Gli effetti della crisi sul rapporto banca-cliente

It is widely believed that the recent international financial crisis haschanged the bank customer preferences and behaviors leading to a generalizedloss of confidence in the banking system.The aim of this study is to verify whether or not there has been areal loss of confidence in banks' customers and if bank workers perceivedthis phenomenon. In particular, in order to investigate the perceptionof the banking industry, we have choose to focus our researchon local banks, which are characterized by proximity to the territoryand a close relationship with their customers.Because of the close interdependence with the social and economiccommunities in which it is established, the local bank is expected tomore easily perceive any change in customer behavior. The impact ofthe crisis on bank customer relationship is examined through the analysisof the literature. The perception of the banks by the crisis impacton their client relationships is investigated by interviewing a sample ofsome employees of local banks operating in Italy.The work concludes with an analysis of possible competitive levers activatedby local banks to consolidate the relationship with its customers.The research results indicate that there was a change in bank-customerrelationship as a consequence of the crisis and that this changewas perceived by banks employees.