Habib Bank AG Zurich Partners with nCino to Power Future Growth
An Interview with Satyajeet Roy, CEO, Habib Bank AG Zurich United Kingdom (HBZ UK)
For over 50 years, Habib Bank AG Zurich (United Kingdom) has been a trusted name in UK’s banking industry, serving SME and corporate clients with a deeply relationship-first approach. But as CEO Satyajeet Roy recognises, sustainable growth requires more than heritage. It demands technology infrastructure that can keep pace with their ambition.
"For any organisation looking to grow, the important challenge is to be able to sustain service levels for clients," Roy explains. "With our whole approach being relationship banking and relationship-first, we knew systems and infrastructure would catapult us forward in serving clients and taking them through the journeys they expect."
Currently in the final stages of implementation with go-live on the horizon, HBZ UK's partnership with nCino has been marked by seamless collaboration and shared commitment. So far, the implementation process has been excellent, shares Roy, who says he couldn’t be happier.
When the platform goes live, HBZ UK will deliver modern digital capabilities for their buy-to-let lending business across web, mobile, and intermediary channels while maintaining the high-touch relationship banking that has defined their success.
From Build to Buy: A Strategic Shift
HBZ has long been a technology builder, maintaining its own development team in Dubai, so making the decision to partner with an external platform provider wasn't taken lightly.
"We had to make a decision in terms of time-to-market, adaptability to what's happening around the world, and being able to create an approach where we could go to market and buy technology," Roy says. After evaluating multiple options, nCino emerged as the clear choice. Roy and his team looked at track record, how well the platform adapts to shifting regulations and market conditions, the AI capabilities baked into the solution, and nCino's proven experience across diverse markets—from small community banks to major institutions operating in dozens of countries.
Modernising the Customer Journey
Now in the final stages of implementation, HBZ UK is preparing to transform how it originates and manages loans. The first priority: creating seamless digital channels that complement the bank's relationship model.
According to Roy, the goal was to build something that works flawlessly for customers and delivers consistently excellent service every time. The partner portal will enable clients to engage through their preferred channel— whether logging in online, working through an intermediary, or walking into a branch where relationship managers can assist them.
But it's not just about customer convenience. "The flexibility that comes with nCino's modular approach, where you can keep adding and bolting on one over the other helps us deliver to regulatory expectations as we become a bigger organisation" Roy explains.
Powered by Intelligence
Looking ahead, Roy views nCino as an important tool for how HBZ UK can make better use of data and AI capabilities. After implementing nCino, the HBZ UK team is looking forward to workdays being more connected to fine quality data and being able to use AI and data analytics to make decisions faster.
HBZ is currently monitoring between 60 and 70 different risk appetite measures across the organisation - from the boardroom to individual branches. This presents a significant opportunity for automation and more intelligent insights. As Roy noted, the existing process relies on manual work and frequent data handling, which slows progress and increases the risk of errors. Getting this right isn't just about efficiency; it's about building the foundation for controlled sustainable growth. When you can manage risk intelligently at scale, you're not just staying compliant. You're positioning yourself to expand with confidence.
A True Partnership
For Roy, the transformation journey reinforced an important lesson:
"When you look at any company, it's not only that the culture should come together, but the risk culture also needs to come together too. We found nCino to be very open. This is not just an implementation; it is more than that."
As HBZ UK prepares to go live, Roy knows exactly what success looks like. It's not about internal metrics or implementation milestones. It's about clients noticing the difference. When customers start telling the bank they have seen real improvements in service quality, that is when they will know that the transformation has been delivered. And for nCino, Roy says, “There is no better endorsement than that.”
Transformation, Roy emphasises, is ongoing—but with the right partner, the future is built on a foundation of trust, proven capability, and shared values.