The American Times discovers that the pattern behind Anelik Bank’s success in Armenia’s financial market was almost too obvious to notice: Management and sound Strategic Planning.
Brief History
Anelik Bank began their operations in 1990 prior to Independence; as such, they are one of the most experienced and robust banks in Armenia. As an integral part of a banking group, they represent a true international focus with operations covering the CIS region, parts of Europe as well as the Middle East. More specifically, their primary strategic footprint runs from their native Armenia, due north to Russia and southwest off the Mediterranean Sea in Lebanon.
Banks often engage in fruitless marketing in what appears to be a vain attempt of image trumping image
With core strengths in international money transfers, brand recognition, quality of financial services and performance Anelik Bank is inevitably poised to continue its upward trend as a leading financial institution. Adding to the mix that they are one of the few financial institutions to have weathered the tumultuous past two decades of systemic reconstructions and sector perturbations under the same legal form; one can only determine that strong and efficient management tactics are attributable to the Bank’s resilience.
Priority Services and Growth Factors
The Bank’s universal mandate is anchored in providing banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies as well as major corporations. Although traditionally focused on servicing diaspora remittances, primarily from Russia as well as the US, [American Times Editor's Note: Remittances ≈ 16% of Armenia’s GDP] and lending to SMEs, Anelik is indeed a universal bank. As a macro-strategy, the bank covers all market segments via a broad services portfolio indicative of even the most successful major international banks. To service consumer demands, the Bank maintains 12 strategically located branches throughout Armenia today; with each one operating as a fully deployed banking center catering to all needs and full services. Much like the American Times, Anelik Bank’s strategy is centered on the importance of quality over quantity.
21% growth in time deposits from individuals in 2011 followed by 62.5% growth in 2012
Due to effective management, customer care and brand loyalty, Anelik is growing steadily and, more importantly, sustainably. This is depicted by recent figures in their deposit portfolio: 21% growth in time deposits from individuals in 2011 followed by 62.5% growth in 2012. The core differentiator attributing to this growth, in relation to their competitors, is that the figures are not conditioned by high interest rates offered by the bank but rather by confidence of the population towards the Bank. All of which is generally achieved by targeted advertising campaigns and development of needs tailored banking products.
Competition in a Competitive Sector: The “Spoiled Demand”
Competition is fierce in Armenia and client loyalty can be low. Armenian consumers hold pragmatic views towards the banking system and move away quickly if they are not satisfied or are offered better terms. Understanding their consumers, as any prudent business should, Anelik does not just compete on price – their permanent daily objective is to keep clients satisfied, providing them with solution-based products with a focus on specified needs via sound advice and flexible solutions. However, none of this matters or is even possible without a constant pulse on what consumers care about. Customer service and engaged consumers providing up-to-date feedback is of critical importance to the Bank’s long-term growth strategy.
Every business wants the strong and growing clients to call their own. In Armenia’s competitive market, driven by what one can decisively consider, “spoiled demand”, it is becoming more difficult to attract business based on longevity. Banks often engage in fruitless marketing in what appears to be a vain attempt of image trumping image. This tends to lead to frivolous exertion of resources with almost zero consideration for a return on their marketing efforts. In the end, it is a basic lack of professionalism and more so, deficient project management skills leading to poor execution and implementation.
Recognizing flaws in a competitor’s structure is always a good first course of action when carving out a lead in an otherwise flat consumer market. Anelik recognizes these flaws and is exploiting competitor weaknesses by simply timing their strategies and structuring their efforts so that all agenda items implemented have a clear and concise profit-margin. AKA, running an efficient operation based on research and analysis with pre-defined objectives rather than emotion and cheap tricks.
All in all, it is Anelik’s strategy, to the near point of policy, to develop organically and change with the trends, not to implement abrupt changes. This notion is exemplified in their pursuance of attracting more market segments as opposed to retail expansion. Using these sound strategies since the onset of liberalized Armenia has allowed the Bank to secure a very comfortable niche, both locally and internationally, in almost every sector and with significant exposure to the SME market [a highly coveted sub-market in Armenia.]
US Investor Confidence Factors and International Affiliations
Anelik Bank has a successful track record of working with international institutional investors dating back to the very first days of establishment. Not the least of which are several well-known international organizations that entrust their resources to Anelik. Including;
- the “Eurasia Foundation”,
- numerous World Bank programs,
- German-Armenian Foundation program series,
- International Organization of Migration,
- Organization of Marketing assistance for the USDA,
- Commerzbank,
- KfW program series,
- Linsi Foundation,
- EBRD and;
- the ubiquitous USAID
Besides having the requisite experience through longevity in the market, which commands enormous brand reliability, Anelik is arguably the most flexible bank. With purposeful size structure negating “over-employment” [not uncommon in emerging market economy businesses], solid structure and their keystone strategy; rapid market change adaptation it is clearly the most progressive mid-sized bank in the Armenian banking industry.
Personal Message to the American Times Audience
We look forward to cooperating with reliable clients – both institutional and individual – from all over the world and welcome our counterparts and investors out of the United States. Our confidence lies with our strong background, products that provide some of the best competitive risk terms for your undoubtedly stringent investment criteria and most of all, sound and effective management tactics.