UBI Banca Group

As concerns the Foreign-Commercial Sector, the Group strengthened its market position
within the context of a general crisis, which nevertheless recorded progress for both Italian
exports (+11.4%) and imports (+8.9%) compared to the year before.
The commitment and effort in this area allowed the network banks to increase the quantity
and quality of their volumes of business with corporate clients, with positive returns also in
terms of customer satisfaction.
The increases represent significant results above all for the non EU markets, areas on which
the Group has a particular focus. The policy to locate representative offices on each of the
BRIC markets is now being seen as a winning strategy and an excellent tool for increasing the
level of service and advice provided to clients.
The focus on business with emerging economies (Turkey, India, China, Brazil, Russia, Middle
East) is therefore continuing in order to identify – with the assistance of commercial
agreements and partnerships with major international operators – business areas with high
valued added connected with the world of trade finance.
The Group also continues to invest in:
a) initiatives designed to strengthen its image and that of its individual local banks. After the
success of the initiative “U will Be International” organised in 2010 at the Kilometro Rosso
venue in Bergamo, “UBI International Open Day” was organised in Brescia in 2011, a
genuine international trade fair open to businesses, which saw the participation as
exhibitors of professional firms operating directly on emerging markets;
b) constant monitoring of the quality of the service provided to clients by the dedicated
distribution network, combined with the search for new technical and organisational
solutions to render processes increasingly more efficient. The efforts made were rewarded
by customer satisfaction surveys which recorded an extremely flattering opinion from the
corporate clients interviewed;
c) an increase in the professionalism of personnel, achieved as a result of a continuing
commitment to the commercial and technical training of the personnel involved in the
delivery of foreign commercial services.
INITIATIVES IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK (EIB)
During the year, the UBI Banca Group fully used the first tranche of an EIB covered bond loan
of €250 million, subscribed in April 2010 to fund businesses operating in industrial,
agricultural, tourism and service sectors, to implement investment projects in Italy and the
European Union. The companies funded (some in the form of finance leases) are SMEs with
personnel numbering fewer than 250 employees or in any event businesses with employees
numbering between a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 2,999 (mid caps). A total of 229
loans and finance transactions were disbursed from that tranche, of which 209 to SMEs (for a
total of €161 million) and 20 to mid caps (€89 million).
On 11 th November 2011 the Group renewed its framework agreement with the European
Investment Bank, which allowed it to create an additional lending budget of €250 million
reserved to SMEs and mid caps. At the end of the year, finance of €27 million had been
disbursed and finance of a further €20 million was at the approval or grant stage.
Again with regard to initiatives with the EIB, as part of the credit line of €100 million granted
by the Marches Region to BPA, the maximum amount of the investments that may be financed
for appropriate development programmes by SMES was raised from €1.6 million to €2.5
million in May. At the end of December financing totalling €65 million had been disbursed.
Customer Care
The Consultation Project
In consideration of the attention given and the key importance attributed to customers by the
UBI Banca Group, the “consultation” project continued into its third year of activity. The
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