Letno poročilo 2007 - UniCredit Banka Slovenija dd

IntroductionPreface by the Chairman of theSupervisory BoardRe-branding fromBank AustriaCreditanstalt toUniCredit Bank wasstrongly supportedby employees andcustomers as shownby preliminary resultsof the attained brandawareness study.To our shareholders:We have left behind a successful year.Thanks to you as well.Despite demanding market conditionsand several internal changes, 2007 hasbeen a successful year for UniCreditBanka Slovenija d.d. We are pleased toreport that, despite the challenges wefaced, the Bank has achieved a 40%increase in post-tax profits in the euro’sinaugural year and it has reaped positiveresults from the re-branding in Slovenia.Such results lead us to two importantconclusions:First, UniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d. hada year of excellent performance despitethe introduction of the euro and the lossof arbitrage business.Second, re-branding from Bank AustriaCreditanstalt to UniCredit Bank wasstrongly supported by employees andcustomers as shown by preliminaryresults of the attained brand awarenessstudy.The new brand is supported by thelargest international banking networkin Central and Eastern Europe and it isdestined for success.UniCredit Group’s network currentlycomprises 3,700 branches and outlets,where more than 76,000 employeesserve approximately 27 millioncustomers.The major challenge ahead of us is tomaximize the opportunities of Europe’sleading player in financial services andto unlock the full growth potential in thelocal market. It is our belief that this canbe achieved only if and when UniCreditBanka Slovenija d.d. extends its valueproposition beyond the successfulcorporate and investment banking.Hence, we have adopted a bold businessplan, where retail banking is the coreof our focus. According to the plan, theBank’s retail network should double by2010 and give us the opportunity togrow in that segment.Let me also highlight that a bank is notonly steered by figures, benchmarksand projects, but to a large degreeby values. By discussing the IntegrityCharter, which contains the sharedvalues forming the foundation of ourGroup’s identity, we put strong emphasison values. Also, we believe that theIntegrity Charter has to be the foundationfor cooperation with all our majorstakeholders.Finally, I would like to conclude byexpressing gratitude to the managementand the employees of UniCredit BankaSlovenija d.d. for their commitment,hard work and excellent results in102 2007 Annual Report · UniCredit Bank