3 years of transforming SCB into a Digital Bank with a Human Touch

“The past three years have seen both successes and challenges. The key lesson is to be open, honest, and collaborative in understanding the need for change. Without these, the increasingly competitive landscape of the next three years will make adaptation even more challenging.”

Back on August 1, 2565, it was the first day that Krit Chanthanothok Has become a Chief Executive Officer, Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited It has become a core business after the announcement of a major restructuring of the century-old bank to become the SCB X financial business group.

Amidst a period of significant transformation for the Thai banking industry, under Krit's leadership over the past three years, SCB has been able to navigate challenges smoothly. With a clear strategy to become a Digital Bank with a Human Touch, SCB has achieved continued success, as evidenced by the Bank of the Year award from Finance & Banking, which SCB has held for three consecutive years: 2023, 2024, and most recently, 2025.

“SCB's S-Curve, Digital Bank with a Human Touch, represents the integration of people and technology. This reflects the bank's commitment to providing services beyond lending and to being a leader in wealth management.”

Over 3 years, building trust in the organization on the day of change

Krit Chantanotok, Chief Executive Officer, Siam Commercial Bank Public Company Limited Give a special interview "Bank Finance" Let's go back to three years before I took on this position. Before I joined, SCBX Group had undergone an organizational restructuring. At the time, bank employees were very concerned. As is normal with change, employees began to feel uneasy about whether the bank was no longer important and why it had to be separated. However, I personally believe that the banking business remains important. I just need to find my own strengths to make bank employees feel comfortable and confident that the banking business will not be left behind.

"SCB's foundation is already solid, so we're adapting based on strengths. While we may have focused on high growth in the past, when the once-good economy slowed, the banking business was unable to grow as before. This was a difficult challenge, but we succeeded."
Krit emphasized that the success of the past three years has been attributed to all SCB employees. As an outsider, he has taken on this position and strives to rely on clear and consistent communication to keep everyone in the organization informed of the direction the bank is headed. However, if employees don't understand or cooperate, they won't be able to reach that goal.

The past three years have seen both successes and challenges. The key lesson is to be open, honest, and collaborative in understanding the need for change. Without these, the increasingly competitive landscape of the next three years will make adaptation even more difficult.

Find a new S-Curve and grow with digital wealth.

Over the past three years, as CEO of Siam Commercial Bank, Kris has been seeking an S-Curve approach, dusting off the business framework laid out by SCBX to find new growth points for the banking business.

Kritsada stated that the bank must identify its strengths. Given that it no longer provides retail loans, does not provide unsecured loans, and does not rely on risky loan growth during the same volatile interest rates, and its existing customer base is primarily the middle-class and above segment, what long-term value-added value can be created for the bank's customers within this framework, and what are the possibilities?

"We need to find a strong image that will make the business more resilient than others. SCB may not be able to do everything perfectly, but we will focus on areas where we believe we can do our best. We can meet the needs of our customers, who choose SCB over other banks because we have a clear focus for them."

SCB's strengths are identified in its wealth business and its corporate client business, which are already interconnected. The wealth business itself must be divided into two lines: the digital line and the line that still requires "human" management. Therefore, bank branches and personnel remain essential, but the definition or format of a bank branch will change. This all results in different strategies to meet customer needs.

Meanwhile, SME businesses are a key enabler for expanding the wealth management business, as most wealthy clients are also SME owners. This creates opportunities for cross-border connections, similar to the one-stop home loan program currently offered by the bank. Krit emphasized that SCB's home loan business remains the number one today and will certainly continue to be.

“SCB's S-Curve strategy, Digital Bank with a Human Touch, demonstrates the synergy between people and technology. This reflects the bank's commitment to providing services beyond lending and to becoming a leader in wealth management.”

Adjust the organization to achieve 4 goals

Krit added that over the past three years, SCB has undergone organizational changes, adjusting internal processes to achieve the goals announced on his first day in office. He stated that he would implement six main tasks:

1. Have a cost to income ratio (Cost to Income) is close to 35%, which is currently the first bank to reach a figure lower than 40% and is currently still the bank with the lowest Cost to Income in the banking industry.

2. There is shareholder return. (ROE) is a double digit number as of the date of taking office. ROE is still a single digit number, but over the past 3 years, ROE has been maintained.It achieved double-digit growth, becoming the first bank to do so after recovering from the economic slowdown. SCB's ROE in 2567 is expected to be over 11%.

3. Earn income from digital channels (Digital Revenue) has increased significantly. The target is 25%, which is a continuation of the previous target of approximately 6%. Recently, SCB has digital revenue to 25% of revenue by the end of 2568, as targeted.

4. No. 1 in providing sustainable loans (Sustainable Finance) The bank has set a target of 150,000 billion baht, but has currently managed to disburse up to 180,000 billion baht in loans, the highest in the banking industry. This reflects the bank's commitment to advancing ESG, which aligns with the SCBX Group's policy of creating a sustainable business group.

However, there are still 2 more goals that are in the process of being implemented to achieve the specified results:

5. No. 1 in wealth management business (Wealth Management) Siam Commercial Bank is currently ranked 2nd. To be ranked 1st, we must look at the overall picture, including assets under management (AUM), profits, and NPS (Net Promoter Score).

6. It is a bank that customers trust as the number 1 Main Bank. This is something that needs to be measured with NPS, but this goal is very challenging because it requires continuous measurement and changes quickly. The measurement covers three customer groups: large institutions, SMEs and retail customers, whose rankings are constantly moving.

Today, even though we are not the number one in the wealth business, I am confident that the path we have chosen will lead us to our goal. Even though it is far, with determination from day one, I am confident that success will outweigh failure.

SCB Wealth's makeover paves the way to No. 1 position

With Siam Commercial Bank's goal of becoming the number one wealth management business and the bank that customers trust as the number one main bank, both goals are currently underway. To achieve these goals, Siam Commercial Bank is adjusting its work processes and organizational structure to be in line with the direction it is moving in.

Krit revealed that regarding the wealth business, SCB Wealth, a wealth management business, is undergoing a service transformation. The complexities of the SCB FIRST, Private Banking, SCB Julius Baer, ​​and SCB Asset Management (SCBAM) businesses will be simplified and combined into "SCB Wealth." Regarding digital investment, plans are underway to consolidate services into a single platform, the "SCB EASY" app, allowing customers to more easily access and manage their own investments through a single platform.

The strategy for the Wealth business starts with simplifying wealth management and reducing the complexity of products and services. Currently, a single customer may have several RMs from various agencies, such as asset management companies, securities companies, private banking, and branches. Their roles will be clearly defined.

“Asset management companies should act as product manufacturers, with banks acting as distributors and advisors to clients, with RMs providing support to clients across different segments to avoid duplicate brands.”

Furthermore, the company must prioritize the customer. Siam Commercial Bank is one of the first banks to boldly state that it will measure customer satisfaction based on the returns they receive. This represents a shift from the traditional privilege-based competition that most banks typically pursue, to a "No Gain, No Pay" approach that waives management fees and sales fees (front-end and back-end) if the unit value does not meet the predetermined targets.

At the same time, the bank is expanding international investment opportunities for clients. Given the volatile Thai economy and the potential for slower growth in the domestic stock market, clients are beginning to explore international investment options. The bank has partnered with global partner BlackRock to provide Thais with easier access to international investment without the need for large sums of money or complex understanding. Additionally, it has partnered with Julius Baer for private banking clients seeking direct international investment.

“By 2568, we believe the bank will achieve more than double-digit growth in its wealth business, perhaps even 20%, up from the current single-digit growth rate. This is because we are confident in our strategy to become a leader in the wealth business.”

Restructuring the “Consumer Banking” business group

In early 2025, the Bank began strengthening one of its core businesses by restructuring its personal banking business into a "Consumer Banking Business Group" by merging five product and service channels into one: 1) Retail Banking, 2) Integrated Channels, 3) Wealth, First and Private Banking, 4) Bancassurance, and 5) Digital Banking.

Kritsada stated that, with a customer-centric approach, the bank aims to be a financial partner that can effectively address individual customers' needs at every stage of their lives, from beginning savings to building security to planning for wealth succession. The bank aims to become "a bank that customers can trust at every stage of their lives" by 2571.

Therefore, product launches and presentations through various channels to generate sales and revenue must be customer-focused. Products and services must be presented with understanding and responsiveness to customer needs at every stage of life. This will include enhancing the branch network, emphasizing opportunities to build relationships with customers through branch channels, and developing service personnel into financial advisors who understand customer needs. This will focus on building relationships with customers through appropriate channels that are consistent with costs.

The bank has begun transforming its branches into Smart Branches by adjusting work processes and integrating technology and AI to increase efficiency in providing financial solutions to customers.

Kriss aims to elevate his staff from service providers to full-service financial advisors, another approach he is taking to achieve this goal. The bank plans to overhaul Wealth RM to better serve clients with increasingly complex investment and financial planning needs at different stages of their lives, as well as to facilitate the transfer of wealth from generation to generation.

“Previously, we had to continually increase the number of external RMs, but this restructuring was insufficient. This restructuring helps create connections within the wealth business and creates opportunities for interested branch employees to develop into wealth RMs without having to hire outsiders. This also creates opportunities for internal personnel development within the bank.”

Core Banking overhaul to be operational in 2 years

Krit added that while pursuing the Digital Bank with a Human Touch, the bank's core strategy, it is undergoing gradual adjustments across its entire organization. The primary focus is on the new Core Banking system, which is currently undergoing improvements and testing. This year, testing will begin with deposits exclusively for SCB employees, and will expand to the loan sector in 2026. The migration will be gradual, with full implementation expected within the next two years. This will involve working alongside the old and new systems until complete confidence is achieved.

The bank is also working on creating a unified data platform, a centralized platform that will synthesize SCB data into a single standard. This will enable rapid data access and usage, enabling customers to better understand and recognize their customers. This is an investment the bank has made to create new data standards, and the project is currently in the middle of the project.

“Once this data platform is complete, it will be crucial for artificial intelligence (AI) to process data, enabling the bank to understand its customers more quickly and further develop its Digital Bank with a Human Touch strategy.”

Ready to take on the challenge, new players come to compete

Krit added that the outlook for Thailand's banking industry over the next 5-10 years will be shrunk in line with the country's economic situation. This is because banking grows in line with the country's economy. When the economy slows, banking will shrink in size, and the number of employees may also decrease. This is a pattern seen in the country's banking industry. These changes will necessitate changes in bank services. Branches may no longer be dedicated to updating passbooks or accepting and paying bills, as they once were.

"Although banks claim to be digital, they cannot pressure customers to use digital channels. Customers choose whether to use branches or not. What banks need to do is build customer acceptance of digital channels. If updating passbooks makes customers feel comfortable, there may be other digital channels that can build customer confidence and serve as legal documents. Digital watermarks are one of the processes banks are currently implementing."

Furthermore, increasing competition from players will force banks to adapt. This will not only involve branchless or virtual banks, but also the issue of open data, which poses an even greater challenge. This will not only impact financial institutions, but will also allow non-financial businesses to utilize data in the same way that banks can. This will create increased competition, but at the same time, it will benefit consumers and the economy.

“Three years ago, SCB's S-Curve initiative wasn't fully realized, but it was crucial in helping us understand what we need to do to ensure SCB remains a top-tier bank in Thailand over the next three years.”

Today, although we are not the number one wealth business, I am confident that the path we have chosen will lead us to our goal, even if it is far. But with determination from day one, I am confident that success will outweigh failure.

Follow and read other columns in the October 2568 Bank Finance Journal, Issue 522, in digital format: https://goo.gl/U6OnIi

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