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HVB is and will remain a core part of UniCredit, one of Europe’s
leading banking networks that is both a major player in some
of Europe’s wealthiest regions and a leading foreign bank in
many central and eastern European countries.
While fully integrated, HVB has a strong regional identity
reflected in the HypoVereinsbank brand. It benefits from the
pooling of expertise, in particular also from the outsourcing
of back office functions to group-wide service providers such
as UniCredit Global Business Services (UGBS).
UniCredit successfully completed a capital increase of
€7.5 billion in early 2012, thus meeting higher capital
requirements and consolidating its position as one of
Europe’s most stable banks. HVB continues to have an
excellent capital base by both national and international
standards.
In 2011, the HVB Supervisory Board focused both on the
operating environment and on internal topics such as
streamlining risk management and regulating upstream
exposure. It also dealt with the implementation of the
cross-border project All4Quality, which will optimise the
exchange of expertise and the integration of back office
functions across the group (for further information see the
“Report of the Supervisory Board”).
In closing, allow me to point out that both HVB’s Management
Board and its employees have performed extremely
well under challenging conditions. I would like to thank them
for their excellent work. Germany remains one of UniCredit’s
key markets and we are firmly committed to a strong
presence in Europe’s leading economy. Beyond this, HVB’s
operating efficiency and low refinancing costs are a positive
factor for the group.
Early indicators for 2012 show mixed signals. On the one
hand, the global economy gives evidence of stabilising. On
the other hand, sovereign debt and fiscal pressures in the
eurozone are likely to curb growth and induce an uncertain
operating environment for the financial sector. Beyond this,
regulatory pressures on banks are likely to intensify. Despite
these issues, I am very optimistic that HVB will continue
to be both successful and cost-efficient.
Sincerely
Federico Ghizzoni
HypoVereinsbank · 2011 Annual Report 9