“Open and honest communication makes all the difference.”
Interview: Telekom Group Treasurer Stephan Wiemann
Mr. Wiemann, what are the key features of a successful relationship between a bank and its customer?
Banks and customers obviously always have their own priorities that have to come first for them – and so they should. This means that we achieve the best results when the details of the financial side are clearly defined in advance; in fact this is essential to keep everyone pulling in the same direction. It is also very important that the agreements reached are respected throughout the lifetime of the project. Helaba understands this, which is one of the reasons we consider it such a reliable partner.
What values do you consider critical?
Open and honest communication. Transparency and poise, especially when there are challenges to be mastered. Deutsche Telekom works together with a total of 22 well-known major international banks. Helaba is a successful member of this group. Our decision to entrust a lead mandate for a benchmark bond to Helaba in 2017 reflects not just the confidence we have in the bank, but also the value we attach to its particular placing prowess in specific investor segments.
What are the most recent milestones in the cooperative relationship?
The 2017 bond was of course just one in an ongoing series of projects. Recently Helaba won out with the call for offers as an investment company (IC) and at the end of 2017 it structured an innovative pensions management product for Telekom. We particularly appreciate Helaba’s flexible, customer-focused approach to cooperation. We map processes digitally wherever possible and use live data for our portfolios managed by the investment company for our risk monitoring in third-party systems, such as Bloomberg.
Is Helaba’s digitalisation strategy kicking in at just the right moment?
Absolutely. The effort needs to continue too, because we believe digitalisation gives banks, issuers and investors the opportunity to make capital market transactions, for example, much more efficient.
Thank you Mr. Wiemann for taking the time to talk with us.
Taking flight with tailored solutions
Helaba has managed to acquire a much higher-profile role for itself with Telekom over recent years despite competition from more than 20 international commercial banks. Our business with Deutsche Telekom spans a wide range of areas, most notably tailored solutions for tax engineering and pensions management and also for capital market transactions.
Stephan Wiemann
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