Marketing as a factor of the Croatian banking sector competitiveness

Bankarski sustav većinski je dio financijskoga sustava države te svojim kreditnim i investicijskim aktivnostima omogućuje njezin rast i razvoj. Jačanjem konkurencije, ponuda financijskih usluga banaka sve je bogatija i raznolikija. U radu se analizira bankarski sustav Republike Hrvatske radi utvrđivanja čimbenika koji mogu pridonijeti konkurentskoj prednosti banaka. U svrhu donošenja upravljačkih odluka u vezi s konkurentskim ponašanjem banaka analizirani su temeljni elementi bankarske industrije: broj bankarskih poduzeća, njihova veličina, koncentracija bankarske industrije, tržišni uvjeti, barijere ulasku na bankarsko tržište, ulaganje u infrastrukturu te regulacija tržišnoga natjecanja bankarske industrije. Bankarsko tržište u Republici Hrvatskoj srednje je koncentrirano te postoje značajne barijere ulasku u smislu kapitalnih zahtjeva, ali i regulacije poslovanja. No unatoč relativno visokoj koncentraciji, implicitni dogovori o određivanju cijene kapitala, odnosno kamatnih marži, na temelju uzajamnoga praćenja ponašanja nisu mogući zbog velikog broja supstituta drugih financijskih institucija. Tako se u bankarskome sektoru Nashova ravnoteža postiže određivanjem niskih kamatnih marži. Stoga se marketing, u smislu marketinga usluga, može identificirati kao važan čimbenik bankarskoga ponašanja koji može unaprijediti konkurentski položaj banaka.Banking system represents a major part of the national financial system. With its credit and investment activities, it enables national growth and development. With an increase in competition, the offer of banking services is becoming richer and more diversified. In this paper, banking system of the Republic of Croatia is analysed with the purpose of determining factors that could enhance the competitive advantage of banks. Key elements of the banking industry such as the number of banking companies, their size, concentration of the banking industry, entry barriers, investments in infrastructure and regulation of the market behaviour in the banking industry are analysed to assist the banks in making management decisions about their competitive position. Banking market is medium concentrated in the Republic of Croatia and there are substantial entry barriers in terms of capital requirements and business regulation. However, despite relatively intense competition, implicit agreements regarding determination of the capital price or interest margins based on the mutual monitoring of behaviour are not possible due to a large number of substitutes from other financial institutions. For that reason, Nash equilibrium is determined by establishing low interest margins. That is why marketing, in terms of service marketing, can be determined as an important factor of banking behaviour and contributor to their competitive position