- 42% of Romanians expect their financial education to be offered by banks and finance specialists, while only 18% consider that this should be taught in school, according to the latest survey conducted by Banca Comercială Română.
- The Financial Dialogue Centre, the new BCR branch concept, represents the materialization of such a banking communication model, based on financial education, which aims to develop a much closer dialogue with each customer
The new branch concept is opened right in the centre of the Capital, at 27-33 Bălcescu Boulevard, and was developed as a result of customers’ suggestions and recommendations and based on BCR’s relationship with them. The branch showcases a modern and open architecture, with the latest generation of banking devices, but, most importantly, with a wide range of financial education services.
“We are developing a new, much closer model of communication with our customers, in which we use financial education tools. We have learned that, in addition to selling some banking products, we also need to do more. We need to get truly involved in an open dialogue with those who come into our offices, whether they are BCR customers or not. We want to understand their needs and offer them truly useful advice”, stated Dana Demetrian, Retail Vice-President at BCR.
According to BCR’s survey “Romanians and Financial Education”, 42% of Romanians expect their financial education to be offered by banks and finance specialists, while only 18% believe that it should be taught in school and in the family (13%). According to this survey, by financial education Romanians understand to borrow money only when they are sure they can pay it back (75%), not to spend more than they earn (66%), and to be able to prioritize their current expenses (61%). At the same time, the survey shows that only 1 out of 5 Romanians declare having a savings account or a bank deposit, and only 1 out of 4 make a detailed expense plan in writing.
“Within our Financial Dialogue Centre, we are prepared to tell our customers how to correctly assess their financial capabilities or how to set realistic financials goals, whether they are about savings, children’s education, vacations, or property purchases. Thus, we shall create together a financial journal for supporting personal goals, so that our clients are able to build their own financial independence. We need a realistic and pragmatic financial education in Romania, and BCR is prepared to offer it to customers”, added Dana Demetrian.
The opening of the Financial Dialogue Centre represents a step within the bank’s customer approach strategy based on financial education principles.
BCR is the first bank in Romania deciding to proactively offer sustainable commercial solutions for reducing the costs incurred by its customers. Starting in 2009, nearly 200,000 BCR customers have benefited from refinancing, restructuring, and cost adjustments, this also being one of the solutions found by the bank for optimizing personal budget. In fact, over the past seven years, loans totalling over 4.5 billion lei have entered in a cost reduction process.
BCR’s survey “Romanians and Financial Education” was conducted in October, together with Unlock Market Research.
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Banca Comercială Română (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is the most important financial group in Romania, including universal bank operations (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets), as well as companies in industries such as leasing, private pension, and mortgage banks. BCR is the no. 1 bank in Romania based on the value of the assets (EUR 14.4 billion), the no. 1 bank based on the number of customers and the no. 1 bank for the savings and loan segments. BCR is the most valuable financial brand in Romania by customer trust and by the number of people for whom BCR is the main institution for banking services.
BCR offers its entire range of financial products and services by means of 22 business centres and 23 mobile offices dedicated to companies and 510 retail units in most of the cities throughout the entire country with more than 10,000 inhabitants. BCR is the no. 1 bank in Romania on the banking transaction market, BCR customers benefiting from the largest national ATM network - more than 2,000 dispensers - and the largest national POS network - 13,500 credit card terminals, as well as from comprehensive Internet banking, phone-banking and e-commerce services.
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Erste Group is one of the main financial service providers in the Eastern part of the European Union. 46,500 employees serve 16.2 million customers within 2,800 branches in 7 countries (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and Serbia). At the end of the first quarter of 2015, Erste Group had total assets amounting to 202.6 billion Euros and had a cost/income ratio of 56.1%. The Tier 1 Common Capital Ratio (Basel 3 completely implemented) amounted to 10.2%.
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BCR - External Communication
Nicoleta Deliu, e-mail: nicoleta.deliu@bcr.ro
This information is also available on our website: www.bcr.ro
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