Perspective

Unfortunately, as for the rest of the economy, the Bank’s plans had to be revised due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The key challenges in the first months of the pandemic were sustaining Customer service and ensuring employee safety. The Bank’s branches, with newly implemented security procedures, functioned virtually uninterrupted in providing Customer service. The efforts made to maintain business continuity and ensure security were appreciated by employees. Moreover, efficient use of remote work allowed further implementation of the most important planned projects in the Bank.

The new reality forced the Bank to analyse the current strategy in terms of its further validity. A completely different market environment affected the performance of the Bank and the entire sector, but in the opinion of the Management Board it did not devalue the key strategic objectives. However, it should be noted that the relevance of particular strategic directions has changed, which is reflected in the plans for 2021.

Adequate scale of activity will continue to be the key to success, hence the Bank’s focus on smart growth. New areas of Customer acquisition will be launched, often using non-bank partners, e.g. leveraging extensive business partnerships in Personal Finance. Due to interest rates close to zero, changes in pricing policies, which will reward Customers with greater relationships with the Bank, will be possible. Additionally, higher commission income will be achieved through the implementation of innovative products and services, which will be eagerly used by Customers, thus building their satisfaction and positively impacting the Bank’s results. The value of capital in the banking sector is constantly growing, therefore the allocation of the Bank’s capital will be even more careful, targeted at areas generating both sustainable growth and adequate profitability. The Bank will continue its prudent risk policy without neglecting Customer needs. Given the extraordinary circumstances, the Bank will attach great importance to Customer partnerships, understanding of its business and the mutual long-term benefits of doing so.

Achieving these goals will only be possible with the support of appropriate processes and resources. It is crucial that the Customer has uninterrupted access to all services regardless of circumstances. To be able to provide this, digital competence has proven to be essential in 2020. For this reason, the Bank will continue to attach great importance to the development of the mobile and online ecosystem (GOfamily), in particular expanding the possibilities for remote sales and service of products, ultimately including more complex ones. Further transformation of the operating model will also continue, including process improvement and automation. This will allow reducing costs while increasing the quality level. This will be facilitated by a completely new model of work being prepared by the Bank, which will take into account a wide use of the possibilities of work according to agile methodology, remote work as well as functionalities implemented in the new premises of the Bank. Planned deep changes are a consequence of results observed during the lockdown. It turned out to be possible to instantly transform the organisation of work and maintain it at a high level even in the areas where higher efficiency was based on the assumption of centralisation in one place so far. This opens up new opportunities for dynamic change and the search for cost efficiencies.

The Bank will focus on building an image of an attractive, environmentally friendly and socially responsible institution. It will use its important position in the economic ecosystem to fully engage in the implementation of the European „new green deal” initiatives. The Bank will strive to become the first choice in financing sustainable development, including the energy transition in particular. These activities will also support the building of a stronger, more recognisable brand with corporate social responsibility embedded in its values. At the same time, a lot of attention will be paid to further improveme Customer satisfaction, which will facilitate strengthening of Customer loyalty and, in the long run, translate into further improvement of profitability. The Bank will continue to be highly active in supporting the development of women within the Bank’s structures and in promoting diversity at all levels of the organization.

2021 is also the last year of the Fast Forward strategy horizon. With this in mind, the Bank is in the process of preparing a new strategy for 2022-24. A wide team is involved in the work, which translates into even greater alignment of the strategy with the Bank’s realities and the challenges faced by particular areas. The strategy is planned to be announced in the second half of 2021.