by Kenny Chee

MAYBANK'S Chinatown branch has been one of the bank's top three Singapore branches in terms of revenue for the last five years.

This is partly due to the multilingual service that the branch offers, which has resulted in good relationships with customers who are more comfortable speaking in Mandarin or Chinese dialects, said Mr Fong Wai Sun, the branch banking chief of Maybank's consumer banking arm.

'Being able to speak the customers' language ensures they are comfortable discussing their banking needs with us,' said Mr Fong.

The Chinatown branch celebrated its reopening yesterday with lion dance and Chinese instrumental performances, after a two-month closure for renovations.

Mr Fong told my paper that the Chinatown branch has always had ethnic Chinese staff who speak English and Mandarin to cater to the predominantly Mandarin-speaking customers in the area.

But he realised a few years back that most Mandarin-speaking customers felt more at home when the staff spoke to them in a Chinese dialect such as Hokkien or Cantonese.

Since 2001, all ethnic Chinese staff selected for that branch, from tellers to relationship managers, must speak at least one dialect.

Most of them can also help customers translate bank-transaction documents into Chinese.

Senior relationship manager Jade Leow said that it is important to speak her customers' language.

'It helps my customers understand financial jargon better and enables them to make informed decisions when I advise them,' Madam Leow told my paper.

The multi-lingual service has also attracted many loyal customers.

Accounts manager Esther Chang, 46, who is Chinese-educated and prefers to use Mandarin or Hokkien, is one of them.

'If I do not understand a banking term in English, I'll ask the staff to explain it in Mandarin,' said Madam Chang, adding that the multi-lingual staff are better at understanding her banking needs.

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