Data show that income per employee stood at EUR821,000 in the Nordic countries, while the average in Romania was EUR88,000. The profit per customer was higher in Switzerland, EUR967, compared with EUR72 in Romania.
The profit per customer in Europe increased by 45% on average to EUR337. Certain countries, such as Italy, Slovenia and Poland doubled their profitability per customer in one year.
In the opinion of the Kearney analysts, to prepare for the next economic cycle, banks in Romania have two main options: diversify sources of income into non-lending, net fees, and commissions, charging more for services and more value delivered to customers (other than charging for money i.e. lending) and optimize cost base heavily, meaning 2 digits cost-income ratio improvement.
Some banks, however, must work on both sides of the story, and that is not easy: to grow while cutting cost.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)