This year, JUBMES Bank marks a full four decades of a successful business. It has from the very beginning been strategically orientated towards corporate clients, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises, but not neglecting retail banking
Last year we significantly exceeded our projected goals, so in 2019 we started with great plans and ambitions and raised our targets, says Anja Vujnović, Head of Marketing and Public Relations, JUBMES Bank.
New technologies and new channels of communication between the brand and the end-user have brought new challenges. How is the banking sector bearing it, and your bank in particular?
– New technologies have led to significant changes in all spheres of our lives. Exposure to a large amount of information and changes in communication channels have necessitated the transformation of business practices in almost all industries, including the banking sector. The digital revolution has created radically new opportunities for more efficient banking operations.
The altered position of the customer in the value chain has made a business two-way communication between the client and the bank. Business trends relate to innovation and product customisation, an exceptional level of service for users of banking services, and the development of alternative distribution channels.
Will the macroeconomic conditions in which you operate and the expectations of clients bring new challenges in the year that has just started?
– The bank, our clients and competitors operate in stable macroeconomic conditions and on this side there are no new, greater challenges. The exchange rate of the dinar against foreign currencies is stable and is not expected to fluctuate significantly this year. It can be noted that prices are stable, with the foregone conclusion that inflation will remain in the planned zone, i.e. around the central target value of 3%.
However, our clients dictate the challenges, with their ever-growing expectations for improving the services offered by the bank, which primarily concerns e-business. Our task is to constantly innovate and, as much as possible, ease our clients’ business with the bank, because we know that the challenges also come from ourselves.
Digitalisation is not a transient phenomenon, but a reality with an even greater perspective in the future, giving it absolute priority in our future business strategy
Given your target groups, which communication channels do you prioritise, and why?
– Our focus is still on the business segment, with an emphasis on working with small and medium-sized enterprises. On the other hand, we have not neglected retail banking, and in our offer, we have all kinds of loans and other products and services intended for individuals, without any difference compared to other commercial banks on the market.
All of our modern electronic communication channels are available to our customers, and we continue to improve and develop them. It is noteworthy that, despite all of the available alternatives, customers continue to appreciate direct eye contact and the “open door” principle, i.e. the possibility of consulting with our banking experts to come up with an optimal solution, whether in personal or business finance.
Commitment and advisory services before the actual act of a banking transaction not only serve to solve the particular financial problem but in the long run aim to raise the quality of the business, i.e. to make life more carefree. Dedication is an advantage and an added value behind the epithet “small bank”.