Bank business plan: opening and development plan with calculations. How to open your own bank: detailed step-by-step instructions About suitable premises and necessary equipment

Within the framework of this section, methods will be described to make the Bank’s office “open” to private clients. To systematically illuminate the issue, let us present the procedure for promoting a bank office in the private client market in the form of three main components:

1) Office visualization;

2) Promotion of the bank office;

3) Promotion of product range;

Office visualization

In visualizing a banking office, that is, distinguishing it from the general mass of Bank offices, creating a friendly image for clients, every element that was not taken into account at the time when the office was aimed at servicing corporate clients can be important. For example, often in bank offices, especially if they opened in the 90s of the twentieth century, a solid armored door is used, which opens only after pressing the bell button and the client dialogues with the security service. The windows of the bank itself are covered with external bars, and the only means of advertising is a solid, but small gold plate with the name of the Bank and opening hours. Such a door immediately scares away a potential client, who simply does not know whether they are waiting for him behind this door, and evokes thoughts that since it is locked, therefore, the bank does not work with ordinary clients.

Of course, new retail offices are opening in areas with the highest traffic, most often on the first line of buildings, in premises where it is desirable to have a storefront. Convenient location on the daily route from home to work and from work to home allows potential clients to contact the office of such a bank at a convenient time. The first line of houses provides the best visibility of the Bank's storefront and the opportunity to attract car owners as a more affluent category of clients. Development of a network of branches is a capital-intensive project, which not every Russian Bank can do, especially considering the rather long payback period for a fully functional retail branch. At the same time, in a crisis situation for the Bank, an extensive network of branches acts as “ballast”, which pulls it to the bottom due to the need to spend to support their functioning, in the absence of an influx of funds from clients. However, without a retail network, it will be difficult for the Bank to develop a retail business, although some additions to branches may include operating cash desks and operational and consulting counters in shopping centers, which are more economical in terms of creating and further maintaining. Currently, according to some banks, in Moscow it is quite difficult to find premises suitable for a bank office, located in accordance with the previously described parameters and at a reasonable price. The price factor plays an important role due to the lower profitability of a bank office compared to retail businesses, which can pay higher rents for the premises they are interested in. In addition, the costs of organizing a cash register, depository and general repairs of the premises for the Bank are most often higher than for a store or salon. Despite these factors, the number of commercial bank branches in Moscow is increasing every year.

What to do if you already have branches in the Bank that are not located in the best places, maybe not even on the first line of houses, are closed with an armored door, there are no shop windows or large signs? Residents of the surrounding houses and passersby rushing to work do not even imagine that there is a wonderful bank next to them that is ready to provide them with the maximum range of services. There is only one answer to this question. Let's start visualizing the office! At the same time, we are developing a product line and an advertising strategy, but the visualization must be ready first. Potential clients should see the bank: “Here we are and we are open for you!” A project to visualize even one office is a rather complex procedure that it would be desirable to automate. In their project activities, organizations often use the Microsoft Project product, which allows them to streamline project management. As an example, let’s present a short project to visualize one of the Bank’s offices.

Bank office promotion

By the time the visualization of the office is completed, it is advisable to prepare a project for its promotion, since the very fact of having an office can attract a certain number of clients. However, this is not enough, since banking services generally require long-term and “trust-based” interaction with clients. Therefore, clients should know what kind of bank is “visualized” near them, and what services it offers, and whether it is suitable for potential clients. The project to promote a bank office in the local bank office market is intended to answer these questions.

In the process of choosing a Bank by private clients, as already mentioned, an important motive is the convenience of the office location: near their place of residence, work, on the route from work to home, etc. Other client motives: tariffs and rates, technological effectiveness of services, a large basket of services and products, etc. are secondary, especially considering that these parameters are very similar for all banks. In this regard, in the vicinity of each Bank office there is a local banking market. The local market is characterized by the number of individuals who visit the Bank’s office with varying degrees of frequency, or at the same time find themselves in the vicinity of the Bank’s office. Under near the office refers to the territory adjacent to the Bank's office within walking distance; for each office the surrounding area is determined individually. The vicinity of the office is not a clear boundary of the local market, since the bank’s services can also be used by clients located outside the designated territory. In this regard, before starting an advertising program for banking products, it is advisable to “introduce” the Bank to people living or working in the vicinity of the office. The easiest way is to tell residents of the houses around the office about the bank by sending Bank materials to their mailboxes. However, you should not simply distribute advertising brochures, as they will be lost in the general flow of similar materials. An option for distinguishing from the flow of other advertising information may be the originality of advertising materials, the difference between the booklet and others: an unusual shape, color. A budget-friendly, but no less effective move could be to simply pack an advertising brochure in an envelope. Potential clients are more “respectful” of letters and, from experience, such materials more often end up in the apartment. The booklet may contain general information about the bank, the year it was founded, a list of the main services and their characteristics, and office opening hours. It is important to present information in a positive manner. You should not use strict and solid, but at the same time gloomy colors in the design of booklets; it is better to offer more positive and light colors. Also quite effective, aimed at people of the older generation, is the publication of a corporate newspaper, which describes the history of the Bank as a series of victories and constant development. It is necessary to tell about the managers (owners) of the bank, their biography, etc. Particular attention should be paid to the Bank’s participation in the deposit insurance system, explaining that such participation is a kind of sign of the Bank’s quality. It is also necessary to provide excerpts from the law, thereby leading the potential depositor to the conclusion that a private bank is no less reliable than a state bank.

Currently, a depositor can focus on the terms of the deposit, and not on the reliability of the credit institution. The average private client is often poorly informed about the deposit insurance system, the conditions for reimbursement of deposits and the amount of insured deposits. In this newspaper, the Bank has the opportunity to carry out explanatory work with potential depositors. In addition, in each district there are free district newspapers that are associated with local authorities and an extensive article about the Bank next to interviews taken with the heads of local authorities associates the Bank in the eyes of the reader as “one’s own district” and (or) “a bank with state guarantees." Of course, it is worth noting that newspapers of this level are read mainly by people of retirement age, but given that now people of different generations (parents and adult children) often live in the same apartment, the likelihood that the whole family will learn about the bank increases many times over. In the same aspect, you can use regional cable television, the advertising time on which is not very expensive. An original solution would be to conduct a short series of programs in which Bank managers answer questions from residents of the area or a report from the bank’s office and interviews with employees. This approach again forms the image of the Bank as an open and close structure to the residents of the region. Finding himself in the interiors of a bank office, the viewer will feel more comfortable, since he is already familiar with it from the television picture. A good help in such promotion of the Bank's office are contacts with local Administrations, whose leaders are usually willing to make contact with banks.

It is more difficult to convey information about the Bank to people who work in close proximity to the office, since they are in constant movement from home to office and back. In the workplace, it is more difficult to inform them without interfering with the work process. But as one of the options, a fairly simple method can be proposed: distributing booklets near metro exits, at entrances to enterprises, under the windshield wipers of parked cars. Of course, the return on such advertising is relatively small, but the costs associated with it are also small. Here you should also take into account the interest of the potential client, so the booklet should be unusual and stand out from the general mass of advertising leaflets that are distributed daily in subway passages. Undoubtedly, with all the richness of choice of various offers (and not only banking ones), the originality and attractiveness of the offer design become one of the important motives for a client to choose a credit institution.

Product range promotion

The methods of promoting the office itself described in the previous section may give some client response, although they are largely methods of presenting the Bank to the public. The main customer flow should be formed by product offers aimed at specific customer segments.

There are several ways to formulate a client proposal; theoretically, it is more correct to analyze and segment potential clients who are at one time or another in the vicinity of the Bank. We propose to consider four options for promoting the Bank’s services:

1) Promotion of the Bank's services using BTL technologies. BTL technologies (“below the line”) mean a type of marketing communications designed to have an indirect or direct impact on the consumer. A person is persuaded by a “living example” to buy a product or use this or that service, so that he has no doubt about the quality of the product; the latter is given to try on, touch and even try.

• Possible promotions include the use of sales consultants in shopping malls and stores located near the Bank's offices, offering and selling debit and credit cards on site (collection of documents).
• The use of sales consultants on the surrounding streets, offering to pay for the phone (make a transfer, exchange currency, open a deposit) at the Bank’s office and receive a souvenir or a more valuable gift for this.
• Visiting sales consultants to offices near the bank and inviting their employees to try the Bank’s services and receive a gift for it. Also, issuing cards at the workplace of potential clients.

At the same time, BTL technologies do not provide an opportunity to sell a specific service; they are aimed at promoting the bank office as a place for providing services. This is due to the fact that banking services are difficult to provide in the form of a product that can be “touched” and “tried” during the promotion process. More likely is the opportunity to “try out” a bank office.

2) Promotion of the Bank's services using outdoor advertising in the vicinity of the office.

• Placement of advertising structures in the vicinity of the Bank's offices, near highways, and on pedestrian routes.
• Placement of advertising banners in the metro - at the exit and escalators.

3) Promotion of the Bank’s services using means of targeted communication to potential clients.

• Distribution of personalized letters to potential clients of the Bank offering the Bank's services. One letter contains one service.
• Distribution of non-personalized offers via mailboxes (sealed in an envelope)

• Advertising of banking products in the local newspaper.
• Advertising of banking products on cable television.
• Advertising in newspapers for free advertisements.
• Handing out promotional postcards when exiting the metro.

The above promotion methods can be used either separately or in combination.

Subsequent events occur according to the worst scenario. Since the beginning of February 1997, clients have “fled” from the bank and its branches, and no amount of persuasion to stabilize the situation stops them.

Every day, clients go with checks to receive cash from the bank's cash desk. There was already a queue of people wanting to withdraw their funds. Current accounts are being closed en masse, and clients are switching to service at a newly built Sberbank branch located nearby.

Now there was no time for persuading clients, each branch tried to arrange their own personal destiny and jump from the “sinking ship”, which had a “hole”, onto solid ground, that is, into a working bank.

By the will of fate and providence, at this difficult time I was supposed to have a second child, and I remained on the “ship”, or rather, went on maternity leave. When I returned to work in 1998, there were no more clients, and the job of a former loan officer had completely transformed. Now my main task was to sell the bank’s debtors to its creditors, and preferably at a higher price. But we must pay tribute to the management of the bank branch: during the mass departure of the bank’s clients, a decision was made to leave them in the bank’s foreign exchange office. Due to the work of the exchange office, the branch paid off creditors before other colleagues, and the question of the advisability of further maintaining the branch’s employees came up on the agenda.

It was during this difficult time that the idea of ​​opening a bank branch in Krasnodar was born. I had fifteen years of experience in banking and a natural desire to do something that I knew well.

In order to open, it was necessary to find a bank that was interested in entering and expanding its branch network. The negotiation process with large Moscow banks was started, and it was decided to negotiate with the hundred largest banks in the country in terms of net assets. Having prepared a letter of justification, which briefly described the client branch of Sovetsky, its loan portfolio, turnover and balances on client accounts before the mass departure from the bank, the initiative group began to send it to the largest banks.

One of the Moscow banks became interested in the prospect of entering a regional site and sent an e-mail format to justify the opening of a branch.

1. Economic and geographical indicators of the region, including the state of industry, construction, agriculture, transport and communications, natural and human resources, living standards of the population.

2.Federal programs implemented in the region.

3.Economy-political situation in the region.

4. state of the banking sector and main competitors.

5. Potential client of the created branch.

6. Proposed location of the branch (preferably with photographs of the building and copies of the floor plan of the building).

7.Appendices: autobiography and candidate for the position of branch manager.

Working in a successful bank stimulated the creative process, and within two weeks a justification was prepared and sent to. The prepared justification satisfied the regional business management, and the head of the initiative group was invited for an interview in Moscow. During negotiations with management, standard requirements for drawing up a “Branch Business Plan for the half-year” were issued.

Subsequently, the bank’s regional business department set the task of presenting protocols of intent, signed by clients, on opening an account in a future branch. Such protocols were signed by clients and submitted to. The next stage was related to the fact that before the branch began operating, one of the clients would open a current account using the “Bank-Client” system and transfer their turnover for servicing to the bank’s head office in Moscow; in parallel, it was necessary to find several options for the proposed location of the branch from 450-500 sq.m., with good parking, in the city center, at the intersection of busy streets. It was necessary to persuade the client to open an account in an unfamiliar Moscow bank and transfer all the organization’s turnover there, and at the same time look for options for locating a bank branch. Both tasks were successfully completed. The bank considered the client’s only turnover to be insignificant.

But by this time, the volume of overdue loans from the bank was increasing, and all plans to open branches in the regions were curtailed.

The failure to open a branch brought disappointment, but it was decided not to abandon the process of searching for a bank ready to open a branch in Krasnodar. By this time, a ready-made bank premises had become available, from which the operating bank moved to another premises. It seemed that victory was already close.

In the end, we managed to open a representative office of a small Moscow bank and began work on attracting clients to the bank’s head office through the Internet payment system. The experience of working as a head of a representative office is described in another article.

But the desire to achieve results and fulfill the goal of opening a branch remained. In this regard, work continued on preparing a business plan for opening a branch of a large bank.

The business plan for opening a branch contained the following main sections:

1. Main directions of development of the branch for three years, description of the region, analysis of market opportunities, competition, demand for banking services, etc.

2. Client work plan, including:

· planned structure of the client portfolio;

· a set of marketing activities for client policy, assessing client interest in existing and new financial products, services, schemes;

· complex of client work activities (for main clients)

3. Credit work plan:

· assessment of the planned structure of the loan portfolio broken down by intended borrowers;

· a set of marketing activities for credit policy (assessing customer interest in existing and new credit schemes).

4.Transactions with securities:

· operations with the bank's own bills

· planned structure of the branch's securities portfolio

· work on regional “platforms”, operations with securities of regional issuers.

5. Transactions with foreign currency:

· conversion and dealing operations with hard currency and hard currency, planned counterparties, volumes of transactions (by currency), expected economic effect;

· foreign exchange transactions with cash currency (planned branch exchange offices, main clients, expected economic effect);

· estimated size of open currency position (broken down by currency).

6.Other operations (leasing, factoring and mortgage lending, etc.)

7. Expenses for creating a branch. Project payback:

· calculation of costs for creating a branch (taking into account the proposed location options);

· calculation of the project's payback (based on the forecast of the branch's profit growth for six months).

8. Applications.

· Appendix No. 1 - “Forecast balance of the branch”

· Appendix No. 2 - “Financial plan of the branch”;

· Appendix No. 3 - “Estimate of administrative and economic expenses of the branch (with explanation);

· Appendix No. 4 - “Staffing table of the branch for the year”;

· Appendix No. 5 - Forecast report on the profits and losses of the branch for the year";

· Team;

· Deciphering the items of the estimate of administrative and economic expenses.

Two versions of the branch’s financial plan were prepared for Slavyansky Bank. The first version of the financial plan assumed the following basic conditions for the branch’s activities:

· 1 year - average interest rate for attracting deposits over 3 years - 25% per annum, placement rate - 30% per annum, placement of free balance at the head office - 3% per annum;

· 2 year - average interest rate for attracting deposits over 3 years - 11%, placement rate - 18% per annum, placement of free balance at the head office - 3% per annum;

· 3 year - the average interest rate for attracting deposits over 3 years is 7% per annum, the placement rate is 14% per annum, placement of the free balance at the head office is 3% per annum.

The second version of the financial plan provided that the interest rate for 3 years would remain unchanged and be 25% per annum, the placement rate would be 30% per annum, and the placement of the free balance at the head office would be 3% per annum.

Bank "Slavyansky" studied the presented financial plan and assessed it as competently drawn up. But due to the fact that the bank does not yet have free credit resources in the amount of $50 million, the bank considered it economically unprofitable to go to the region and wait until the branch reaches its design capacity for attracting deposits, and to pursue a credit policy using the funds raised. .

The business plan was improved after each negotiation with banks.

The next stage after preparing the business plan was to select banks from the hundred largest according to the Expert magazine rating and determine the basic list with which it was planned to negotiate. Moreover, banks that already had branches open in Krasnodar did not call. This work was carried out in Moscow with the active support of the author’s sister, candidate of philosophical sciences, researcher at Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosova (Pseush A.A.). Without her help and support, perhaps the author, after the first failure, would have stopped further attempts to open a branch of a large bank.

As a result of preliminary telephone conversations, the concept for the development of the bank's branch network was clarified, and further work was based on this.

Negotiations were held with more than 50 large banks, of which meetings took place with IBG Nikoil, Probusinessbank, Dialogue-optimum, BIN-bank, National Reserve Bank, Promsvyazbank, Moscow Industrial Bank, Stroykredit, Solidarity Bank, Russian Standard, Globex Bank, Guta Bank, Promtorgbank, East Bridge Bank, Academkhimbank.

BIN Bank issued its business plan format in the form of tables:

1. Potential clients of the branch for the 1st year, name and planned balances, broken down by quarter;

2.Business development plan broken down by quarter for two years by type of proposed services;

3.Staff structure of the branch at the time of opening;

4. A basic set of equipment necessary to open a bank branch;

6.Financial plan of the branch;

7. The bank’s credit policy and the list of documents for consideration of the issue of granting loans.

Conducted marketing research on the opening of a bank branch in Krasnodar allows us to draw the following conclusions:

1. Banks, in accordance with their specifics, develop their own concept for the development of a branch network.

2. Many banks (these are mainly banks included in the top 30 banks according to the rating) are ready to purchase a building and bear all the costs of constructing a cash register center and provide loans to regional clients using their own resources.

3. Other banks (these are banks ranked below 30th) are looking for ready-made banking premises with a minimum rent, or would like to open a branch through franchising.

4. Third banks buy local banks, and thus increase their branch network.

The main question that is heard all the time is the region’s ability to attract free funds to form the branch’s liabilities.

Most banks are ready to work with enterprises from different sectors of the economy, but some pursue very clear interests in certain sectors of the economy. For example, the National Reserve Bank is mainly interested in the aviation industry, as well as unique enterprises in their industry that occupy leading positions in the market. He is ready to buy such enterprises and invest in the technical re-equipment of such monopolies. When developing a branch network, the bank proceeds primarily from the concept of purchasing a local bank. Thus, the bank acquired a local bank in Voronezh, and the same thing is the branch of NRB-Ukraine in Kyiv.

The negotiation process regarding the opening of a bank branch with the National Reserve Bank was the most exciting. During negotiations with the first vice-president of the bank (Tkachenko V.V.), the bank’s interest in the aviation industry was voiced, and at that moment the author had proposals about the need for investment in the airport in Maykop. He set the task of organizing a meeting of authorized representatives from the Republic of Adygea and the National Reserve Bank, as well as preparing a letter signed by the President of Adygea (Sovmen Kh.M.) about readiness to begin cooperation with the bank. Moreover, Tkachenko V.V. clearly outlined the cost of reconstructing the airport, funds against assets. Such a meeting was organized by the author of the article at the level of the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Armenia (Hashira A.A.) and the First Vice-President of the National Reserve Bank (Tkachenko V.V.), then a letter was sent to the bank signed by the President of the Republic of Armenia (Sovmen X .M.) dated October 16, 2002. In the letter, the following projects were named as priority objects requiring investment:

1. Reconstruction of the airport building and runway in Maykop;

2. Development program for the sanatorium-resort area of ​​the Republic of Adygea “Lago-Naki”;

3.Construction of the Teuchezhskaya hydroelectric power station.

But the letter remained without consideration, since the first vice-president V.V. Tkachenko, with whom negotiations were held, went to work at the Central Bank of Russia, and the new person in this position considered it inappropriate to invest in the Maikop airport.

The interests of Solidarity Bank are resorts and recreation centers, because... The main founder of the bank, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, is the owner of many sanatoriums and recreation centers throughout Russia and develops a branch network accordingly where its property is located.

Russian Standard Bank specializes in the retail market, providing loans to the population for the purchase of expensive household appliances, cars and office equipment, and is ready to enter the region in the form of a representative office.

Moscow Bank for Reconstruction and Development - communications, insurance, cellular communications. The bank acquired a controlling stake in Kuban-GSM and work is underway to open a bank branch in Krasnodar.

Thus, each bank on the market is an individual and naturally the approaches to expanding the branch network are different.

In accordance with the Instruction of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation dated July 23, 1998 No. 75-I “On the procedure for applying federal laws regulating the procedure for registering credit organizations and licensing banking activities,” a credit organization can open branches, information about which must be contained in its charter.

The head bank that opens a branch in another region is obliged to send a notice of opening a branch to two addresses: to the Central Bank State Administration at its location and to the local territorial Central Bank State Administration of the region. Along with the notification, the bank sends original copies of:

· regulations on the branch, containing the full and abbreviated name of the branch, as well as a list of those banking operations and transactions, the right to carry out which is delegated to the branch;

· questionnaires of candidates for the positions of managers and chief accountant of the branch, attaching copies of the diploma certified by the credit institution;

· a copy of the payment document confirming payment of the fee for opening a branch.

A credit institution opening a branch must comply with economic standards established by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, be financially stable for the last six months, and have premises to accommodate the branch. Moreover, the premises can be either the property of the bank or rented from another person. The banking premises must have a security, fire and alarm system, and for cash transactions - a technically strengthened cash desk in accordance with the requirements of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

The territorial institution of the Bank of Russia at the location where the branch is opened, within two weeks from the receipt of the notification, reviews the submitted documents, approves the candidates for the managers and chief accountant of the branch, and issues an opinion on the compliance of the premises in which the branch will be located with the requirements of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Then the Main Directorate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of the region sends its conclusion to the territorial Main Directorate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation at the location of the head bank. The positive conclusion is accompanied by one copy of the questionnaires and autobiographies of candidates for the positions of manager and chief accountant of the branch with a note of approval.

After receiving a positive conclusion from the territorial institution of the Bank of Russia at the place where the branch was opened, the territorial institution of the Bank of Russia supervising the activities of the credit institution agrees on the regulations on the branch and makes a corresponding entry on the title page of the regulations. Within one month from the date of receipt of the credit organization’s notification about the opening of a branch, the territorial Main Directorate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, at the location of the head bank, sends to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation a conclusion on the opening of a branch by the credit organization. A copy of the payment document confirming payment of the fee for opening a branch is attached to the conclusion.

The Department of Licensing of Banking and Auditing Activities of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, after receiving the conclusion, within ten working days, assigns a serial number to the branch, enters information about the branch into the Book of State Registration of Credit Institutions and notifies the credit organization and territorial offices of the Bank of Russia about this.

A bank branch has the right to begin operating in the region from the date of making an entry about it in the Book of State Registration of Credit Institutions and assigning a serial number to it.

In addition to the approval of candidates for managerial positions of a branch in the territorial Main Directorate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, in some regions, in particular in the Krasnodar Territory, approval of candidates is provided for by a special commission of the regional administration, where the candidate for a leadership position is represented by the head bank and the commission has the right to ask the candidate for the position of director of the branch questions on prospects for the branch's activities in the region.

Basically, these questions relate to the branch’s credit policy, the volume of credit resources that the parent bank is supposedly ready to send to the region, the interest rate on loans, the bank’s industry focus and, accordingly, the branch’s prospects for increasing its client base. Based on the results of the interview, the commission has the right to approve or reject the submitted candidate for the managerial position of a branch of a credit institution.

Thus, in practice, opening a branch of a credit institution takes from two to four months, depending on the readiness of the bank premises and the efficiency of the employees of the territorial state offices of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

LIST OF REFERENCES USED

2. Marketing research on the opening of the author’s branch from 1999 to 2003.

- Let's start with what major global trends in the banking market would you highlight at the moment?

I would divide the question into two parts. There are already “classics of the genre”: reducing the margins of the classic banking business, cross-country factors and risks, and the like. Everything here is quite clear, although one can debate for a long time about these trends. But I would like to focus on something else. I think that in the near future there will be (and already are) dramatic changes in interaction with clients. Both in terms of interaction formats and in terms of the role of banks in this interaction. We are already seeing the growing influence of financial startups on the banking sector and the fierce competition for the client. These companies, whether we like it or not, will take away part of the market from us. Therefore, the basis of the banking business in the future is building interaction with both clients and new market participants.

IT companies and smart services have competed with banks in some niches. Can an IT company become a full-fledged bank?

Maybe if he learns to manage risks and is able to build relationships with clients. Successful banks do this quite well. It is also worth asking the question: why should a shareholder of an IT company become a bank if the market evaluates the efficiency of most IT companies higher than the efficiency of banks? It may be worth thinking about how to develop an existing high-tech business by entering into partnerships with the same banks.

How has the bank's role in providing financial services changed today as non-bank competitors emerge?

Unfortunately or fortunately, the role of banks has not changed much: attraction, placement, transactions. But companies are emerging that interact with the client and offer him not only financial services. Therefore, the work of banks with clients in the traditional format is short-sighted, that is, the client now probably does not need a financial solution in its pure form. He has needs, for example, to go on vacation, get medical care, education - this is not only about financial products, but about a whole range of services. Accordingly, the market will move towards meeting these complex needs.

Comprehensive satisfaction of all needs, at least financial ones, is the ecosystems or marketplaces that exist today. In your opinion, will future ecosystems be built on the basis of specific financial institutions/regulators, or will the future lie with one global marketplace?

I think it’s worth saying that marketplaces, or ecosystems (it’s better to use this term) will be built on a customer base. That is, customers themselves will determine what solutions they need, where and at what time. The winner will be the one who directly interacts with the client and manages the relationship.

In fact, existing banks (with offices) have three options: build a digital bank separately, try to develop a business based on an existing base, or combine the first two approaches

But an ecosystem cannot arise on its own. Someone must be the initiator. Either private business or the state.

Yes, but I believe that successfully building an ecosystem is possible on an existing and sufficiently large customer base. Accordingly, those players who have this client base receive preferences and benefit. These are major market players: mobile operators, large banks, large online retailers. But the state will definitely move in this direction. And we are already seeing this movement.

Let's return to the topic of banks and technology. How can effective cooperation between banks and fintech startups look like? What is easier for a bank today - to buy ready-made fintech solutions or to develop its own fintech divisions?

It’s worth making a reservation right away. We are at a point where it would be a mistake to look only at fintech startups. Focusing on fintech startups, in my opinion, is wrong, because the integration of companies from different industries at the intersection of technologies can become a tool for creating solutions for the client.

- Do you need to expand your area of ​​interest?

Exactly. Nowadays, many technologies are being implemented in other areas, especially in biotech, artificial intelligence, HR, etc. But if we return to the question of effectively building cooperation, then it is worth talking about the ambitions and opportunities that the participants in this partnership have. Efficiency does not simply mean choosing any one strategy, but a combination of them. One option is to interact with startups. The second is when we develop competencies within ourselves. The third format of interaction is when we buy a startup or partially enter its business. As practice shows, market players use all these options. AK BARS Bank currently gives preference to the first two: we ourselves develop competencies and build partnerships. We also consider the acquisition of startups as a promising direction. I will add that the startup market itself is not as large in Russia as in other countries, so we are looking at startups from all over the world.

The question of transformation was asked for a reason. Digitalization, remote service channels, mobile banking - this leads to the fact that clients need to visit bank offices less and less. Do you think a modern bank needs physical branches?

Banks don't need offices. Clients still need them. Some people confidently use digital solutions, while others are more comfortable interacting with the bank offline. It is more convenient for them to come to the office and solve their issues there in communication with a live person. But this ratio will certainly change towards remote channels. The growth rate of RBS is difficult to predict now, but at some point in time it may become explosive. And we must be ready to provide quality service and solutions in all remote channels that the client uses.

What will happen then to offline clients and offices? For what purposes will it be necessary to maintain a retail network of branches?

I think they will look less and less like traditional bank offices. There will be no barrier environment, banks will offer more and more non-banking solutions: a certain range of services for the client’s life. But we should not forget that you can develop a business without offices, you can even occupy a certain market share in a certain client segment. But if we are talking about interaction with a wide client segment, then without physical offices, or rather offline points, it will be extremely problematic to build such a bank.

This means that we are still talking about a broad segment. That is, offices are needed not only to serve premium clients in a comfortable environment for them?

VIP clients, including clients of AK BARS Bank, quite actively use digital channels. And this is not surprising when time is one of the valuable resources. The physical channel is convenient for clients who want to communicate with a Bank employee in person, in a live dialogue.

The growth rate of RBS is now difficult to predict, but at some point in time it may become explosive

In fact, existing banks (with offices) have three options: build a digital bank separately, try to develop a business based on an existing base, or combine the first two approaches. Both cases have their pros and cons. A new digital bank is a serious investment in technology, team, and promotion. Therefore, most banks choose the second path as less risky.

Oleg, you are in charge of the client department, and what we are talking about (the introduction of new technologies) is impossible without the work of the Bank’s IT department. How should communications between the IT departments and business departments of the Bank ideally be structured?

Ideally, there should be no division into these types of units. Colleagues must be one team. But if we are talking about the current realities of banking organizations, then communications should be built on the principles of partnerships. Partnerships can be an effective tool for solving problems. Partnership also assumes the responsibility of the parties to the partnership. And here it is worth talking about the principles of a corporate culture in which such values ​​as responsibility for results and team interaction are cultivated. From the point of view of the organizational structure, we can build an arbitrarily flat model, but if the corporate culture and the values ​​​​described above are only declared, effective work will not work. That is, corporate culture is one of the necessary elements of high-quality effective interaction between IT and business.

- How quickly can the Bank’s IT departments implement customer requests?

From a few minutes to several months. We understand that everything depends on the complexity of the problem being solved. If we talk in general about the speed of introducing new solutions to the client, I can give an example of our mobile application, when new releases come out every two weeks.

- Then tell us more about what technological solutions you are currently working on?

In terms of electronic business, AK BARS Bank is working in two main directions: development of the core banking business, which will give results in the near future, and solutions for “tomorrow”. The first category includes the development of a mobile platform, online sales platform, investment and payment solutions and chatbots, data collection and processing. The second includes remote identification, quick transfers, conversational banking, etc. But I would like to emphasize once again that the goal setting here is not the introduction of the latest technologies, but rather offering customers a new experience, new solutions based on these technologies.

- How to build an ideal technological bank? In general, what, in your understanding, is the ideal of a technological bank?

As I noted above, creating a technological bank is not an end in itself. There is a need to respond to customer needs. Accordingly, in order to meet and even exceed expectations, we need to provide high-quality services that are largely technology-based. Therefore, the ideal technological bank is one that quickly, simply and conveniently solves customer problems and offers new solutions. And the second component is increasing the efficiency of banking processes.

The financial sector is different from other areas of activity, and in order to succeed there, you need to have a certain amount of knowledge. But this will not be enough to create a bank business plan and its successful implementation. To start your own credit institution, you will need enough funds for investments. However, nothing is impossible, and if you set a goal, it can be achieved. A commercial bank is a feasible project, but it should be run by people with experience in this field. The financial direction is considered one of the most promising and profitable. It is worth noting that there are currently a huge number of budget institutions operating, so competition in this segment is quite fierce.

First preparations

According to statistics, bank financing is considered one of the most profitable. You need to find a suitable premises, draw up the right structure, and calculate all costs in advance. In other words, draw up a competent business plan for opening a bank.

Before starting a project, you need to analyze the state of the market in your region. Marketing research is an integral part of any business. Perhaps there are many credit institutions in the required area, then your business may turn out to be unprofitable. In this case, you should come up with a specialization that would distinguish your bank from the rest. Of course, it will be quite difficult to do this, but if it works, the result will not be long in coming. Recently, banking has only been developing, and the state provides this business with quite significant support.

Choosing a direction

A business plan for a commercial bank should be based on your activities. Current practice shows that large credit institutions deal with several areas at once, and they do it very well. Here we are talking about business giants: Sberbank, VTB 24, etc. The new credit institution must be different from the rest, specializing in one thing.

Thus, small and medium-sized banks choose a direction, for example, issuing loans at a low interest rate, and promote this offer on the market. You can focus on servicing corporate clients, legal entities, small businesses, etc. The main thing is the quality of work, because the client chooses between a huge number of different organizations, and in order for him to be served by you, you need to work at the highest level.

The bank's business plan must be carefully thought out and contain development areas in order of priority. This will greatly facilitate further activities.

Analysis of prospects

The previous question indicated the need to choose a priority area of ​​work. To avoid mistakes at this stage, you need to carefully analyze the marketing environment, make a forecast for the next five years and draw up strategic goals. As an example of a bank’s business plan, the following areas of prospect analysis can be cited:

• research into the legislative framework and macroeconomics;
• studying the work of competitors and their interaction with the external environment;
• marketing developments;
• sales forecasts;
• formation of a client base.

You need to understand what the population is most interested in at a particular moment: deposits, loans, the need to open branches, the ability to perform any transactions through a mobile application and a computer. And starting from the position in demand, look for potential clients, contact them, offer your services, and guarantee privileges.

The Importance of Strategic Planning

Without marketing research, it’s not worth trying to conquer this area. Remember: all further decisions are based precisely on the results of the analysis! After you decide on a priority direction, you need to draw up a business plan for the development of the bank for the next 3-5 years. It should also contain strategic goals.

This part of the work should not be underestimated; only after time will every entrepreneur understand the incredible importance of this step. Typically the following goals are identified:

• winning the client's trust, providing top-level service;
• gradual expansion of its activities, improvement of existing products;
• attracting new investments;
• reducing risk situations;
• creating a career ladder for employees, increasing motivation in order to find qualified personnel.

Type of structure of the credit institution

The financial sector involves the presence of several types of structures, the choice of which depends on the direction of your activity. This needs to be decided before opening an organization. There are five different types in total:

• central, which is a state bank;
• commercial, the main goal of which is to make a profit;
• universal, capable of providing a large number of different services;
• investment, which carries out its activities when working with investments;
• savings, which deals with deposits and preservation of funds.

The bank's specialization is also selected separately. Currently, market-type credit institutions are mainly common. Their peculiarity is that assets include securities, and liabilities include equity.

Services provided by the bank

The range of products and services that a credit institution provides to clients depends entirely on the chosen specialization. The business plan of a bank branch must have clearly defined instructions regarding the services provided. It is worth highlighting the most popular and priority types of financial assistance:

• brokerage operations carried out on the foreign exchange and stock markets;
• work with deposits;
• issuing and servicing plastic cards (in addition to favorable conditions, you should consider creating an interesting design);
• issuing loans and credits;
• opening and maintaining bank accounts;
• provision of cash services.

Despite the fact that now everyone is switching to online services, there are still many people who prefer to resolve all issues personally, in the branch. Therefore, this fact should also be taken into account when creating a bank business plan.

Obtaining a license

To open your own credit institution, you must obtain the appropriate permission and obtain a license. But first, you should register a CJSC (closed joint stock company) and register with the tax service. There you will be able to obtain an organization identification number. The bank’s business plan with calculations must include this expense item, since you will have to pay several state fees, as well as make a number of other payments.

Among the main permits that need to be obtained are:

• license of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
• a document confirming the fact of registration with the RGPP (Russian State Assay Chamber);
• permission from the customs committee.

Management and staff of the credit institution

It is worth noting that a bank as a credit institution can only function as a joint stock company. Accordingly, the management of the organization is carried out by the Meeting of Shareholders. It usually takes place no more than 1-2 times a year, and during the meeting all current issues are discussed. For example, a development strategy for a credit institution for the next 12 months is being developed, and the necessary management decisions are being made.

The current activities of the bank are controlled by the Board of Directors, executive power belongs to the Board of Directors of the bank. It is the last body that all other structural divisions are directly subordinate to. The staff is formed on the basis of standard requirements for a bank employee.

What are the structural divisions?

In most cases, we are talking about branches of a credit institution, where clients can use all the bank’s services. First, you need to open at least one office so that people know where to go if they have any questions.

Let's imagine an example of a business plan for a bank branch. Typically it contains the following departments: cash, currency and deposit operations, economic and accounting, securities, lending, etc.

In addition to the main ones, you can also organize additional ones that will provide support, for example, a security service, etc. Before hiring a new employee, a security management check must be carried out to identify any violations. If a person passes it and has the necessary knowledge and qualifications, then he becomes part of the bank’s system.

In addition, each credit institution has an Internal Control Service, which reports to the Board of Directors. Her responsibilities include:

• checking the work of employees for compliance with all necessary norms and standards;
• request for documents;
• attracting employees from other departments.

Example of a bank business plan

Every year, marketing specialists study various areas of business, evaluate profits, expenses, etc. So, to open a small credit institution, you will need an investment of at least 100 million rubles.

It is quite difficult to provide a sample business plan for a bank in this article, since it is a package of several documents. But it is quite possible to describe the main costs. Most of the investment will definitely go towards renting an office, repairs, recruiting staff, completing the necessary documents and obtaining all licenses and permits. If you want to open a large bank that can provide a wide range of services, then you will need a lot more investment.

As for the payback of the project, this is not a one-time thing. Of course, the bank’s business plan should reflect this point, but predicting it accurately seems to be a difficult task. On average, the payback period ranges from 5 to 10 years.

Risks

When developing a bank business plan, it is necessary to take into account all the points and nuances. It is recommended to foresee the most unfavorable situation in advance and describe in detail the algorithm for getting out of it. Risk is an integral part of any project. It is impossible to predict everything, so you need to be prepared for unpleasant developments.

Often, entrepreneurs do not even consider some factors as risks, which is one of the biggest mistakes. After all, hindsight leads to additional costs, increases the payback period, etc. The market for products and services is the first thing a novice businessman should think about. After all, the organization must have target clients who are likely to use the services of the credit institution.

Summarizing all of the above, it can be noted that the implementation of the project of opening a credit institution is a very painstaking and complex undertaking, but it can be implemented. If you take a responsible approach to drawing up a bank business plan, calculate as many risks as possible, and attract the required amount of funds, then you can significantly succeed in your endeavor. When it comes to profitability, there is no doubt that opening a bank is one of the most cost-effective investments.

The decision to enter the banking business should only be made when you have the necessary knowledge in the field, relevant work experience and sufficient funds to invest. We must understand that the mechanism for creating such a structure is quite complex, but feasible. Moreover, the direction is considered profitable and promising.

Before the start

Investing in opening a bank is considered one of the most profitable if you draw up a competent business plan for the bank in advance, find suitable premises, correctly organize the internal structure of the structure, and accurately calculate all volumes of funds flow.

But before drawing up a business plan for a bank, you should conduct a detailed and thorough marketing study of the market in the region where you plan to open your financial structure. If there are enough similar structures in the region, the venture may turn out to be unprofitable. But if you find a special specialty for her, she will have a better chance of success. In any case, the research is designed to show what the list of services should be and what volumes of funds flow you can count on.

It is worth considering that in recent years the banking sector has shown high rates of development, and the state even provides it with some support in this.

Type of banking structure

Before you start investing in opening a bank, you need to decide what type of financial structure you will open. In general, the following types of banks are distinguished:

• central is a government structure;
• commercial – an establishment carrying out business activities;
• universal – covers basic types of services;
• investment – ​​works, respectively, with investments;
• savings - accumulates money from enterprises and individuals.

Mid-level establishments may have a specialization that has its own specific organization and provision of services. They can be:

• market - to have securities in assets, and own funds in liabilities;
• settlement – ​​specialize in cash settlement operations;
• credit - assets are formed from customer debt, and liabilities - from own funds;
• retail – a wide range of services;
• interbank – make a profit from interaction with other financial institutions.

Nowadays, market-type financial institutions are the most common. But which one you should choose depends on what type of institutions prevails in your area. The fewer banks that will provide the type of service you choose, the more promising your business will be.

Description of services

The type of banking structure you choose will determine the range of services your bank can provide to customers. The most popular services are:

• brokerage operations on stock and foreign exchange markets;
• depository operations;
• servicing of plastic cards;
• issuance of bank guarantees;
• lending;
• cash service;
• performing settlements on behalf of;
• opening and maintaining bank accounts.

Registration of licenses and permits

To organize the work of a bank, you need to register a closed joint stock company, register with the tax office and obtain your unique identification number from it.

Also, for official work you will need to obtain a number of permits, the main ones being:

• general license of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which gives the right to conduct banking activities;
• certificate of registration from the Russian State Assay Office;
• appropriate permission from the State Customs Committee.

Management and personnel

Since the bank operates only as a joint stock company, its management is carried out by the Meeting of Shareholders. At such annual events, the development strategy of the institution, its activities are determined, and management decisions are made. Other management issues are decided by the Board of Directors. The executive part is entrusted to the Board of the bank. All structural divisions of the institution, which are formed in accordance with its goals and objectives, are subordinate to him.

Internal structural divisions

The main internal structural divisions of the bank are departments that directly provide services to clients. These are structural units such as departments:

• cash transactions;
• deposit operations;
• foreign exchange transactions;
• economic accounting;
• accounting;
• valuable papers;
• lending;
• marketing and others.

Additional departments can also be organized to help the main ones. For example, security department, personnel department, technical support department, legal department, information support department, economic department.

All employees of the organization must not only be competent in the field entrusted to them, but also have an appropriate higher education.

Each bank must have its own Internal Control Service, which must report on its work to the Board of Directors at least once a year. Her areas of expertise include:

• check to what extent the operations and actions of bank employees comply with established standards, check internal documents, etc.;
• receive all documents necessary for verification;
• in connection with their activities, employees of the Service have the right to make copies of all documents received;
• if necessary, attract employees from other departments.

Project financing

According to experts, today opening a small bank will require at least 100 million rubles. A significant part of these funds will be spent on renting premises, repairs, recruiting and paying staff, issuing permits, creating a security system, etc. The higher the level of the bank, the more investment will be required.

The payback period for such a project also depends on the type of financial institution, but on average, experts call the period from five to ten years. After this period, significant profits will come.