Secure Trust Bank (STBS) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources
Regional Banks
Strategy / MBA Resources
Introduction to SWOT Analysis
SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Secure Trust Bank (United Kingdom)
Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Secure Trust Bank is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing energy prices, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, there is backlash against globalization, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, increasing transportation and logistics costs, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion,
wage bills are increasing, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Secure Trust Bank
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Secure Trust Bank can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Secure Trust Bank, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Secure Trust Bank operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Secure Trust Bank can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Secure Trust Bank
2. Improving business portfolio management of Secure Trust Bank
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United Kingdom
4. Making a Regional Banks sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Secure Trust Bank
Strengths of Secure Trust Bank | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Secure Trust Bank are -
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Secure Trust Bank in the Financial sector have low bargaining power. Secure Trust Bank has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Secure Trust Bank to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Ability to lead change in Regional Banks
– Secure Trust Bank is one of the leading players in the Regional Banks industry in United Kingdom. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Regional Banks industry in United Kingdom but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Secure Trust Bank in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Secure Trust Bank has one of the best training and development program in Financial industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Innovation driven organization
– Secure Trust Bank is one of the most innovative firm in Regional Banks sector.
Organizational Resilience of Secure Trust Bank
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing Secure Trust Bank does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Secure Trust Bank is one of the leading players in the Regional Banks industry in United Kingdom. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United Kingdom. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Secure Trust Bank has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Analytics focus
– Secure Trust Bank is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Regional Banks industry. The technology infrastructure of United Kingdom is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy of Secure Trust Bank comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the Regional Banks industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Diverse revenue streams
– Secure Trust Bank is present in almost all the verticals within the Regional Banks industry. This has provided Secure Trust Bank a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Digital Transformation in Regional Banks industry
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Secure Trust Bank digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Secure Trust Bank has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Secure Trust Bank has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Regional Banks industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Secure Trust Bank have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Weaknesses of Secure Trust Bank | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Secure Trust Bank are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Secure Trust Bank is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Regional Banks industry, but Secure Trust Bank needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Secure Trust Bank to focus more on services in the Regional Banks industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Secure Trust Bank products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Secure Trust Bank needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Secure Trust Bank supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes, Secure Trust Bank is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Secure Trust Bank vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, Secure Trust Bank has high operating costs in the Regional Banks industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Secure Trust Bank lucrative customers.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Secure Trust Bank has some of the most successful models in the Regional Banks industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. Secure Trust Bank should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee of Secure Trust Bank is just above the Regional Banks industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Employees’ less understanding of Secure Trust Bank strategy
– From the outside it seems that the employees of Secure Trust Bank don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the Regional Banks industry, Secure Trust Bank needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Need for greater diversity
– Secure Trust Bank has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
No frontier risks strategy
– From the 10K / annual statement of Secure Trust Bank, it seems that company is thinking out the frontier risks that can impact Regional Banks industry. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Skills based hiring in Regional Banks industry
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Secure Trust Bank has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Secure Trust Bank Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities of Secure Trust Bank are -
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Regional Banks industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Secure Trust Bank can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions in Regional Banks industry
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Secure Trust Bank in the Regional Banks industry. Now Secure Trust Bank can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Developing new processes and practices
– Secure Trust Bank can develop new processes and procedures in Regional Banks industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Secure Trust Bank can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Regional Banks industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Secure Trust Bank can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Secure Trust Bank to increase its market reach. Secure Trust Bank will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Secure Trust Bank in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Regional Banks industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– consumer behavior has changed in the Regional Banks industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Secure Trust Bank can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Secure Trust Bank can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Manufacturing automation
– Secure Trust Bank can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Regional Banks sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Secure Trust Bank has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in Regional Banks industry. This can help Secure Trust Bank to build a more holistic ecosystem for Secure Trust Bank products in the Regional Banks industry by providing – data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Using analytics as competitive advantage
– Secure Trust Bank has spent a significant amount of money and effort to integrate analytics and machine learning into its operations in Regional Banks sector. This continuous investment in analytics has enabled Secure Trust Bank to build a competitive advantage using analytics. The analytics driven competitive advantage can help Secure Trust Bank to build faster Go To Market strategies, better consumer insights, developing relevant product features, and building a highly efficient supply chain.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Secure Trust Bank can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Secure Trust Bank operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Regional Banks sector.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Secure Trust Bank can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help Secure Trust Bank to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Threats Secure Trust Bank External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats of Secure Trust Bank are -
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Secure Trust Bank needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Regional Banks industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry to Regional Banks industry are lowering. It can presents Secure Trust Bank with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the Regional Banks sector.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Secure Trust Bank is facing in Regional Banks sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on Secure Trust Bank demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Regional Banks industry and other sectors.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Regional Banks industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Secure Trust Bank can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Secure Trust Bank can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate Secure Trust Bank prominent markets.
Regulatory challenges
– Secure Trust Bank needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Regional Banks industry regulations.
Environmental challenges
– Secure Trust Bank needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Secure Trust Bank can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Regional Banks industry.
Increasing wage structure of Secure Trust Bank
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Secure Trust Bank.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Secure Trust Bank in the Regional Banks sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Secure Trust Bank has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Regional Banks industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Secure Trust Bank needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Regional Banks sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Secure Trust Bank will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Secure Trust Bank Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Secure Trust Bank needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Secure Trust Bank is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Secure Trust Bank is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Secure Trust Bank to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Secure Trust Bank needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.