The strategic objective of Public Joint Stock Company "BANK FORUM" is to maintain and strengthen its position as one of the leading banks in Ukraine in the corporate and retail banking sectors, and in particular to join and maintain a position as one of the top ten Ukrainian banks measured by total assets.
Key strategy elements of Bank Forum
Retail Banking
Increasing Bank’s share of the retail banking market in Ukraine, by
growing the number of retail
customers, is a key focus of Bank Forum. In order to maintain the quality of its retail
loan asset base, Bank Forum plans to focus on mortgage loans (having a
Corporate Banking
Bank Forum plans to continue to grow and develop its corporate banking
business by focusing on the main
sectors of the Ukrainian economy such as chemicals,
SME Banking
Bank Forum plans to continue to develop its SME lending and banking
business as a separate
Widen existing and create new distribution channels
Bank Forum is pursuing the growth of its customer base and its loan and deposit portfolios by expanding its network in the most populated and economically developed cities and regions of Ukraine (Kyiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, the Mykolaiv region, the Crimea and other industrial centres). Bank Forum intends to focus heavily on training the staff it recruits for these new branches and outlets, in order to provide a consistently high standard of customer service. Bank Forum intends to expand the network of its ATMs as well as develop its point of sale («POS») terminal network. POS terminals are machines other than ATMs which allow customers to make cash withdrawals from their accounts and allow retailers to accept payments for goods and services, and which are located in shops and offices not owned by Bank Forum, as well as in smaller branches and outlets which do not have ATMs. Bank Forum also plans to develop its network of self-service points («Self-Service Points»). Self-Service Points are small unstaffed premises, located at large trade centres, which contain a variety of automated services including ATMs and informational-transactional terminals («Kiosks»), which allow customers full access to information on their accounts in addition to electronic payment services. Bank Forum will also continue to develop internet banking, short-message service («SMS») banking and other alternative distribution systems in order to attract new, and retain existing, customers.
Diversifying and enhancing stability of funding base
Taking into account the growing demand of the Bank’s customers for longer-term financing, Bank Forum intends to continue to strengthen its funding base by augmenting its market share in long-term deposits from retail and corporate customers. Bank Forum is also seeking to increase the proportion of retail deposits in its funding base. In addition, Bank Forum will continue to attract international long-term funding, such as syndicated loans from international financial institutions and the Notes. Expanding international network and profile Bank Forum will continue to expand its international profile with continued cooperation with international financial institutions such as the EBRD, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation and others. Bank Forum also sees opportunities for increased cooperation with partner banks from Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the CIS. Bank Forum has its international branch network with representative office in Prague, the Czech Republic.
Promote brand image
Bank Forum is implementing a network-wide corporate branding strategy in
order to broaden public
awareness of the Bank. Bank Forum is actively promoting its brand via intensive marketing
to existing and
new customers, including through the targeted use of printed and broadcast media
advertising. Bank Forum will also seek to enhance its profile by using alternative
advertising media such as
Enhance management processes and risk management system
Bank Forum is pursuing a comprehensive reform of its management organisation structure in order to continue to successfully manage the growth of the Bank. As part of this reorganisation, Bank Forum will improve its risk management systems. The improvements in the Bank’s risk management systems include an enhanced realtime reporting system whereby the Bank’s Head Office can monitor branch and outlet activity as it occurs, and improvements to other management information systems.