The centralisation of administration in commercial relationship banking

Abstract

During the last decade, commercial banking competition has intensified for a variety of reasons. With shareholders requirements to satisfy and, at the same time to provide ''value for money" to i!s clients, banks restructured themselves to serve niche market segments, increase critical mass by growing volume business or a combination of both. With the change in political dispensation, the urgency for banks to evolve intensified for the following prime reasons: I. The increased number of foreign banks entering the South African market and cherry-picking the commercial banks' best clients and employees. This was facilitated by the foreign banks low cost of entry and low overhead cost structure coupled with cheaper availability of offshore funding for South African businesses. 2. Increased emigration rates reducin6 the availability ofskilled and trained bank employees. 3. The stagnation ofthe economic emironment resulting in low organic growth of the business client base from the traditional white o\\ned segment. 4. The largely neglected black business segment which became politically. if not economically. attractive to the local banks. Against this background. commercial ban:,s strategies changed involving restructuring the internal organisation to refocus the banking industr.. efforts in achieving its profit objectives. satisfYing and keeping its clients and attracting new clients. primarily, from the local competitor banks.