For management boards, owners and supervisory boards
Restructuring and turnaround in banks – so that results turn around again
When the figures no longer hold up over several quarters, another cost-cutting programme is not enough. I lead the restructuring so that costs, income and organisation are put right together – and sales keeps selling instead of waiting.
The starting point
The figures rarely tip overnight. But at some point they have to turn.
A restructuring in a bank announces itself long in advance: shrinking margins, a branch network that costs more than it brings in, projects that tie up resources without delivering results. It is usually only decided when owners, the supervisory board or the regulator start asking questions.
Then speed counts. And in almost every institution it is lost in exactly three places.
The programme measures costs, not impact
Savings targets are quickly decided and quickly booked. Whether more income follows, nobody measures. The restructuring turns into a series of cost-cutting rounds, after each of which the next one is already in sight.
The organisation waits
As long as it is unclear who will be affected, hardly anyone works forwards. Good people start looking around, decisions are pushed upwards. Every week without a clear line costs results that appear in no plan.
Sales stops selling
Anyone who fears for their branch or their role does not sell. Precisely the part of the bank that is supposed to turn the results around comes to a standstill – and the figures get worse before the measures take effect.
What is different in banks
A bank cannot close for the rebuild
The tools of a restructuring are similar everywhere: situation assessment, action plan, programme management, follow-up. In a bank, however, they are subject to conditions that have to be considered from the very beginning.
Supervision
Capital and liquidity must not wobble
Regulatory reporting, risk management and compliance continue without interruption during every change. Cuts are watched closely. The sequence of measures therefore has to make sense to the regulator as well.
Income
Income comes from sales
A bank cannot save its way back to health. The restructuring has to clarify with which customers, products and channels the institution will earn its money in future – and steer sales so that it does.
Branch network
Locations are customer relationships
Every branch decision affects customers and the region. Whether a location is closed, merged or repositioned is decided by its impact on sales, not only by its costs.
Boards and banking group
Many have a say
Owners, supervisory board, works council and, within a banking group, the bodies of the central institution as well. A restructuring only holds if the decision paths are clear and those involved support them.
The difference
I have led a turnaround, not just assessed one
At GE Money Bank Austria, from 2005 onwards, I was responsible as Sales Task Force Leader and Deputy Head of Retail Management for realigning a branch network that was deep in the red: 36 locations, negative returns, the business model in question. In the Volksbank group, from 2019 to 2022, I coordinated the work streams of the “Adler” programme to optimise the group structure as Strategy and Transition Manager; the programme was completed ahead of schedule. And with golf-unique.com I built and sold a company of my own – so I know how responsibility for results feels from the owner’s side.
Traditional restructuring consultancy
Analyses and recommends
- Report, catalogue of measures, steering committee
- Cross-industry benchmarks
- A team that moves on after the concept
Slotta Consulting
Implements – with your people
- Experience from a branch turnaround and from restructuring a banking group
- If you wish, as interim manager with responsibility for results
- One person from diagnosis to handover to line management
How it works
Four phases from situation assessment to handover to line management
You can come in at any point, even if a programme is already running and has stalled. After each phase you know where you stand and what the next step costs.
01
Situation assessment
Where are results being lost – by business line, location, product and channel? Which levers really move them, and which are merely well-intentioned? After two to four weeks, a robust picture is on the table.
02
Decide
The situation assessment becomes an action plan with names, dates and target values for costs and income. The boards decide on a basis they understand and can stand behind.
03
Implement
Costs and income are addressed at the same time: adjusting structures, steering sales in a new way, involving managers first. A control loop with a few key figures shows every week what is working.
04
Embed
Following up measures until they show in the results, naming open points and handing responsibility over to named people in line management. Then the mandate is complete – and I leave.
From practice
GE Money Bank Austria: from 36 loss-making branches to a profitable sales network
The branch business was making losses, and the owner had been expecting a return for years that never came. Instead of simply shrinking the network, we realigned sales: a uniform sales standard, leadership on site, a system of coordinated steering instruments and consistent enablement of the teams.
36branches in the programme
+60 %branch lending volume
≈ ×2life insurance production
+50 %payment protection insurance
To the GE Money Bank Austria case study · The full story in the book “Der Game Plan” (in German)
Measured over nine months after programme launch. Figures from my own project documents; evidence available on request.
Your way in
Not every restructuring needs a large mandate straight away
Often the best first step is a clearly limited one. Three ways in, depending on where you stand right now.
Before the decision · €500–700
Sparring on the situation
Ninety minutes on the question that is on your mind right now: sequence, staffing, communication to the boards and the workforce. Confidential and with challenge. More about sparring
Diagnosis · Fixed price
Restructuring diagnosis
Where are results being lost, which levers hold, what are the next three steps? Two to four weeks, with the price fixed in advance. To the fees
Implementation · Mandate
Interim programme lead
I take over the management of the programme or of a work stream such as sales or the branch network, with responsibility until handover. More about interim management
Frequently asked questions
What management boards want to know before a restructuring
What distinguishes a restructuring from a cost-cutting programme?
A cost-cutting programme reduces costs. A restructuring sets up the business model so that it holds up again: income, costs, organisation and steering together. In banks, income comes from sales. Anyone who only cuts ends up cutting away the part of the bank that earns the money.
How quickly is a robust situation assessment available?
As a rule, after two to four weeks. By then it is clear where results are being lost, which levers really move them and in which order they should be pulled. Long analysis phases cost exactly the time that is missing in a tense situation.
How does sales stay able to act during the restructuring?
By being part of the programme, not its victim. Relationship managers need early clarity about their role and about what is expected of them, managers first. In the branch turnaround at GE Money Bank Austria, that is exactly where the lever was: a uniform sales standard, leadership on site and daily steering instead of a one-off announcement.
What role does banking supervision play?
Capital, liquidity, regulatory reporting and risk management have to work without gaps during every change, and major cuts are watched closely. The planning of measures has to take this into account. Legal support lies with your lawyers; I make sure the organisation remains manageable in the meantime.
Do you also take on the restructuring as interim manager?
Yes. I can be responsible for the programme as a whole or for a work stream such as sales or the branch network, with a clear mandate, a fixed time frame and a reporting line to the management board or managing directors. This often makes sense when your managers have to keep day-to-day business running at the same time.
What does support for a restructuring cost?
A sparring session costs €500 to €700. The diagnosis is offered at a fixed price that is set in advance and depends on the scope. For an interim mandate, day rates in banking range from €1,700 to €2,500. After the first conversation you receive an offer with scope, duration and price. The first conversation itself is free of charge. Errors and changes excepted; only the written offer is binding.
Do you also work outside banks?
Yes, where financing and the banking relationship play a role, for example in mid-sized companies, at financial services providers or in cooperative groups. My focus remains banking across the entire DACH region, from Vienna.
Clear boundaries
What I do not take on
- No legal, tax or insolvency advice. Employment law steps, contracts and proceedings belong with your lawyers and tax advisers, with whom I am happy to work.
- No restructuring opinions and no going-concern forecasts. These attestations are prepared by auditors. I start where the decision has been made and implementation has to follow.
- No cutting by list. If you want a predefined headcount reduction target worked through without regard to income, I am the wrong person – and I will tell you so in the first conversation.
Where to go from here
Three ways to get a clearer picture
Self-assessment · 4 minutes
Do you really need a rebuild? 20 statements, instant results, no registration.
Case study
Programm Adler in the Volksbank group
Nine banks, one common structure – and what a group-wide reorganisation demands.
Let’s talk about your situation
In 30 minutes we clarify:
- where your institution stands – before the decision, at the start of a programme or already in the middle of it
- where the biggest lever for your results lies today
- whether I am the right person for it – and if not, who can do it better
Confidential from the start. What you tell me in the first conversation stays between us. If you wish, I will sign a non-disclosure agreement beforehand. The conversation is free of charge, and nothing has to follow from it.