A decision support system for bank location selection

Abstract

As the number and size of variables in any business increase, the decision makers must choose among a larger number of alternatives with more constraints. The decision to establish a bank in a new area is a strategic one with many quantifiable and subjective variables. The decision has great influence on bank returns and image. This research objective was to build a decision support system (DSS) to help the decision makers in the banking industry select the most promising bank location in the Amman area. The system consisted of three elements; a database, a model base, and interface. The database contained information about zoning, population, income, number of commercial and industrial entities, capital, potential growth, number of competitors, and the need for bank existence in the area. The model base contained information and formulas of how to evaluate and judge the different inputs whether quantifiable or subjective. Interaction was facilitated using a dialogue generation management system for interfacing. Excel was used for databases, while Visual Basic was used for interfacing.