Organisation and IT

“Performance transparency is one of our major organisational principles. This applies to banking business with customers and to the important activities related to customer business. By making our processes transparent across divisional boundaries, defining a clear division of labour and bundling settlement functions into separate units, we gain specialisation advantages. Constant benchmarking ensures that our activities meet top standards, and we aim to enter the wider external market. We are thus enhancing the professional approach and motivation of our employees.”

Wolfgang Haller, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, responsible at Managing Board level for Organisation, IT and Human Resources

Pursuant to the philosophy of Bank Austria Creditanstalt, the “business model” and the “operating model” are two sides of a single coin. The organisation and implementation of back-office processes, as well as all administrative and settlement tasks which are linked to the customer business, comprise a significant part of “bank production”. They play a decisive role in determining the performance and efficiency of banking services, and at BA-CA, these processes have long stepped out of the shadow thrown by more “visible” banking business.

While the business model determines target groups, products and sales channels, the operating model ensures the organisation of the entire settlement and production apparatus, which in turn determines the efficiency of banking operations. Each side needs the other: the more progress that is made towards standardisation, particularly in the retail business, the simpler operations become. As settlement, processes and IT support become more efficient, sales units can increasingly focus on customer business. Through the systematic division of labour, we hope to make transparent the internal flow of services and processes within the entire bank, boost productivity, ensure reliability and also realise gains from specialisation. Finally, by highlighting and recognising performance, pointing out the significance of entrepreneurial responsibility and monitoring the market for third-party services, we aim to motivate our employees working in the settlement area.

In 2003 we started to bundle all of the tasks releated to the operating model in the Group ORG/IT division under Managing Board responsibility. In 2004 and at the beginning of 2005 we implemented key projects in Austria, including “Marktfolge” and “Zahlungsverkehr NEU”. In Central and Eastern Europe, two acquisitions – HVB Bank Biochim and HVB Central Profit Banka – were successfully integrated in Bank Austria Creditanstalt. In 2005, the focus will be on integrating Hebros Bank and Eksimbanka as well as supporting the new sales initiatives primarily in the retail banking sector. We are taking a pragmatic approach in this regard: on account of the variety of forms that business can take in individual countries, a common operating model or a common IT platform cannot be introduced overnight. Nevertheless, we increasingly view Austria and CEE as a single core market whose locational advantages we will use in coming years.