea -- which uses English as the official corporate language. After the U.S. bank merged with KorAm Bank in 2004 to create Citibank Korea, staff from the U.S. side incurred the wrath of the KorAm union with the policy, to the point where there was a campaign to ban English in the company. Despite this, most official corporate documents are still written in English. Over at SC First Bank, Filmeridis is taking the opposite approach in labor relations as well. Citibank Korea management follows U.S. headquarters¡¯ principle not to allow unionized workers a say in promotion matters and came up with harsh measures against the in-house union. The reward have been repeated go-slows and strikes which sent the bank¡¯s net profit down from W134.3 billion (US$1=W950) in the first quarter last year to W123.7 billion in the second quarter, W114.5 billion in the third and W108.9 billion in the fourth.
Watching the disputes at Citibank Korea since taking office in April last year, Filmeridis immediately raised a white flag when his own bank¡¯s union demanded an end to ¡°discrimination¡± in promotions against staff from Korea First Bank. He made the unprecedented decision to promote all former KFB staff a notch and demote all SCB employees.
In addition, he stresses the bank¡¯s localization efforts, in contrast to Citibank Korea, which sells itself on its international nature. Citibank Korea chief Ha Yung-ku likes to point out that Citi Group is one of the most advanced global banks with a double A credit rating from credit rating agency Moody¡¯s. But Filmeridis created a stir when he demanded at a press conference in April, ¡°Why do you call us a foreign bank? You should call us a Korean bank considering our relentless efforts to localize here.¡±
The CEO even stumped Citibank in competition over whose is the biggest dealing room in Korea. Citibank opened a dealing room with 70 seats in March last year, but SC First Bank in October opened one with 10 more and launched a large-scale PR campaign based on that coup. Altogether, these little matters have added up to a distinct gap in performance in the first quarter this year. SC First Bank posted W76.2 billion in net profit, a whopping 81.4 percent increase over the first quarter last year, but Citibank Korea suffered a 39.3 percent decrease to W81.5 billion during the same period.
But industry watchers say it remains to be seen whether Filmeridis¡¯ localization strategy can in the long term help the bank beat Citibank Korea, which after initial operating losses due to industrial action seems to have overcome the worst with a dramatic compromise this March.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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