The Challenges of Change on the Banking Market in the Conditions of Financial Crisis

The first consequences of the financial crisis were felt Serbia in early 2009, with decline in economic activity, rise in the inflation rate, decrease in the collection of public and other revenues and fall in employment rate. The prime movers and carriers of the economic crisis were investment banks, whose bankruptcy spelled the end of neoliberalism and debacle of the myth of the market capable od independently regulating all relationships at the national economy level. The presence of the economic crisis confirmed the fact that external factors influence banking operations significantly. These factors include globalisation, deregulation, information technologies and financial innovation. Structural change on the banking market included consolidation, amalgamation and competition among banks. Bank management strategy implies achieving the bank's primary and partial objectives. The bank management strategy is the bank's vision of (a) what a bank wants to be, (b) how it operates and (c) which path it is to follow to arrive at the desired destination. Understanding a bank's mission includes (a) the history of its goals and business policies, (b) the characteristics of the bank management and owners, (c) the environment's opionion of the bank, (d) the bank's resources and (e) the bank's personal competence. Change management strategy in banks starts from identifying and diagnosing the need for changes, and overcoming resistance to change. The causes of resistance to change in banks are related to (a) the staff's personal interest, (b) lack of trust in the bank's management team, (c) different assessments by the bank staf, and (d) low tolerance to change among bank staff and the management team. The negative impact of the global economic crisis is also present in the national economy, due to the existence of negative trade balance in the exchange with the countries in Europe and worldwide. The financial crisis has caused decline in foreign capital inflow, lower employment levels, fall in foreign currency inflow and devaluation of the national curency.