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As part of a Group-wide project carried out in summer 2006, we transferred small business customers to the Retail Division, bringing them closer to branch-based business in Austria. In this way we can better meet the needs of small businesses.
Moreover, with a view to implementing Basel II requirements, this organisational change also helps us to keep processes lean – in contrast to the segment comprising large corporates – and use scoring models for credit rating purposes which are similar to those used for personal customers. Following the transfer from the profitable corporate customer segment, however, business with small businesses now shows negative overall results. We will therefore make strong efforts in 2007 to restore the small business segment to profitability.
The measures taken by the bank are in the interests of our customers, as can be seen from the following initial results:
Analyses which we performed in autumn 2006 indicated various opportunities for improvement based on product use. We will continue to focus on electronic payment services and streamline credit and settlement processes. Meeting the personal needs of business owners and providing services to their businesses from a single point of contact will also be of benefit for our customers because we can thereby take into account medium-term and long-term requirements, at both a business and personal level. In this context, qualitative interviews conducted with our customers suggest that there is a strong interest in such a service approach. In summer 2007, BA-CA will start to offer a lean service model specifically designed for small business customers wishing to use only a limited range of our products and advisory services.