Banking and financial services
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NACE 2002 - 65 Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension funding
NACE 2002 - 67 Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation
In spite of the implications of the current economic slump banking services have a good long-term outlook. Due to the financial and economic crisis there has been a major decline in demand for workers providing customer services (e.g. loan specialists) and other occupations, but this is a short-term trend. Employment in banking services is expected to grow further in years to come. The banking industry in the CR accounts for a small percentage of total employment as compared to developed West European countries (e.g. in neighbouring Germany the proportion is more than twice as high).
The growth of the banking market will rest on several factors. The wealth of the population and their income will grow, the banking market in the CR is stable and there are good conditions for growth. The financial crisis should not cause any serious difficulties to any major bank, and when the construction market picks up and consumers regain trust a new surge in demand for mortgages and loans may be expected.
Thanks to pay levels that keep pace with those in IT services the industry is very attractive for students and graduates. Total employment in banking services will get close to 2% of total employment in the CR, which, however, will still fall short of the current levels in some developed countries.
Banking and financial services will continue to rank among industries with a high level of the use of information technologies. Requirements for good IT knowledge and skills in employees and a large proportion of IT specialists in the industry will remain to constitute a major trend. Important factors related to the workings of banking and financial services will include better work with clients and information about them, and tailor-made products for ordinary users. While an increasing number of services will be automated, there will be ever growing demands on the quality of staff directly working with customers. Finally, automation and IT will be increasingly implemented in the administration and management of bank branches in order to increase their efficiency.
