VOYAGE of DISCOVERY
What will be inside Adrian Gore's new bank
The new Discovery Bank — Adrian Gore’s latest disruptive venture — is to launch by June. It will not have traditional branches, but by using its existing base of affluent Vitality members it will compete head-on with SA’s big four banks by using its expertise in ‘behavioural economics’, based on its shared-value model
When Discovery’s Adrian Gore first announced that the insurance group planned to launch a retail bank it caused quite a stir. It was September 2015 and Gore (53) was presenting yet another set of stellar financial results — operating profit was up 17% that year — to a characteristically full house of analysts, the media and retail investors. No insurance company can draw a crowd to its financial results quite like Discovery can. Even ostensible rivals, such as FirstRand and Standard Bank, in the typically "sexier" banking sector, would come off second-best. People flock to Discovery’s results to watch Gore sell the story, televangelist-style. Inevitably, new products and international partnerships are also announced as investors get a glimpse into Discovery’s quest for world domination. Globally, think Apple, under Tim Cook or Steve Jobs. But accustomed as investors were to lights, cameras and lots of action, no-one was quite prepared for Gore’s bombshell that Discovery would also b...
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