Krugnsri focuses on productivity
Play
Bank of Ayudhya is concentrating on staff productivity as a key means of supporting sales growth at its branches, distribution head Phonganant Thanattrai said yesterday.
The bank, which is commonly known as Krungsri, is spending Bt1.7 billion to improve its branches in terms of rationalisation and refurbishment. Nearly one-third of the sum covers an incentive plan and training courses to increase staff productivity, he said.
Following the refurbishment programme, the number of transactions at Krungsri branches last year showed significant growth, he said.
Deposit and mutual-fund expansion came in at 11 per cent and 88 per cent, respectively, compared to 2011.
Bancassurance grew by 58 per cent, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises increased by 49 per cent, and unsecured loans and mortgages rose by 46 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively.
ATM transactions, meanwhile, rose by 10-15 per cent last year.
Phonganant said the bank this year was injecting Bt550 million into an employee incentive plan and individual key performance indicators, both of which are aimed at encouraging staff to increase productivity.
Sales staff at Krungsri branches last year received the highest bonus – at seven months’ salary – in the banking industry, where the average was 2.88 months.
“[Improved] human productivity will strengthen the cross-selling of products and income to branch channels. We are still setting the same targets for this year to ensure growth, such as deposits will have to grow by no less than 11 per cent, and mutual funds must grow by around 30 per cent,” he said.
The bank’s distribution chief said the productivity of staff was more important than expanding the number of branches.
Krungsri this year aims to add at least three branches to its network of 602.
Some branches may be moved to high-potential locations where it can serve a larger volume
of traffic and transactions, he added.
Citing the example of branches at fuel stations, he said the bank may rejig some of their locations, or turn some of them into solely transactional branches.
Phonganant said the bank was also studying the possibility of opening mini-branches without full services in order to save costs, in light of the Bank of Thailand’s plan to allow commercial banks to follow such a path.
