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Deborah Batell Getting to Know Deborah Battell We present to you New Zealand's Banking Ombudsman Q: What does a usual day in the office demand for New Zealand's Banking Ombudsman? A: There's never a sense of Groundhog Day at the Banking Ombudsman Scheme. Variety is one of the best things about the role. Every day I review dispute files and discuss resolution options with staff. As the leader of a small business my day can involve checking finances, checking progress against plans, staff leadership, promoting and representing the scheme, servicing the board (planning, reporting, informing my Chair of issues), responding to media enquiries, managing relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, etc. I also do a lot of writing – Current Account, articles for publication, conference papers. Q: Your predecessor was also a female ... why are women so good at this role? A: Actually, a lot of Ombudsmen are men but you do have to be passionate about resolving what are often difficult human problems involving highly distressed people in awful situations. And some people might say women tend to be better at that. It's hard work! When I first told people that I had been appointed to the role, some male colleagues asked how I would cope with going from trying to resolve widespread, knotty and high level economic problems (as I had done at the Commerce Commission) to resolving individual complaints. I think they felt that operating at the individual level was too small and lacked real influence. But that is a very narrow view of the role. Our scheme can make a difference for both individuals and the wider public: every time you look at a case it's important to ask whether the same thing could be happening to others or whether the same thing could happen again. We have the potential to improve standards in the banking industry and to help prevent poor experiences. Banks have changed policies and practices as a result of our cases and they have improved the information they provide about a range of services and fees. Q: When you first took over the role the Ombudsman's office was in the process of dealing with, what you described as, "the industry's most serious investment product failure". What was this and how did you effectively manage the situation? A: This was the failure of two of ING's investment funds that had been extensively sold by ANZ's investment advisers. About 15,000 New Zealanders were involved, of whom about 3,500 were ANZ customers. In my first year we completed a record 715 investigations (mainly ING cases). So it was a very demanding first year learning about a new job and a different industry, with high expectations on the Banking Ombudsmen Scheme to resolve some very tricky situations. Q: What was your first significant role in leadership and what did you 30 | www.hermagazine.co.nz learn from it? A: My first significant role was as Director of Fair Trading at the Commerce Commission. When I first arrived staff felt that they were not valued by the organisation, and that the competition work was seen as more important. Early on I saw the need to challenge that perception. I also found that you first need to inspire yourself before you can inspire others. I'm proud of what our team achieved - with significant help from Above: Deborah completed the Tongiriro Crossing at Easter other parts of the Commission, especially Peter Taylor, then General Counsel, and the Chair, Paula Rebstock. By the time Paula left business was in no doubt that breaches of the Fair Trading Act could attract significant consequences. And I would like to think that those Chief Executives who told me that their organisations were customer- focused and should not be prosecuted ultimately clicked – you simply cannot mislead your customers and be customer-focused at the same time! Q: What about your childhood growing up in Wanganui. Do you feel it made you the person you are today? A: I had a privileged childhood. I have one brother and one sister, and our parents encouraged us to try lots of different things. My father was unusual in that he had attended the local Quaker school and believed it was a child's right to question. And I had tremendous support from his parents who lived across the paddocks. Although Wanganui is a small town, it offered a lot. I had lessons in just about everything you can think of, and competed in swimming, speech and drama, tennis, pony club gymkhanas and athletics. I also had some amazing teachers: Pat Church at St John's Hill Primary, and Dennis Price and Stella Schnack at Wanganui Intermediate. These teachers loved kids and made sure we knew the basics (including grammar) while also inspiring us to do our best. My parents were entrepreneurial, social and sporty, and my father's family were very musical. My happiest memories are of all the family sitting or standing around the piano singing. Q: Was it your decision, after a year of high school, to move from Wanganui Girls' College to Woodford House in Hawke's Bay? And do you believe this was an effective move? A: Absolutely not my decision! I fought the decision tooth and nail. My mother was a Woodford House old girl and I'm afraid that in