Southern girl returns home

MEDIA RELEASE

14 August 2009

Southern girl returns home

Patricia Muir has worked in all levels of the banking industry throughout New Zealand and England, but when the chance came to become the new manager of SBS Bank’s Queenstown branch, it was a great opportunity to come home.

“I had a fantastic time living and travelling overseas, but it’s awesome to be starting a whole new adventure back home and working for such an iconic Southland brand - that really focuses on its members with the personal touch – locals looking after locals.”

Born and bred in Balfour, Miss Muir did a small stint in banking, based in Te Anau, following secondary school before gaining what she jests is a “very useful Textile Science Degree” from the University of Otago.

Upon graduating, a role back in banking came calling, which kicked off four years working at various levels in the North Island – Wellington Hamilton and Auckland - covering branch-based, insurance, investment and head office roles for a larger foreign-owned bank.

Time had come to head south and get back to the fantastic South Island outdoors and southern hospitality and Patricia took up a role with a large insurance group, which covered various banks in the South Island before being head hunted to join sales and service with a second foreign-owned bank trading bank.

Then the travel bug hit.

“I originally planned a six-month sabbatical travelling and ended up staying in the UK and travelling when I could for five years. It was a fantastic time but it also taught me to appreciate how great New Zealand and New Zealanders really are, although my work commitments over the past couple of years mean I’m now experiencing my fourth winter in a row!

”After living all over New Zealand, Queenstown was my destination of choice. The people and lifestyle opportunities here cannot be surpassed and of course it’s brilliant after being away to have family so close by in Balfour.”

During her elongated overseas experience, Miss Muir worked in investment banking and project management with global financial services firm Morgan Stanley, managing their London-based Prime Brokerage project team

“It was a great opportunity for me. My team managed projects in New York, London and Glasgow and I was fortunate to work with some very talented people. The experience was invaluable and was excellent exposure to the global markets.

“Royal Bank of Scotland was my last port of call as an employer in the UK, as a change manager on the ABN/RBS integration. We had an awesome team and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, but the opportunity at SBS Bank came up and I felt it was too good an opportunity not to pursue, so here I am!”

Miss Muir said experiencing the banking industry on opposite sides of the world had been eye-opening.

“One of the greatest attractions to SBS Bank is that it is New Zealand owned and provides its management with ownership to make local decisions that are relevant to each of the branches and their surrounding communities. By having such local authority, we can really get on with the job of getting to know and understand our customers and their needs.

“We have a fantastic team here that are passionate about meeting the needs of our local community. I’m looking forward to building on that and, of course, getting amongst it all here in beautiful Queenstown.”

ends

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