Letno poročilo 2007 - UniCredit Banka Slovenija dd

interest rate derivatives trading.Treasury corporate sales:The trend for corporate customers to hedgeagainst excessive currency, interest rateand commodity volatilities continued in2007. Treasury corporate sales respondedto growing demands from customers witha range of new and innovative productsfrom the family of interest rate and foreignexchange derivatives as well as commodityderivatives. In 2007, the Bank kept its clearleading position in Slovenia in the area ofrisk reduction and optimization strategies.The new trend is the ambition of customersto use market volatility and restructureexisting hedge portfolios to further reduceinterest expense and improve income.As an innovation leader in Slovenia,UniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d. will continueintroducing new, tailor made solutions toits customers in this know-how intensivebusiness. A new customer group forderivatives is private customers who areincreasingly interested specifically ininnovative investment products. WithinUniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d., the Treasurycorporate sales unit has a functionalresponsibility for product developmentand execution of market risk relatedproducts with corporate customers, withprofits generated in this business segmentallocated to the Corporate Banking division.Institutional sales:In 2006 the Bank decided to bundle allaspects of relationship with institutionalcustomers (insurance companies,investment funds, pension funds and otherfinancial institutions) in one organizationalunit in order to better understand the needsof this customer segment and to increasethe quality of service. Institutional salesactivities generated significant increase intransaction volumes and revenues in 2007,results amounting to 1.6 million euros andmore than doubling the result achieved in2006. Approximately equal contributionscame from derivatives and operationalproducts such as currency conversions andequity brokerage.Debt securities issuance business:In 2007, UniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d.took a top position as lead manager andunderwriter for the successful executionof two high profile issuances in Slovenia.In March, the Bank acted as a joint-leadmanager for inaugural issue of the Republicof Slovenia in EMU in the amount of onebillion euros, significantly oversubscribedand placed with a tight pricing Anothersuccess was the first issue of DrogaKolinska Živilska industrija d.d., leadmanaged by UniCredit Banka Slovenijad.d. and placed with a volume of 30million euros on the domestic market,demonstrating the distribution capacity ofthe Bank on the Slovenian bond market.Quite generally, the new issue businesscontinues to be negatively effected by therestrictions of withholding tax regulations,pricing potential new corporate issue outof international markets. Nevertheless,we anticipate the trend for corporatecustomers to diversify their refinancingbase to continue in 2008. With a dedicatedsales force in Slovenia and more than200 professional sales people acrossEurope, the Bank is best equipped to serveits customers and to execute a broadrange of debt securities instruments bothdomestically and internationally.Equity brokerage:Supported by an increased volatility in thefall of 2007, the brokerage unit achievedyet another record year in 2007, both interms of traded volumes as well as marketposition. UniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d.continues to act as the broker of choicefor international dealers and brokers activein Slovenia. The Bank concluded the yearas the second biggest broker on LjubljanaStock Exchange, with a turnover of 341million euros. Positive trends are increasingoutbound flows of Slovenian customers whoappreciate our market access and quality ofservice. In 2008 we will continue investingin this area in order to increase further theefficiency and product quality offered to thiscustomer segment.Custody:The developments in Custody are in linewith positive trends in Brokerage as bothassets under management and numberof processed transactions reached recordlevels in 2007. Despite ongoing pressureon fees, Custody managed the best result inhistory with revenues of 1.6 million euros.UniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d. secureda custodian mandate in the upcomingintroduction of Euroclear and Clearstreamlink with the Slovenian securities registry,which will help to mitigate potential loss ofthe traditional fee income in this segment.Besides keeping its position as a topinbound custodian in Slovenia, the Bankplans to significantly increase its share onoutbound flows in 2008 by both increasingrelationship capacity and improving productquality.Sales SupportUniCredit Banka Slovenija d.d. is awarethat the products and services it offershave to address the specific needs ofits clients in order to achieve maximumclient satisfaction. This is one of theBank’s key strategic guidelines. In 2007,the Sales Support division prepared salesactions, organized them and monitoredtheir efficiency, adequate managementof sales segments and development ofnew products. Client satisfaction indexUniCredit Bank · 2007 Annual Report 129