Diverse Revenue Streams

An Interview with James E. Rohr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

Have you been happy with the recent franchise. If you’re building a company for the growth of PNC’s business? future, you would be naive not to be recruiting Yes, I have. We’ve chosen an approach and developing a diverse talent pool. that has very diverse revenue streams – more How does PNC strive to be a good cor- diverse than those of our peers. Indeed, almost porate citizen? 60 percent of our revenues come from non- Giving back has always been part of interest income, as opposed to the 35 percent our culture. The Committee for Encouraging of revenues that most banks get from fee-based Corporate Philanthropy presented us with the businesses and services. Our diverse business Large Company Excellence Award in February mix means we don’t have to make bets on the for our philanthropy programs. Nearly all of our yield curve or on the credit curve, which is clearly employees are involved, whether it’s with our an advantage in the current climate. Just like in Grow Up Great program, or a number of other an investment portfolio, diversity is a good thing projects that we support. in banking; concentration is a little risky. And in You’re involved in the Allegheny our business, managing risk is very important. Conference on Community Development. This approach has worked out well for us. Why do you feel that’s such a critical orga- Is it challenging to differentiate in nization, and how has it affected business the market today? How do you show what within ? makes a brand like PNC unique? The Allegheny Conference has been the en- James E. Rohr It’s an extraordinarily competitive envi- gine in the region for almost 50 years. It exam- ronment. There are a lot of financial services ines long-term issues that the Mayor might not Editors’ Note Prior to assuming his cur­ companies, and a lot of our products are very be able to look at, from cleaning up the smoky rent post, James Rohr served as Chief Operating similar. In some areas, however, such as tech- air in the ’50s to building new stadiums and Officer of PNC. He previously served as nology, we have been able to differentiate our- working on the image of the city, as we have President (from 1992), Director (from 1990), selves. CIO magazine annually picks the top 100 done today. We’ve approached the 250th anni- and Vice Chairman (from 1989). The recip­ technology companies in America, and in recent versary of as an opportunity to create ient of the Banker of the Year award from years, we’ve been in that top 100, as one of only and support numerous community projects, not American Banker magazine in 2007, Rohr two banks included. In addition, our customer the least of which is to enhance the self-image serves on RAND Corporation’s board of trust­ service sets us apart. We spend a lot of time of our region among all our residents. ees and on several boards of directors, includ­ and effort making sure we provide exceptional “Imagine What You Can Do Here” is an ad ing those of Allegheny Technologies Inc. and service to customers. That is an important part campaign that was put together by the Allegheny Equitable Resources, Inc. He is also Chairman of our brand. Conference, and the entire community is sup- of the Allegheny Conference on Community You mentioned that you are a market porting it. Pittsburgh has been named the most Development. Rohr received a bachelor of arts leader in technology. How is technology livable city in the United States twice in the past degree from the University of Notre Dame and changing the way you operate? seven years. We have the shortest commute an MBA from State University. We have a single platform, so we can do of any major city. We have one of the lowest things for all of our customers across PNC. Other crime rates of any major city. We have what has Company Brief Headquartered in Pitts­ banks have mobile platforms, which don’t al- been named “the number-one cultural district in burgh, The PNC Financial Services Group, low them to leverage their technology across the country.” So we live in a region that enjoys Inc. (www.­pnc.com), is a leading supplier of the whole company. Our single platform has a many amenities and worklife advantages. financial products and services, providing re­ major impact on our efficiency, and it also fa- When addressing the issues that face tail and business banking; specialized services cilitates our development. We can spend more the state, how critical is it to have an effec- for corporations and government entities, in­ money on product development, because we tive dialogue between public officials and cluding corporate banking, real estate finance, don’t have to support mobile systems. So tech- private-sector leaders? and asset-based lending; wealth management; nology is a differentiating factor for us. There really does need to be collaboration, asset management; and global fund services. You talk about diversity in your busi- and Governor Rendell has been extraordinarily Its flagship line of business, PNC Bank, of­ ness, but what about in your workforce? Is good at having those discussions. We live in fers consumer and corporate services through it important for your employee base to mir- such a complex world, and our governance 1,100 branches across the mid-Atlantic region. ror the diversity of your client base? structure is extraordinarily complex. I don’t In addition, the firm owns about 34 percent of It’s extremely important, especially now. envy the Governor, or any political leader, try- the publicly traded fund manager BlackRock. I’m the Chairman of the Diversity Council here. ing to manage the responsibilities and problems PNC employs around 27,000 people and is If you’re not acquiring and leveraging diverse that come across their desks. But, clearly, we traded on the under talent within your company, you’re ignoring tal- can achieve great things if we work on these the ticker symbol PNC. ent that another company could bring into their issues together.• 74 Leaders posted with permission. copyright © 2008 leaders magazine, inc. volume 31, number 3