Wealth & Finance International - February 2017

15 February 2017 In his role as President, Oscar reports to the Board. Prior to his appointment to this position, he worked as the Chief Financial Officer, with the Accounting and Finance department reporting directly to him. “My responsibilities have now expanded significantly,” he states. “The management team that reports into me include Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Legal Officer, Interim CFO, and the Regional Directors. We are expanding across the globe and have recently appointed Regional Directors, Regional Managers and Country GMs.” What important role does your management team play, and the staff underneath them, in the success of your firm? Oscar is quick to sing the praises of the management team who he states play a critical role in the company and comprise a strong cus- tomer service-focused level of Regional Directors. They cover Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, China & ASEAN, Far East Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. “All of these regions are independent jurisdictions supported by Region- al Directors with specific country General Managers as direct reports. We hold weekly conference calls in which we monitor our KPIs. The team is highly motivated with an incredible background in international banking & finance. Every organization is only as good as its people and we have that talent within Vivier, coupled with the strong business processes required in the financial services industry. “We are constantly receiving feedback from clients that helps us improve our services. The main feedback revolves around our higher than average rates of interest, which are linked to our lending to the property sector, with higher than average returns. This, combined with our low cost operational base, ensures a better return for our depositor / investor base. We have listened to our customers and team to improve our online banking platform and our Debit Card programme. We strive constantly to improve.” Vivier & Co has been able to grow significantly during the last three years in its core business of offshore savings accounts, paying higher than average interest rates, and is now in a transformational stage of its journey. In 2017, it will be branching out from the core business into new financial services and products to offer customers. Oscar tells us more about these offerings and the firm’s journey since inception. “The new services include a Bond Issuance which is planned for the second half of 2017 and Vivier’s first commercial banking licence, which is hoped for in the first half of 2017. We have also seen a steady geographic growth and presence into new continents with the appoint- ment of an enlarged management team covering Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.” No-one can foretell what the future holds, however Oscar envisions great new opportunities for Vivier in 2017 and beyond. “We’re facing stringent financial regulations as we develop into mature, offshore banking markets and first world jurisdictions. This presents us with an opportunity to secure our first commercial banking license, to bring us on track to expand our portfolio of services and to compete on a wider global scale. “Our biggest advantage is our low overhead which translates to low operating expenses. This in turn leads to our bank being able to offer some of the highest savings account interest rates across the globe. “The main opportunities that we see are the digital banking revolution and people’s need to be connected to their bank accounts wherever they are, 24-7 via mobile. To this end, we will be developing a mobile app to complement the online banking platform. The migration to se- cure our first commercial banking license will provide an area of growth for our business and enable us to develop new financial products and services to provide better rates of returns for our depositor base.” Company: Vivier & Co Name: Oscar Mendoza Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.vivierco.com Address: Level 33, 23 Albert Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand Telephone: +64 9 889 3989 or +64 9 985 5759