Bunescu, BRD: Sales staff in banks need to switch to debt collection

Bank employees that have so far worked in sales should try to move to other departments now, such as debt collection, says Petre Bunescu, deputy general manager of BRD Soc-Gen, the second largest bank on the Romanian market. “Part of this sales force should be trained to become involved in debt collection, and back office employees need to be trained so as to better manage relations with employees and the bank’s resources. Employees don’t have to leave the banking system, they should instead find a new specialisation,” said Bunescu at a seminar on human resources organised by the Romanian Banking Institute. Banks have developed their networks aggressively and hired personnel in the past few years, when they were caught in a fierce battle over a share of the lending market. Amid a dramatic decline in the liquidity available on the international markets starting last autumn, which on the Romanian market resulted in major restrictions to accessing loans, and in cost rises, the large number of branches has become problematic for the banks. In the absence of revenues secured from selling loans, many branches have a hard time staying profitable. At the end of March, banks had almost 70,500 employees, 1,100 less than at the end of last year, according to data from the NBR (National Bank of Romania).