Meeting real needs with concrete solutions. - Investor Relations ...

example, where our branch supports Lebenshilfe Nürnberg, a
local charity dedicated to caring for disabled people. Our
employees work on a voluntary basis in the institutions we
support; we assist them by granting special leave within the
framework of our Corporate Volunteering Programme. I’m
delighted that the Nuremberg project is spotlighted in this
Annual Report as part of the topical focus on “Meeting real
needs with concrete solutions”. The sample projects that you
will find at the start of each section underline the all-round
commitment of UniCredit in many different countries.
And finally, as always there is the question of how things will
look going forward. Mixed signals have been sent out in 2012
to date. The prospects for the global economy remain unclear
for the rest of the year. For one thing, some parts of the world
have seemingly recovered from the financial crisis; this is
notably the case in the United States. At the same time,
individual eurozone countries will see the level of their debt
go on rising, coupled with negative growth rates.
The banking industry is likely to be overshadowed by uncertainty
surrounding the creditworthiness of individual countries
together with the restructuring of sovereign debt. Our
domestic market of Germany is set to remain a bulwark of
stability; however, it would be inappropriate to imagine that
the growth seen last year will act as the yardstick going
forward. Furthermore, German financial institutions will be
affected by lower margins and greater regulatory requirements
at least as badly as banks in other countries.
At the same time, our strengths, our outstanding capital base,
our business model and our cost efficiency give me confidence:
we are well equipped to meet the challenges of an
uncertain future.
People often ask me about our business philosophy. I am
reminded of the thoughts of long-serving Bosch CEO Hans L.
Merkle who said that success lies in the courage to go to the
extremes and in the perseverance to occupy the middle
ground. I generally take this to mean that we need to
constantly urge ourselves on to reach new horizons and
defend the advantage we have gained – while rejecting action
for action’s sake. Acquisitions and new lines of business by
all means, but not at any price or at any risk; the solidity of
the Bank always has top priority.
With all this in mind, I would like to wish all of us and you –
our customers, our investors and our business partners – a
successful 2012 and that touch of good fortune that even
the boldest of us needs.
Best regards
Dr Theodor Weimer
Munich, 27 March 2012
HypoVereinsbank · 2011 Annual Report 13