"The level of reliance on credit is quite surprising"

Sarah Touzani (ST) spoke with Credit Strategy’s Thomas Parker (TP) about mentoring, the difference between the UK and French credit markets, and how to communicate with those in senior management

TP: Coming from financial services roles in France to working in the UK, what’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed in borrowing cultures?

ST: “In the UK, the level of reliance of the public on credit is quite surprising. “In France, we don’t buy an iPhone if we can’t afford it. You would put money aside every month until you have enough to buy an iPhone, or if you don’t have enough money to buy an iPhone, you would buy a cheaper one.

“When I started with Creditspring I was in charge of customer support, so I was talking to customers and understanding the way they use credit and how they actually use several lenders - in most cases - to even out their income and expenses month-on-month. That was quite surprising. The culture is really different.

“At Creditspring, we have people from Europe and beyond in the team and it’s quite interesting because I think we have come to market with a fresh and naive view. And this actually helps because there’s lots of shame for people who borrow in the UK.

“We come to market with a ‘this is the way it is’ perspective. We just need to make the best product we can for people that need it.”

TP: As for other areas of culture in financial services, have you ever faced any gender-based bias?

ST: “When I worked at the big established banks in France, people were mostly white, male and older than me. And from quite early on I had to work with these people, the decision-makers, and l had to try and get them to see things from my point of view. For example, how I could help them to make their processes better, safer and manage their risks better. That was interesting because it forced me to find ways to be heard, and be taken seriously from the beginning, by people who didn’t expect to hear these type of things from a young woman of colour.

“I had to deal with all of these biases from the beginning and it forced me to work on my arguments and never come to a meeting unprepared - which you could get away with if only you looked like what people expected.”

TP: In your early roles, were decisionmakers receptive to arguments you put forward?

ST: “From my jobs in internal audit and consulting, you get put in front of senior decision-makers quite early on, but it’s up to you to make sure you have an impact on the decision made. Because you could be put in front of them, fail miserably and nothing would change. You had to make sure that your points were getting across and they understood where you were coming from.

“You learn techniques in consulting, and being managed by more senior people, in how to make sure your points get across. You also see what good looks like and you see how more senior people communicate such points, and I think that’s a great learning.”

TP: How important is mentoring for young women in financial services?

ST: “It’s hugely important. The two women I’m mentoring at the moment are super young and they are raising their first investment round to launch a company within the credit space.

“And again, they suffer from the same biases I had. They’re speaking to male colleagues who raised funding on way less proof than what they’re basing their pitches on.

“They’ve been told they were silly, little women and not taken seriously - just because they’re women.

“And you can get support from a man on these things, but I’m not sure they would necessarily understand the bias involved. If the women I’m mentoring went to a man and said ‘oh, this is what we’ve been told’, they’re not going to necessarily see the bias in the responses they get. Whereas I definitely see them because I’ve been through it.

“I get a lot of pride from, and take satisfaction from, helping other women succeed because we need to help each other, and we can’t expect things to change if we are not strongly committed to helping each other.”