The Group KD Group and KD Group dd

The KD Group Annual Report 2009
3. OPERATIONS OF KD GROUP COMPANIES
BANKING AND INVESTMENT FUND MANAGEMENT
Banking
2009 marked the entry of the Group KD Group in the banking sector. On 2 March 2009, following a resolution of the Bank of
Slovenia to grant licence to KD BPD for the performance of banking and financial services and resolution of the Securities
Market Agency to grant permission to KD BPD for statutory conversion from a limited liability company into a public limited
company, the company became a public limited company and assumed a new name of KD Banka. Initially, KD Banka
concentrated on private, personal and investment banking services, including stockbrokerage, individual asset management
and corporate finance services. However, in order to adjust to the changed economic conditions, KD Banka decided for early
implementation of the basic corporate banking services, while at the same time it was developing services for the mass
market, which began to be marketed through the sales network of KD Finančna točka branches in February 2010.
In addition to KD Banka in Slovenia, in 2009 the following companies within the banking segment operated on foreign
markets: KD Securities in Bulgaria, SSIF KD Capital Management S. A. in Romania, and KD Upravljanje imovinom d. o. o.,
Zagreb, in Croatia. With the aim of adapting to the market circumstances and business optimisation of the stockbrokerage
segment, in 2009 we began the process of the closure of KD Securities in Bulgaria.
KD Bank's main projects in 2009 included successful start-up of the banking operations, development of the bank's
infrastructure and services, and implementation of the private and personal banking concepts based on a wide palette of
banking and non-banking services and top quality relationship with clients, and recruitment of new clients. Initially KD Banka
entered the market of wealthy clients under the KD Privilege trademark intended primarily for increasing wealth and as such
is designed to meet requirements of the most demanding individuals. As part of positioning and consolidating the reputation
of KD Banka in the field of private banking and in order to gain new clients and strengthen relationships with other
professional and influential public, in September 2009 KD Banka invited the then Nobel prize winner for economy, professor
Paul Krugman, one of the most admired and influential world economists to be a speaker at the professional event KD
Privelege. Professor Paul Krugman, professor of economy at the University of Princeton, talked about the current financial
crisis, its origin, development and future measures of the financial sector and global economy. In the organisation of the
event, KD Banka set up excellent cooperation with the Faculty of Economy in Ljubljana as the partner of the event and longterm
relationships with other influential associations.
In 2009, KD Bank focused on private and investment banking. We have developed a range of products for corporate entities
inclusive of transaction accounts, deposits and a variety of credit facilities as well as online bank »Halcom«. For retail clients
KD Banka developed variety o personal accounts, payment cards, savings accounts, deposit accounts with various
maturities, Lombard loans and online banking. At the beginning of 2010, KD Banka entered the mass market with
standardised products where the key sales channels include online banking and the network of KD Finančna točka branches
all over Slovenia.
At the end of 2009, KD Banka had over 3,200 clients, while total value of assets held by private clients and assets under
individual management stood at EUR 51 million, and EUR 336 million of brokerage assets. The operations of the banking
division were marked by financial crisis to which we have responded efficiently. Much attention was devoted to
communications with our clients as we believe that direct communication is of vital importance as it enables development of
an individual relationship between a bank clerk and the client. Therefore we adjusted our communications with clients to the
time that was most suitable for them. In terms of corporate communications our efforts were devoted to the positioning and
consolidating the recognition of the bank and its trademark KD Privilege. Improved client communications, further
development of KD Banka products and services, and successful marketing of our products that allow for a number of
options to increase wealth, are the vital elements for realising the set goals.
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