Trust in the sector isn’t exactly buoyant; a co-founder is behind bars over accusations of fraud; plus there is growing FOMO in the category — with brands and influencers accosting the guy on the street with quick tips, hacks and conflicting advice on how to save and invest. It is against this backdrop that YES Bank has started the process of a brand refresh, with a new logo and campaign tagline ‘Life ko banao rich. The idea’, to showcase itself as a new-age bank that is customer-focussed.
Prashant Kumar, MD & CEO of YES Bank, states that the legacy issues plaguing the brand since 2020 have been addressed and that the new communication is the organisation’s way of pledging greater transparency, responsiveness and agility to its customers. “We wa-nt to make sure we are not taking any risky calls. With the entire banking system becoming increasingly digital, the refresh is our way of ensuring the bank’s identity is in sync with today’s times,” says Kumar.
As per Care Edge, HDFC Bank with a total income of 1.92 trillion in FY23 is the clear leader among Indian private banks, followed by ICICI, Axis, IndusInd and Kotak Mahindra respectively. The 19-year-old YES Bank, with a total income of Rs 26,624 crore is at number seven, right behind IDFC. Kumar believes the only way for YES Bank to gain an edge in this sector is by elevating its service quality and product offerings, which the brand is working towards.
“In the last fiscal, we saw approximately 35% growth in retail banking, 35% growth in mid-market and 25% growth in the MSME business. We did see some de-growth in large corporate business but that has also stabilised now. Going forward, while we will focus on all segments, we want to grow in the loan business by 15-20%. To do that, we need to see similar growth in deposits as well,” explains Kumar, noting that the bank has been adding about 30,000 new customers each month.
More than cosmetic changes
Noting that the need of the hour is getting digital ready, Ajimon Francis, MD India, Brand Finance, says, “Banks today have multiple issues to deal with such as the influx of fintech that largely addresses millennial consumers, regulatory tightening and digital shift in consumer behaviour. The current leadership at YES Bank is putting governance in place and giving confidence to institutions, clients and retail customers.”
Nisha Sampath, managing partner, Bright Angles, concurs, observing that trust in the financial sector takes time to rebuild. “As a custodian of people’s money, the bank has to ensure the branding exercise is not just cosmetic, and that customers ‘feel’ the promise of the brand to make their lives easier, in every interaction,” she points out.Kumar observes that one of YES Bank’s core strengths lies in transaction banking, both at the corporate and individual level.
Kumar is optimistic. “Today, there are nearly 10 billion transactions a month on UPI. Over 40% of these are supported by YES Bank. Moving forward, the bank’s real opportunity will lie in analytics and offering customised products to customers,” he says. The bank plans to hire the right kind of talent with expertise in data and analytics, considering that banking needs are changing and becoming increasingly digital.