OREANDA-NEWS. July 18, 2008. Ways to improve banking services for small and medium-sized enterprises. How banks can conquer significant market share in that segment of business. Leading European and Russian specialists discussed these and related matters at a conference titled “Creating the Best Product Portfolio for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses.”

The conference was held in Prague. Bank Electronika was represented by Elena Vasilyeva, Director of the Directorate for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses and member of the Management Board, and Irina Sukhodolskaya, head of the Office of Product Development.
One of Europe’s fastest-growing financial spheres is banking services tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises. This area, however, is fraught with a number of problems in designing, marketing, and distributing banking products. Specialists from six countries – Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Portugal, and Russia – shared their views and experiences on how to side-step difficulties.

Irish specialists made an interesting presentation titled “Strengthening Brands in Local Markets.” In that tiny country, development of small businesses has been taken to the level of a national strategy. Bankers from Belgium described effective mechanisms for managing loan portfolios of small enterprises. Colleagues from Austria discussed “How to Earn Big Sums from Small Clients.”

Russian bankers shared their experience building a network of regional offices and standardizing products for small and medium-sized businesses. The Russian presentation, “How to Pinpoint the Best and Most Profitable Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,” attracted a great deal of attention.

This is Bank Electronika’s second year of active work in servicing small and medium-sized businesses. As part of its long-term strategy for this category of clients, in 2007 the Bank launched a separate business line under the sub-brand Electronika B2B.The motto for this new direction: Business with us – it’s simple. The goals of the Bank for the period to 2012 are to become one of the ten top banks offering services to small and medium-sized businesses and to create one of the best distribution networks in Russia.