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Beyond the bank services, such as Ponova by OTP Bank, are a response to the need of customers to receive the maximum number of related services on one platform. Oleg Klymenko, Member of the Management Board of OTP Bank responsible for retail business development, spoke about this at the Digital Lending 2024 conference.
“We offer our customers Ponova by OTP Bank, a marketplace where they can buy a used car. A huge number of partners have been brought together – about 60% of the offers of all used car sellers, which means 20 thousand cars ready for purchase. All cars can be purchased on credit, and each client has a personal manager, while the Bank provides transaction support. Thus, we have “closed the pains” of the client who wants to buy a used car,” the banker emphasized.
According to Mr. Klymenko, another trend in retail banking is that banks are massively developing term loans. “The essence and form of loans applied for by individual clients has changed. Today, installment and cash loans account for 60-70% of all requests. Until 2022, the situation was completely different: installment and cash loans accounted for 30-40%. That is, customers are now taking out mostly term loans, and banks are massively developing this area,” he emphasized.
According to him, almost 90% of installment loans are related to the digital sector. “This customer experience develops when the client knows that he can use it whenever the need arises. The main magic is related to the digital products and services of banks that help to gain this experience,” the banker said.
O. Klymenko said that OTP BANK offers several types of installments available in the OTP Bank UA app. “The client has a choice. For example, you can choose a product in a store or on the website of a partner network, and then buy it in installments – this is “Slice from partners”. Or you can do the opposite – first buy something, and then get the money back to your card at the expense of the credit limit. This is an installment plan that we are actively developing,” he said.
Over the past two years, JSC OTP Bank has changed its approaches to managing its retail branch network and planning horizons, increasing the emphasis on the results of the team as a unit. This was stated by Lesia Syrota, team leader of the OTP Bank Helps Ukraine charity project, Director of Retail Sales and Network Management at OTP Bank, during the EBA Women’s Club, an event dedicated to women’s leadership in business.
According to her, the Bank used to single out the best employees and encourage competition, but now it is much more important to form powerful teams united by a single goal – to make the Bank even more convenient and closer to the customer. “OTP BANK has a network of branches throughout Ukraine, which are located in different conditions and circumstances, taking into account the security situation. We have changed our management approaches and planning horizons. Every Monday, the teams set their own goals for the week. This has brought the teams together. This position proved to be effective,” said Ms. Syrota.
As noted by the Director of Retail Sales and Network Management, the Bank aims to further develop in several areas, including the use of the latest technologies. “We already use artificial intelligence in our products and services. In the OTP Bank Information Center, the latest technologies are involved in many processes, which made it possible to work with customers’ emotions. And this allows us to increase customer empathy, which turned out to be especially important in Premium banking. This is now a separate rather deep and extensive research and ongoing implementation,” she emphasized.
Ms. Syrota shared her experience with the audience on the process of making important decisions. Usually, a team is involved in a brainstorming session to consider the details of different cases. “We carefully study the situation, form hypotheses, and then confirm or refute them. There should be at least three proposals. As life shows, the latter options will be better than the first fastest. We don’t make decisions instantly, because it’s better to think carefully. This encourages colleagues to offer interesting and progressive solutions,” she said.
As the participants of the event emphasized, the role of women in business and teams is becoming increasingly important. Women’s leadership and soft skills, including emotional intelligence, communication, and teamwork, are becoming key success factors. “The modern world requires us to constantly develop. We should not be afraid to take responsibility. You need to move forward and build your business. Today, there are important and interesting financial support programs for businesses owned or co-owned by women, such as the joint program of OTP Bank and UASID, which offers unique lending conditions. In particular, an important component of this program is to support companies with women in their ownership structure,” added Ms. Syrota.
EBA Women`s Club, OTP BANK, OTP Bank Helps Ukraine, Леся Сирота
JSC “OTP BANK” has the highest index “A” of financial reliability according to the calculations of the FinScore tool from YouControl for the fourth quarter of 2023. Compared to the third quarter, the Bank has risen one step in the rating, thus taking the fourth place.
The updated research includes 40 Ukrainian banks. The highest index “A” indicates a minimal probability of unfavorable financial consequences.
Bank_FinScore is a scoring index of a bank’s financial reliability calculated by the analytical department of YouControl and based on 25 indicators. Among them are NBU standards and financial ratios that comprehensively reflect the state of liquidity, capital adequacy, profitability, credit, investment and currency risks of the bank.
The financial scoring of Ukrainian banks is available at the following link.
We would like to remind you that JSC OTP BANK entered the TOP-10 banks included in the Index of the best enterprises of Ukraine with impeccable business reputation and the highest revenue for 2023 in the Banking category. In February, the Bank took a leading position in the Bank Viability Rating – 2024, compiled by the business publication Mind.
In March, JSC OTP BANK made another transfer of UAH 1 million to the account of the Superhumans Center. The total amount of funds that the Bank has already transferred to the prosthetics and rehabilitation center is almost UAH 30 million.
In February, this non-profit project also received UAH 1 million from the Bank. The transfers are made under the charitable donation agreement for 2023-2024 concluded between OTP BANK and Superhumans Center, which provides for monthly support to the center. The funds are allocated to two crucial areas: support for the heroes, their return to social life and the creation of an educational center to scale up assistance and training of prosthetics specialists.
In 2023, OTP BANK held two charity auctions, during which it raised UAH 8.8 million. All funds were allocated to the prosthetics and rehabilitation center.
Bank of the prosthetics and rehabilitation center, OTP BANK, Superhumans Center, TRANSFER
JSC OTP BANK entered the Top 10 banks included in the Index of the best enterprises of Ukraine with an impeccable business reputation and the highest revenue for 2023 in the Banking category.
According to the results of the year, OTP BANK ranked eighth in the overall rating of banking institutions and third among banks with foreign capital.
The Opendatabot index is updated annually. As stated on the company’s website, the index takes into account both financial indicators (financial statements of companies for 2023) and business reputation of businesses.
The Index for 2023 is available here.
In February, OTP Bank took a leading position in the Bank Viability Rating – 2024, compiled by the business publication Mind. It received four out of five stars and one of the highest ratings among both state-owned and non-state-owned banks with Ukrainian and international capital.
As part of its partnership with the UKculture project, JSC OTP BANK will support the platform’s team in preparing a series of lectures on the history of money: from the hryvnia of the princes of Kievan Rus to the present, as well as figures and historical monuments from Ukrainian banknotes.
“We started the collaboration on the first day of World Money Week, which is celebrated annually in more than 100 countries. The joint project with UKultura will allow us to raise deeper meanings, to look at the history of Ukrainian money in philosophical, historical, and cultural dimensions. The platform’s experts study unusual topics, find unexpected facts, and tell them not through dates and a list of names, but through living stories. And they also explain how these stories have affected us today,” said Lesia Syrota, team leader of the OTP Bank Helps Ukraine charity project, Director of Retail Sales and Network Management at OTP Bank.
She noted that Ukrainian banknotes contain much more than the size of the payment denomination and anti-counterfeiting elements. In particular, she reminded that modern money depicts symbols or important artifacts of Ukrainian statehood that have played or are playing a significant role in the country’s history. Therefore, educational lectures will help expand and supplement knowledge about different eras and how they are reflected in the present.
“UKultura is an innovative educational project about Ukrainian culture with a human face. Without bombast and excessive academicism, together with leading researchers, we talk about the achievements and values of our culture from ancient times to the present. The UCulture educational platform was created for students seeking live information about Ukrainian culture, for teachers looking for relevant materials and teaching methods, for cultural professionals seeking to share their experience and knowledge, and for everyone who wants to learn more about Ukrainian culture,” commented Larysa Dovha, UCulture project manager.
All videos created as part of the cooperation will be available for free on the
the Bank’s YouTube channel and on the website UKkultura website.
The UKultura educational platform was launched in March 2023. Its website contains both lectures on the development of Ukrainian culture from ancient times to the present and interviews with leading experts and scholars.
