Awards for Excellence 2020
To succeed, you have to be national: for Bill Demchak, chief executive of PNC Financial Services, it’s the mantra that has guided his strategy since taking over the reins of the firm in 2013.
Seven years on, it’s an approach that has served the group well. The bank is Euromoney’s choice as the US’s best bank.
Demchak joined the bank in 2002 as chief financial officer, before serving in other roles including running its corporate and institutional division (C&I), which is the profit driver for the group, and brings in 35% of revenues.
On taking the top job, he turned his attention to how a firm such as PNC could grow into a powerhouse. The strategy so far had driven good performance but would always be limited in scope.
“We came to the conclusion that what we would end up doing was having a nationwide C&I business, but trying to fund that with a regional retail footprint,” he says. “Well, that’s not going to work long term.”