‘Any good business plan should be about having fulfilled employees, satisfied customers & happy shareholders’

As the new year fast approaches, business leaders, decision-takers, senior management and organisations across the country are turning their attention to setting their goals, strategies and plans for 2023.

Indeed, APS Bank’s Board of Directors and Senior Management have done just this at a recent event held at the Marriott Hotel & Spa in St Julians, where they met to discuss the new business plan for 2023-2025.

In a statement, the bank shared that it was a day-long event organised by the strategy team and was the culmination of the annual business planning cycle which started in July and included various presentations followed by interactive discussions.

Rounding off the event, APS Bank CEO Marcel Cassar poignantly remarked that:

“Any good business plan should be about having fulfilled employees, satisfied customers and happy shareholders. The challenges are many, but we will continue to work hard focusing on our strategic priorities while refining along the way.”

For the local banking sector, the first two elements Mr Cassar pointed out with regards to a good business plan, that of fulfilled employees and satisfied customers, are particularly challenging.

On the fulfilled employees front, challenges persist that are not related to the banking sector specifically. Since the pandemic, sectors across the country have faced massive HR shortages, including skilled staff, which can lead to burn out for existing team members.

On the satisfied customers front, residents of Malta have long decried the service provided by local banks. Due to a combination of hefty, swift and stringent regulatory requirements that have been levied on the sector over the past years, customers often challenge the level of due diligence required of local banks.