Personal banking

Personal Banking, an area dedicated to customers with income greater than 70,000 euros or with assets of between 75,000 euros and one million euros, is one of the Bank's naturally developing segments. Since 2014 it has been immersed in a transformation process that affects products, quality of service and manager training, on which all of its business activity is based.

In 2016 this segment faced a very difficult environment that was characterised by low interest rates and market uncertainties. In addition, virtually all institutions have independent personal banking lines, which means the competition is extraordinary and the Bank needs to make an extra effort to differentiate itself from the competition.

One of the driving forces in attracting customers was once again mortgages, which continues to bring customers to our offices following the vacuum created during the worst moments of the real estate crisis. Last year a total of 1.13 billion euros were granted in mortgage loans to customers in this segment (up 27% on 2015) and total investment in 2016 increased by 490 million euros, after subtracting repayments.

However, mortgages are only the point of entry, a great chance to create and strengthen customers' connection with the bank through other products. 

Along the same lines, Bankinter consolidated in 2016 products like the 'Non-Salary Account', targeted at self-employed people and employees with no fixed income; and guaranteed funds, which are quite attractive for investors with a more conservative profile, particularly in the present circumstances. It also launched the 'Account 22', with which young people can enjoy credit or debit cards, make domestic transfers, withdraw cash from ATMs or make payments via their mobile phone.  All of this with no fees.

Contribution to balance sheet

The result of this effort was an increase of 1,588 million euros in the balances of current accounts, which increased to 18,000 million the contribution of Personal Banking to the total funds controlled by the bank.

However, Bankinter believes that all these value propositions are hollow if they are not developed within the framework of quality service that places the focus on the customer, above all when making decisions on matters ranging from covering their financing needs to the quest for greater profitability for their savings or planning for retirement.

The key figure in this strategy is the manager, to whom Bankinter provides specialised training through custom plans not only at the time of hiring, but also throughout his professional career in the segment. To attain better performance, especially in commercial work, managers have a key tool, the CRM, which enables them to detect and anticipate any customer demand.