This paper shows the knowledge, the innovation, and the core competencies as essential elements to reach the improvement of the competitivity in the bank industry. It is based on qualitative exploratory research in which seven high executives of different large banks that operate in the country were interviewed. These interviews were in depth interviews, and the data gathered were handled with techniques of the content analysis. The results found show the following: knowledge is not an object of management, and the emphasis is given to client data handling, not considering the effective opportunities of learning; innovation is essential for the studied banks survival, because it is not seen as a sustainable competitive advantage due to the constant imitation practices; core competencies are a clear concept for the interviewed executives, but they are not sure about how to connect them to the individual competencies; besides they are favorable rather to their external acquisition than to their inner development.
core competencies; information technology; knowledge; innovation; banks