UBI Banca Group

This dialogue with customers is not only used to create a satisfaction score to monitor the
perceived quality of services, but it is also an indispensible tool for acquiring the opinions of
customers on a large number of variables involved in relationships and products and services.
In-depth focus groups (on products and services, commercial image, institutional image, social
responsibility, etc.) were used to investigate the requirements and expectations of those
involved, with corrective action taken to constantly improve the service.
Complaints
The focal point of the Group’s capacity to manage complaints is to consider a complaint as an
opportunity to improve the quality of services and as an instrument needed to monitor the
level of customer satisfaction. A virtuous process can be commenced on the basis of the
opinion of a customer or potential customer expressed through official dispute channels or
simply as a complaint. The presentation of a complaint can in fact be experienced as the
manifestation of an act of direct and constructive participation, which expresses basic trust in
our organisation and which therefore differs from more radical reactions to leave the bank
immediately.
Distribution of complaints received by network banks in
2011 by channel of receipt
Hardcopy 66.1%
Email 23.1%
Verbal/telephone
0.1%
Website 10.7%
It is UBI Banca’s objective to
strengthen and progressively refine its
complaints management system by
increasing capacities to consult and
involve customers and to correct
inefficiencies. This led it again in 2011
to make investments designed to make
it easier for customers to inform it of
failings and to educate personnel on
the proactive management of
inefficiencies. Action was therefore
taken to improve the sections of the
websites dedicated to these subjects
designed to further simplify access to the Bank through remote channels (use of the website
and electronic mail represents 34% of the channels through which official complaints are
made). Investment in personnel was made in terms of classroom training, with sessions on
specialist subjects and with modules for integration in already existing courses. A total of
1,655 employees were involved during the year.
The process for the active management of complaints, introduced with operational units in
2009, continues to produce positive results. A further reduction was recorded in 2011 in the
main type of complaint which was inefficiencies in the execution of transactions (-8.9% and a
percentage of the total which fell from 41.8% in 2009 to 32.4% in 2011), with faster response
times (24.8 days on average) and a decrease in the amounts reimbursed to customers.
A total of 4,518 complaints were processed in absolute terms by the network banks with a
percentage resolved in favour of the complainants of 39%. The reduction in complaints due to
operational inefficiencies was accompanied by a numerical increase in problems relating to the
application of terms and conditions and compounding of interest (+40.5% accounting for 7.4%
of total complaints), caused partly by regulations which are far from clear.
In this context, as a result of Legislative Decree No. 28/2010, which came into force in March,
a compulsory mediation system has come into operation in Italy as a necessary condition for
taking legal action and that now includes action involving banking and insurance contracts.
This system was welcomed by the UBI Banca Group, because it enables a direct dialogue to be
opened up with customers on points in dispute. Consequently solutions can be sought, with
the chance to re-establish relationships before appearing before a judge with opposing
positions.
Over twelve months, 278 applications for mediation have been presented by customers, to
which particular attention was paid. Only those which were clearly without grounds and
which assumed no common ground for discussion were rejected. As many as 215 of the 278
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