“ Cash collecting system will soon prove its efficacy”
Interview with Horia Simu- Citibank executive director
Rail journal:
What are the advantages this new cash collecting system has to offer to a big company as
CFR – SA?
HS: To begin with, I would like to point out the CFR-SA wish of keeping
in touch with the latest discoveries on the informational and financial market and to
address my appreciation to Mr. Viorel Simut, general manager of the CFR-SA, for realising
that having the success of a company in his hands is due not only to the market conditions
or to the technical performances but also to the banking -financial support they can count
on. On these premises only, the collaboration with Citibank was possible. What we have
realised so forth is just the first step in creating some new financial advantages for
CFR-SA. At first I would like to talk about the strategic advantages of this product whose
implementation allows a greater flexibility and a munch more concentrated reaction speed.
Thus, on a central level, the company can afford doing some payments
considered absolutely necessary, making strategic decisions regarding founds
administration, maximising the financial efficiency of founds administration, in
accordance to the priorities of the Patrimony Branch at the moment.
Such a financial flexibility gives to any company some other kind of
power, placing it to a superior position toward the business partners and the other
financial organisations.
RJ: Have you created such a system for other
companies, too?
HS: Yes, the system is not a new one, it has been working for three years
now; We proposed to make this cash collecting system a frequent way of working for our
business partners. This system allows the visualisation in real time of all payments
according to the priorities, insuring an easy way of communication among its users.
Without giving any name, I may say that the majority of the multifunctional Romanian
companies are using this system.
As we all know, after the division of the SNCFR, each of the
departments belonging to the former SNCFR developed more or less independently. CFR-SA has
to have a strict control over the increasing amount of money they collect. Citibank
adapted the informational and the communicating system to the needs of the CFR-SA and to
the organisation of the Patrimony Branch; many people of our bank and of the Patrimony
branch as well, as Mr. Dan Saileanu and Mrs. Viorica Meloce were directly involved in the
process.
The system induces a strategic advantage to the company allowing a
better administration of the collected founds by the management: the prioritising the cash
collecting, a better financial efficiency for the budget surplus, quick reactions to the
unexpected circumstances.
RJ: Why Citibank?
HS: Citibank’s aim is to offer its clients all over the world more than
qualitative services but personalised services. Each client is a distinct entity, with
proper organisation system, proper needs which are always different and do not subscribe
to any kind of pattern.
Citibank power means exactly its capacity of insuring the adaptability
to the specific individual needs. For this we need professionalism and abnegation and
further more, an evolved improving capacity for the financial services toward our clients.
RJ: Do you intend to extend this system for the
other bureaux of the CFR-SA as well?
HS: Once this system implemented it will soon prove its utility. For now
it has been conceived only to the needs of the Patrimony Branch. But it can be easily
adjusted and applied to the other departments of the CFR-SA or for the main quarter as
well, increasing the financial efficiency of the CFR-SA; being aware of the available
money, one can easily decide over the accounts, exchanges, cash etc. To the immense amount
of cash this company runs daily, a day or two of delay in making any decision will cost
the company a great loss of opportunities and money.
RJ: What could you tell us about the soft?
HS: The soft is a regional platform of Citibank adjusted by our
professionals to the local needs of the CFR-SA. This programme is user friendly; we offer
permanent training and technical assistance to its users. Until the 1st of June
we did practised a lot with the CFR employees directly involved in this process, so that
we should obtain the best results even from the first day of working together.
RJ: What do you think Citibank collaboration means
to the CFR-SA?
HS: This system could bring CFR-SA to the highest peak among the other
modern companies by creating a new banking interface.
Citibank Romania SA belongs to the Citigroup, the biggest financial
institution in the world. We are always once step ahead all the other banks from the point
of view of technological improvement and newness promotion. That’s why we are the first
on the Romanian and international financial market.
Citigroup dispose to all his clients the power of a first rank
commercial bank (Citibank), the capacities of the investment bank Schroeders
Salomon Smith Barney and Travellers group insuring. The offered possibilities
of interact on each financial or international capital market is by far a big advantage
appreciated by all of our clients. The XXI century does not allow to any company to resist
on the market governed by a powerful globalisation unless it has an adequate financial
covering.
Citibank is able to offer CFR-SA such a support having all the
necessary financial means and power, willing to sustain the courageous internal and
international odyssey of the CFR-SA.
RJ: What could you tell us about the team that made
this project become an incontestable reality?
HS: We all worked hard and we must thank to all those people from the
Patrimony Branch for their support and technical assistance. Team makes the entire
Citibank. Names are useless; absolutely all people within Citibank created and developed
this project that is indeed an impressive power especially that Patrimony Branch has wide
territorial network.
This was the first obstacle we had to surpass and we sure did it!
Ileana Statie
