About the partnership
Postbank is a founding member in the Corporate Advisory Board of the American University in Bulgaria.
The long-term strategic partnership between Postbank and American University in Bulgaria (AUBG) includes various initiatives, events, and opportunities for students, alumni, and employees. The Corporate Advisory Board collaborates closely with the University, leveraging AUBG’s strengths and assets and ensures beneficial partnerships between academia and industry in some key areas.
Postbank has established and awarded a Scholarship to honor the best-performing students. Alongside its main activities in the role of a Corporate Founding Member Postbank performs regular talent acquisition, organizes career and business events, and launches special promotional campaigns and packages, custom tailored for AUBG students.
The Postbank Scholarships for AUBG Students
Two scholarships of €4,800 (one for current students and one for new coming ones)
Scholarship for new coming students
Scholarship for current students
-
The case is aimed to provoke creative thinking and business acumen to set up a beneficial sales strategy for the bank to ensure decent performance in a challenging economic situation and tough competitive environment.
You are a member of the Management Board of a big commercial bank in Bulgaria and you are responsible for the Retail banking business (business with individual customers).
You & your Retail team are supposed to prepare a business strategy for Y2023 based on the already approved budget for Y2023 by Supervisory Board as well as macroeconomic projections for BG economy for Y2023 as follows:
Budget 2023
Due to the expected economic slowdown in Y2023, budget targets remain the same as the ones in Y2022:
1. Consumer loans (CL). The annual target is to achieve new sales volumes of EUR 200 mln. Front office staff directly involved with CL sales amount to 700 employees, positioned in 150 branches throughout the country;
2. Mortgage loans (ML). The annual target is to achieve new sales volumes of EUR 100 mln. Sales staff, directly involved with ML sales amount to 150 employees, positioned in 30 specialized centers in BG;
3. Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) business Annual target is to achieve new sales volumes of EUR 150 mln. Sales staff, directly involved with SME business amount to 80 employees, positioned in 20 specialized centers in BG.Macroeconomic KPIs
1. GDP for Y2023. What is the forecasted GDP for Y’23? How it stands compared to GDP actual figure for Y’22. What are the leading economic branches forming the biggest contribution to GDP growth? How these trends need to be reflected as the main focus in sales strategy of Retail banking business;
2. Purchasing power of population – projected trends, customers’ group structure (age profile), and incorporation in sales strategy;
3. Real estate market – Y’23 trend perspectives (regional trends to be considered also). Considering market trends in sales strategy;
4. Labor market - forecast and trends for Y’23;
5. Force majeure – consider the expected impacts of military conflict in Ukraine on the BG economy, supply chain disruption, raw material, and energy product supplies.Your Task: To prepare a business strategy for Y’23 (up to 2 pages - A4 format).
The strategy needs to cover:
- Core vision for achieving the set target volumes in Y’23 budget;
- Vision to develop digital sales channels along with standard one–branch network;
- Vision for effective use of different customers groups and industries;
- Back up scenarios in case of force majeure events.The Aim:
To provoke and assess:
- Strategic and business thinking;
- Creativity skills – providing proposals and solutions in the complex business environment and market conditions;
- Flexibility and innovative thinking in setting a successful sales strategy;
- Skills in dealing with the competitive banking field, dynamic technology, and digital environment.
