BANK MANAGEMENT SIMULATION

You will participate in BMS during your third year at GSBC. As a BMS participant, you will be a member of a management team that has responsibility for the operation of a middle-sized commercial bank. Your team will deal with many of the banking problems faced regularly by senior officers in banks across the country:

You will be operating in a dynamic economic environment and must respond to changes in the economy. You must also be concerned with future changes in the economy, which requires economic forecasting.
You will see aggressive deposit and loan competition from other banks in your community and must take appropriate action.
You will analyze the position of your bank, establish objectives, and determine the policies most likely to achieve your objectives. You will have to decide how best to use the people, services, and resources of your organization.
You will manage and direct your bank's investment portfolio, loan portfolio, deposit generation strategy, capital position, cash flow, and profitability.
You will be subject to the bank regulatory authorities and held accountable for violations of their rules and regulations.

You will be participating in a realistic simulation of an actual banking environment! Your management decisions will generate appropriate responses, and you will receive prompt feedback regarding the consequences of your decisions.

This accelerated learning opportunity is made possible by BMS -- a large-scale computer simulation of a bank and its environment. While BMS requires a computer for its operation, you have little need for knowledge about computers. The focus of the exercise is on the management of the bank, and you will probably feel less affected by the computer during your simulation experience than you do in a typical banking situation.

What To Expect

Your first task individually and as a team is to analyze your bank's financial and operational situation. Next, your team may be given or be asked to establish specific objectives -- that is, what you plan to accomplish by the end of your tenure. Once you know where you are and where you wish to be, you can consider the appropriate strategies, policies, and decisions to move your bank in the desired direction.

The initial decisions are difficult. Your knowledge of banking from a senior management perspective may be limited. You are suddenly asked to perform tasks that could be foreign to you. Knowing that the teams you compete against are in a similar state of confusion, you must try to anticipate how their decisions will affect your team's plans. This confusion is further compounded by your unfamiliarity with the BMS decision structure, financial statements, and operating characteristics. It will also be constrained by time limits, making it necessary to organize and use your time efficiently to address the most critical areas.

You will need to become familiar with the reporting structure and the financial situation of your bank as shown by a set of “Beginning Financial Statements” that will be provided. The knowledge you gain will enable you to focus your attention on the management of your bank rather than on the mechanics of the simulation.