The state-owned Government Savings Bank (GSB) has rebranded itself to attract a new generation of customers as part of efforts to retain its top-three status.
Rebranding the GSB after 102 years in business will help it to appeal to potential customers aged 15-30, president Chatchai Payuhanaveechai said.
He said the GSB hoped to attract 300,000 to 700,000 new customers aged 15-30 each year, raising this segment to 2 million depositors or 10% of the bank's total accounts in two years.
GSB customers aged below 15 represent 15% of its 20 million accounts, those 15-30 make up 6-8% and people over 30 the rest.
"We don't want to steal the market share of commercial banks, but we need to keep our customers who were once GSB's clients when they were children. We did not have good financial products to serve them when they grew up," Mr Chatchai said.
He said the bank's revenue from fees could increase by 70% if it persuaded each customer to hold two of its products on average, up from 1.3 products now.
To attract more Generation Y customers, the GSB has launched debit cards featuring Cookie Run cartoon characters.
The bank plans to launch its first credit card next month to attract a new generation. It expects 100,000 cardholders after one year, with 1 million in five to seven years.
Mr Chatchai said the bank would focus on direct marketing to each subsegment to foster brand loyalty.
Moreover, the GSB will create sub-brands for customer niches, with some campaigns available only in Bangkok and others only upcountry.
It plans to be a leading savings bank in the region, maintaining its top three ranking for lending and deposits.
As of June 30, the GSB's total assets amounted to 2.3 trillion baht, outstanding loans 1.76 trillion and total deposits 2.02 trillion. The bank's bad loans stood at 1.37% of total credit at the end of last year.
As a state-owned bank, posting the highest profits is not GSB's goal, as it is required to return some benefit to society, Mr Chatchai said. This means its costs will be higher than those of commercial banks.
Commercial banks the size of GSB post net profits of 40-50 billion baht, while GSB posts 20 billion, he added.