Counter-Cyclical Approach to Change Management in Banks for the Sustainable Development of the Financial System

The motivation for this research was the need for scientific elaboration on the issues of managing the flexibility of the financial system to ensure its sustainable development. The purpose of the article is to develop a counter-cyclical approach to change management in banks for the sustainable development of the financial system. Based on data of 2020 and post-crisis economic recovery in 2021, the article reveals the positive effect of managing changes in banks in the form of sustainable development of the financial system. Alternative scenarios for managing changes in banks are compared in terms of advantages to enhance the resilience of the financial system. This serves as a justification for the fact that the contribution of banks’ flexibility to this positive effect varies significantly depending on the phases of the economic cycle. The authors’ SAP-LAP model has provided a qualitative interpretation of change management in banks in the context of the economic crisis to enhance the resilience of the financial system on the example of the credit services market. The theoretical impact consists in revealing the status quo that determine the flexibility of banks and their contribution to the sustainable development of the financial system. These conditions are the development of mobile money services and the expansion of ATM network, as well as specialization in the segments of the richest 60% and the poorest 40% of consumers of credit services. The practical significance of the results obtained in the article is that the developed new approach to the organization of banks’ activities makes it possible to increase the flexibility of banks and thereby enhance their adaptability to the cyclical economy. © The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management 2023.