Letno poročilo 2009.pdf - UniCredit Banka Slovenija dd

Business ReportBank’s Segment Performance ReviewRetail and Small Business BankingGENERAL OVERVIEW2009 simultaneously was a year of myriad trials and challenges inthe field of retail and small business banking for UniCredit BankaSlovenija d.d. On one hand, consequences of the economic andfinancial crisis, especially during the first two quarters of the year,resulted in a decreased ability for Bank customers to repay theirloans. Employment loss or reduced monthly income among retailclients, as well as reduced orders and decreased payment disciplineamong small businesses gravely jeopardized both private andcorporate finances for many Bank clients. The Bank approachedcustomers with understanding, assisting them with expert advice andvarious types of restructuring options for their financial obligations,in order to see them through the worst of things. On the other hand,consequences of the crisis were also reflected in a significantly lowerdemand for loan products from customer, compared to the previousyear.However, 2009 also brought a number of opportunities that the Bankagain took full advantage of. The total number of customers grewto more than 80,000 and we once again ranked first among all theSlovenian banks in terms of customer satisfaction ratings.Our youngest business units in Sežana, Slovenska Bistrica, Logatec,Radovljica, Kamnik and Ljubljana Rudnik, successfully concludedtheir first year of operations and succeeded in acquiring 2,500new customers. Positive feedback received from the latter give usadditional confidence and conviction in our strategy for further futureexpansion of our business network.SEGMENTS AND PRODUCTSIn 2009, both the retail and small banking segments shared thesame challenge - decreased ability of regular loan repayments byBank customers, which caused an increase in credit risk provisionson the Bank’s part. These amounted to 6.165 million euros in 2009,which is 70.28 % more than in 2008. Although revenues fromloans increased by 18.7 % and by 4.6 % in the segment of smallbusinesses, the total realised revenues from operations with retailand small businesses were 6.42 % lower, compared to 2008. Themain reason for the drop in total revenues is primarily attributed tolower revenues from deposit products, which is a result of loweredreference interest rates and competitive pricings of banks for primaryresources.Mass and Affluent SegmentIn addition to a traditionally competitive offer in the area of loans,in 2009 we launched several attractive investment products. First,we met customer needs with an attractive fixed term deposits offer,emphasizing those with maturity longer than 12 months. Despitefierce competition, in 2009 we succeeded in collecting more than15,646 million euros in fixed term deposits, which is 9.79 % morethan the year before. We also obtained above-average success withour partner insurance company ERGO. In 2009, we successfullysold 926 insurance packages. By introducing the Asset Managementservice, we approached the most demanding of clients, who haveentrusted us with 4.4 million euros. With individualised expertfinancial consulting services and the Pioneer Investment funds, wecan now offer our customers a more rounded palette of products andservices.Perhaps surprisingly for many, the negative effects of the crisishave least affected the sale of housing loans, where we recorded anunprecedented height in terms of demand and sales. Based on arelatively favourable interest rate, many customers decided to takeadvantage of real estate opportunities. In our traditionally strongestsegment, we thus recorded a 16.76 % growth of sales volume and, inaccordance with our long-term plan, a 12.3 % increase market shareat the end of December 2009.Small Business SegmentIn 2009, small business segment expressed more interest in shorttermloan products for working capital refinancing than in long-terminvestment products. Despite the fact that the total volume of loansremained unchanged from last year - 73.3 million euros - relativelyspeaking, we approved more short -term loans for working capitalrefinancing in 2009 (+7 %), and by doing so, adapted our offer tocustomer demand.Also, due to our renewed offer of transactional banking services, wereached above-average success rates in acquiring new customers.The total number of customers has exceeded 5,100, which representsa 30 % increase, compared to 2008.FUTURE FORECASTIt is unlikely that the financial and economic crisis will come to anend in 2010, which means that the Bank’s focus and key goals inthe field of retail and small business banking will remain the sameas in 2009. We will continue to address our customers’ financialchallenges in an active and timely manner, challenges which couldsubsequently worsen their ability to repay loan obligations. We alsowill continue to foster the quality of our credit portfolio - a task thatremains one of our main priorities.Nevertheless, we are entering into 2010 with realistic optimism,which means that we wish to take advantage of opportunitiesthat arise as the crisis begins to end. We intend to support goodinvestments in real estate, aimed at solving the housing needs withinthe retail segment, as well as good investments in the developmentof new products, the expansion of production capacities and newcustomer markets in the segment of small businesses.142 2009 Annual Report · UniCredit Bank