Plapcianu: High costs can hinder network expansion

So far, banks have made money easily in Romania, but they are likely to encounter problems covering costs in the future, while relationships with customers will become increasingly important to the point where there will be an apparent difference between competitors, believes Manuela Plapcianu, general manager of Bancpost. Plapcianu states many banks are still without IT applications for retail and many processes remain “intricate”. She adds that alternative channels are the best solution to increase a bank’s sales, rather than a standard branch network. Bancpost plans to expand its network to 370 branches by 2009, from 226 in mid this year. However, Plapcianu maintains that sales via alternative channels will account for around 40% in the coming years. In the ’90s, Plapcianu opened the Brasov branch of ABN Amro, a bank still reluctant to expand through branches, and then in 2003 devised a retail offering that relied on a mobile sales force and brokers for the sale of loans.