Along with the completion of Idea's integration into the BT Group and with the recent announcement of the new CEO of Idea::Bank, Gabriela Nistor, the natural question that arises is What are Banca Transilvania's plans with Idea::Bank? BT's plan is to build the first digital bank in Romania around Idea::Bank, intended for clients who have an appetite for remote banking.

I recently responded to the invitation from Ziarul Financiar to participate in ZF Live for an exclusive interview on this subject.

When will a first Idea product be launched and who will it be addressed to, what do we move forward with, what other plans do we have for Idea::Bank – all the answers are in thisvideo interview and in the synthesis contained in the following...

Gabriela Nistor, deputy general director at Transilvania Bank, future general director Idea::Bank:

Opportunity

• One month ago I would not have thought of such a thing. I think I was offered this position because of the projects and results I have had over time and because I have a very well-built retail team at Banca Transilvania. However, after receiving the offer, it seemed to me that I could not miss being part of building the first Made in Romania digital bank and I am extremely honored by this challenge.
• For 10 years I have been deputy general manager at BT, but my story at the bank began 27 years ago. I started at the counter and went through several stages – from credit officer, to marketing, being the first marketing director at BT. Later, in 2000, I set up the entire card business at BT – which became a beautiful success story – and then I took over retail banking, where I continued to grow, over time.

On the road

• Idea::Bank starts with an investment from Banca Transilvania. In the future, it needs a critical mass of customers to support the business.
• We want to build from scratch everything that means the infrastructure of a digital bank, including core banking, processing, etc.
• There are several models of digital banks. I don't think the platform itself or what you build necessarily makes the difference, but this mix between the platform you create, the way you interact with customers, and who you address.

Products

• In 9 – 12 months we must launch a basic product for individual clients. The difference must be made by the product positioning, we must come up with something different.
• Mortgage loans are not currently put on roadmap. Currently, there are consumer loans, current accounts, debit card.

The land is prepared

• The retail client has changed a lot. With the pandemic, people suddenly started to shop online. Also during the pandemic the fear of cash appeared and they quickly switched to online and got used to it. For example, in the first stage of the pandemic, half a million BT clients made their first online transaction in their lives. Then, a good part of them kept this behavior. In this direction we will go.

Going digital

• The concept of the digital bank eliminates the physical network, but we will keep the call center with the corresponding team.

Team:

• Members of the Idea leadership are in position, we still need to complete the team on the technical side. We have bankers, we will need IT specialists.
• We have a team from Idea::Bank, in Bucharest, of over 100 people, who will serve all the clients and with whom we can start.

Plans

• In the next 3 – 5 years, the investments will be several tens of millions of euros, at different stages.
• The bank's name will be changed because the current brand belongs to the Polish group Getin Holding.

Integration of Idea into the BT Group meant the involvement of 250 people from Banca Transilvania and Idea::Bank, as well as 26,000 new clients, 80,000 transferred products (accounts, loans and cards) and 7 Idea offices transformed into BT branches.

We did it again!