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Letter from the CEO of the new UniCredit Group
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Alessandro Profumo, Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit
We have made very good progress with our big project of creating a truly European bank. After the shareholders’ clear
approval, we have formed one of Europe’s leading banks operating across borders. The new UniCredit Group is the
fourth-largest bank in the euro area. We are among the market leaders in the heart of Europe – in Austria, Italy and
Germany. Together we are number one, by a wide margin, among banks in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
On this basis we serve three of Europe’s most prosperous regions and many of its fastest-growing regions.
Yet our size is not an end in itself. We aim to lead in terms of service quality for our 28 million customers. Over 140,000
employees work to achieve this goal at our 7,000 branches in 19 countries. A focus on customer needs is one of the top
priorities that we share. And despite local differentiation, we are increasingly taking a supraregional approach to pursuing
this objective.
The new Group has made an excellent start. We have moved quickly and resolutely to launch the integration project.
Bank Austria Creditanstalt plays an essential role in our strategy. Its good results for 2005 are evidence of the bank’s
professional work, which we highly appreciate and build on. In Austria, BA-CA will continue its successful efforts to
further improve its market position and profitability. Within our CEE Division, for which Erich Hampel is responsible as a
member of UniCredit’s Management Committee, BA-CA will act as a sub-holding company for CEE operations, and it will
vigorously continue to develop business in the fast-growing CEE markets, with the exception of Poland, where operations
will be directly managed by UniCredit. Together we will achieve sustainable growth. Our pioneering role has given us a
lead now that the process of integration into a uniform European financial market is getting under way.
We understand “truly European” to mean that we build on the cultural and entrepreneurial diversity of the countries
where we operate, using the creativity and market knowledge of all units in our Group. We draw on our geographic
reach, our extensive network, our financial strength and our international management team, which is open to the very
best, wherever they come from. Using best practice we will take advantage of expertise available in the best locations for
the entire Group.
On this basis we are firmly convinced that we will create value, both in the short term and in the long run. UniCredit has
demonstrated its ability to integrate operations and achieve sustainable earnings growth: earnings per share have risen from
2 euro cents in 1994 to 34 euro cents in 2004. Our objective is to generate earnings per share of 56 euro cents by 2007.
We invite you to share our vision and join us on our way into a successful future.
Yours sincerely,
Alessandro Profumo
Letter from the CEO of the new UniCredit Group 9