team spirit - Bankier.pl

“The upswing experienced by the CEE countries after the difficult years of system transformation is a real
success story. It is primarily the result of the countries’ own strong efforts, while also reflecting the targeted
employment of capital. A number of our banking subsidiaries have reached levels of market position and
maturity which suggest that stronger links can be established with the entire banking group, in terms of both
customer service and production. And South-East Europe is an area where entrepreneurial initiative can thrive,
an area characterised by optimism about the future which often seems to be missing in the “old EU” countries.”
resentative office in the region was opened more than 30
years ago. When the borders were opened, the bank made
initial acquisitions and established banking subsidiaries. During
that period, by acting as an adviser on privatisations and
providing assistance for direct investment, we won the confidence
of the business sector and of public authorities as a
long-term investor. The difficult years of system transformation
in the second half of the 1990s were marked by the
development of corporate banking activities. The integration
of HVB’s CEE banking subsidiaries following the first crossborder
merger of banks was a major step forward, almost
doubling the business volume in CEE. The years that followed
saw consolidation and rationalisation efforts, which required
major adjustments in several countries, especially in Poland. In
the past two to three years we launched a drive for expansion:
around the time when several CEE countries joined the
European Union, we expanded the banking business, including
retail banking activities, with different regional focuses. In
South-East Europe we were already present when the region’s
economy started to grow strongly.
We have not reached the end of the path, there is still considerable
potential available. Some countries have attained a
level of professionalism in banking which meets international
standards. The pioneering work is over, and convergence is
making rapid progress. Markets are becoming more difficult.
Other regions in CEE are experiencing a dynamic upturn; in
these countries, we aim to further develop business from the
very start with a focus on profitability and an awareness of
risks and costs. In several new areas, business is yet to be
developed.
Bright outlook in a larger group
The CEE Division of UniCredit now enables us to reach the
scale required for a sustainable upward trend in many countries.
The strategy behind this is to benefit from synergies and
location advantages, using the principle of best practice and
leveraging the effects in the entire Group. This is exactly what
Bank Austria Creditanstalt has been doing in its CEE business
Regina Prehofer, Managing Board member responsible for CEE, Large Corporates and Real Estate
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
25
20
15
10
5
0
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
6,617
Germany
2,379
1.7%
8%
204%
EU-15
653
838
Italy Austria CEE *)
5.1%
Euro area CEE *)
18%
Euro area CEE *)
Potential
62%
CEE *)
Market volume
Total assets of
banking sector
in € bn
Economic growth
Real GDP 2004 /2008
in % p.a.
Market growth
2004/2008 in % p. a.
Growth potential
Total assets/
nominal GDP in %
*) Country presence of UniCredit
Group with the exception of
Greece and the Netherlands
Sources: national statistics,
central banks,
ECB, BA-CA estimates
Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) 77