WEBVTT - BNY Mellon CEO Robin Vince Talks 240th Anniversary

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, and one of the

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<v Speaker 1>big stories we're taking a look at today is well,

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<v Speaker 1>the history of one of the oldest banks in the world,

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<v Speaker 1>Bank of New York Mellon Market is two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>forty years in business. The bank was founded back in

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<v Speaker 1>seventeen eighty four by Alexander Hamilton, making it the oldest

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<v Speaker 1>bank here in the US and one of the top

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<v Speaker 1>twenty banks in terms of age worldwide that's still in

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<v Speaker 1>continuous operations. I had to sat down chance to sit

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<v Speaker 1>down exclusively with the CEO of BNY Mellon, Robin Vince,

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<v Speaker 1>to discuss the milestone and more importantly, what's next.

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<v Speaker 2>How do you keep a firm like this relevant? Take

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<v Speaker 2>a listen.

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<v Speaker 3>Two hundred and forty years is a long time. We've

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<v Speaker 3>operated over four centuries of history, particularly New York history,

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<v Speaker 3>and we're getting together with some clients to actually enjoy

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<v Speaker 3>that and make sure that we mark the moment. We're

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<v Speaker 3>actually the oldest operating longest operating company in New York,

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<v Speaker 3>with the oldest member of the B five hundred and

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<v Speaker 3>Fortune five hundred and the first stop listed on the

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<v Speaker 3>New York Stock Exchange.

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<v Speaker 2>But we're looking forward.

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<v Speaker 3>So innovation at the end of the day is an

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<v Speaker 3>important part of this story too.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, let's talk about that innovation.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, you don't get to two hundred and forty

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<v Speaker 1>years by just dumblock. I mean, even if you go

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<v Speaker 1>through the list of some of the banks that sort

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<v Speaker 1>were born out of the birth of this nation, at

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<v Speaker 1>least you're in the United States and the ones that

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<v Speaker 1>are still there, I mean, what gets you to another

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<v Speaker 1>to forty It's not just going to be the same playbook.

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<v Speaker 2>Isn't it.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think you're exactly right that innovation is at

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<v Speaker 3>the very heart of that. You only get to be

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<v Speaker 3>old if you're resilient and if you're innovative focused on

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<v Speaker 3>your customers.

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<v Speaker 2>At the end of the.

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<v Speaker 3>Day, it's our clients that guide our progress as a

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<v Speaker 3>company and to operate through all of the different ups

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<v Speaker 3>and downs that we see the world wars that have

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<v Speaker 3>occurred over our history, the very birth of the nation.

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<v Speaker 3>Literally the British were leaving just months before the foundation

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<v Speaker 3>of our company. You have to be resilient, you have

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<v Speaker 3>to focus on your customers, and you have to.

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<v Speaker 1>When we talk about sort of the next big structural

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<v Speaker 1>changes that are going to shake up banking, shake up.

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<v Speaker 2>The finance industry. Right now, there's a lot of talk

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<v Speaker 2>about AI.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that moment here now or is this still something

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<v Speaker 1>in the future that you're preparing for.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, the answer is both. It is here.

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<v Speaker 3>There are opportunities now, but those opportunities are going to

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<v Speaker 3>get more and more exciting over the coming years. I

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<v Speaker 3>was actually just back from the West Coast where I

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<v Speaker 3>spent time with some of the luminaries of the AI industry,

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<v Speaker 3>really hearing their thoughts and participating with some others in

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<v Speaker 3>a few different sessions and just trying to peak over

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<v Speaker 3>the horizon about what's in store.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think it's going to be very important.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's going to create great opportunities for our

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<v Speaker 3>client facing businesses to be able to do more for

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<v Speaker 3>our clients. I think it's going to help us to

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<v Speaker 3>run our company better. And I also think it's going

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<v Speaker 3>to be something that's going to give benefit to our

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<v Speaker 3>people to be able to take some of the drudgery

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<v Speaker 3>out of some aspects of work and actually help them

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<v Speaker 3>to be able to focus on the things that are

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<v Speaker 3>going to add the most value. So I think it's

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<v Speaker 3>to be honest, it can be a win win win,

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<v Speaker 3>but it's going to take a little bit of time.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's talk a little bit more about what's going on today.

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<v Speaker 3>You just had earnings about a month ago. Here they

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<v Speaker 3>please a lot of investors.

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<v Speaker 1>The turnaround that you've been orchestrating there seems they've really

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<v Speaker 1>taken hold. There's a lot of focus right now on

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<v Speaker 1>organic growth or investors are focusing on organic growth. How

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<v Speaker 1>much do you see that organic growth rate, the one

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<v Speaker 1>that you just posted in the most recent quarter continuing

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<v Speaker 1>through the rest of the year.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, our team has been laser focused over the past

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<v Speaker 3>eighteen months on helping our firm really be more for

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<v Speaker 3>our clients, and that's the very heart for us of

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<v Speaker 3>organic growth. We have this incredible franchise around the world.

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<v Speaker 3>We serve so many clients all around the world in

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<v Speaker 3>all parts of the financial system, and yet we do

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<v Speaker 3>relatively few things with many of them. So the opportunity

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<v Speaker 3>to do more of the things that we do, bring

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<v Speaker 3>more of our platforms to our clients is a very

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<v Speaker 3>significant opportunity. We have a terrific franchise and so it's

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<v Speaker 3>really about approaching it through that lens that creates organic growth.

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<v Speaker 3>We are excited about the fact that we have really

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<v Speaker 3>been generating more organic growth, and obviously we're hopeful that

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<v Speaker 3>we'll be able to.

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<v Speaker 2>Continue to do that. As part of our.

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<v Speaker 1>Journey geographically, where is most of that growth going to

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<v Speaker 1>come from? Is it going to be here in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>North America or Europe, Asian Middle East?

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<v Speaker 3>Where it's truly around the world. We serve clients all

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<v Speaker 3>across the globe now. I do think there's a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of opportunity in the US right now, given everything that's going.

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<v Speaker 2>On in the economy here.

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<v Speaker 3>But we're also in the import export business of financial services,

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<v Speaker 3>So we help our international clients access the United States markets,

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<v Speaker 3>and we help our US clients be able to go

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<v Speaker 3>out and access markets all around the world, whether it

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<v Speaker 3>be people who want to bring capital in or who

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<v Speaker 3>want to be able to go take capital into other

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<v Speaker 3>parts of the world. We have that knowledge, that expertise

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<v Speaker 3>and the local on the ground experience to be able

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<v Speaker 3>to help clients.

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<v Speaker 1>Are you seeing more demand for that, not only just

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<v Speaker 1>from existing clients, but from potentially new clients as well well.

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<v Speaker 3>There's certainly demand in the United States for capital because

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<v Speaker 3>the US economy has really surprised many people, I think

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<v Speaker 3>with how well it's been.

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<v Speaker 2>Doing, and there's.

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<v Speaker 3>Just a lot of interest in participating in this market.

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<v Speaker 3>And then outside of the US, the world's a pretty

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<v Speaker 3>complicated space right now. We have wars in different regions,

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<v Speaker 3>we have complexities on the geopolitics side, and so clients

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<v Speaker 3>want that expert navigation advice on how to actually go

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<v Speaker 3>about doing their businesses in the most efficient ways.

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<v Speaker 1>When you look at some of the disruptions going on

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<v Speaker 1>out there geopolitically, the wars, disruptions and shipping routes, everything

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<v Speaker 1>else going on, do you see those as sort of

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<v Speaker 1>passing things, meaning something that could be resolved within the

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<v Speaker 1>next couple of years and then we go back to

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<v Speaker 1>whatever the normal is or is this something we're just

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<v Speaker 1>going to have to live with and adjust to for

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<v Speaker 1>years to come.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, here's where I'm going to go back to being

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<v Speaker 3>two hundred and forty years old as a company. I

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<v Speaker 3>obviously can't look back myself over that whole period of time,

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<v Speaker 3>But the world is a complicated place, and we have

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<v Speaker 3>had many episodes in history where there have been different things.

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<v Speaker 3>Tensions that go on can be in politics, it can

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<v Speaker 3>be in geopolitics, and so I think we should all

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<v Speaker 3>recognize that we have to be prepared for those types

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<v Speaker 3>of situations, and we actually think that being resilient and

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<v Speaker 3>being prepared is just part of how you have to

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<v Speaker 3>operate as a great company.

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<v Speaker 1>These days, with regards to economic conditions, both here in

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<v Speaker 1>the US and abroad, there's been a lot of talk

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<v Speaker 1>about where the economic cycle is and whether it's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be favorable to banks. When you look at the

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<v Speaker 1>economic conditions, you look at the interest rate backdrop, are

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<v Speaker 1>you comfortable.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, another way that you get to be old is

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<v Speaker 3>never by being comfortable, by always challenging yourself. Got to

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<v Speaker 3>be a little bit skeptical about the world in order

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<v Speaker 3>to make sure that we're looking around the corners seeing

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<v Speaker 3>the risks. This was a lesson that some firms learned

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<v Speaker 3>the hard way last year when they weren't prepared. So

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<v Speaker 3>we view being cautious, thoughtful, and prepared as an essential

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<v Speaker 3>part of operating.

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<v Speaker 2>Now.

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<v Speaker 3>Having said all of that, I do think that the

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<v Speaker 3>US economy has surprised to the upside over the course

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<v Speaker 3>of the past year or so. We've seen that with

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<v Speaker 3>inflation being stickier. It's kind of a nice problem to

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<v Speaker 3>have because it's really been the manifestation of the fact

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<v Speaker 3>that we're benefiting from a whole bunch of different things

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<v Speaker 3>in the US right now. We have interest from abroad

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<v Speaker 3>in terms of investing in the United States. We have

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<v Speaker 3>a relative abundance of raw materials, not everything, but a lot.

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<v Speaker 3>We have energy independence, that's a big deal. We certainly

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<v Speaker 3>saw the examples of that of not having that in

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<v Speaker 3>Europe over the course of the past couple of years.

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<v Speaker 2>We have availability of labor.

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<v Speaker 3>Those things are contributing to a very significant upside in

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<v Speaker 3>the US economy. We've had a little bit of industrial policy.

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<v Speaker 3>We've got the innovation that we just talked about for AI.

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<v Speaker 3>These things collectively are really creating a pretty powerful economic engine. Now,

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<v Speaker 3>not everybody has been participating in it, but for the

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<v Speaker 3>sixty percent of Americans who participate in the stock market,

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<v Speaker 3>there's been a psychological boost there when they see those

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<v Speaker 3>new highs, and that contributes to spending, and there's a

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<v Speaker 3>circular process here which feeds back to inflation.

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<v Speaker 1>And that is the CEO of B and Y Melon

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<v Speaker 1>Robin Vince, celebrating a two hundred and fortieth anniversary of

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<v Speaker 1>that financial institution