Chairman's letter
Dear Stakeholders,
It is a pleasure to write to you as the Chairman of the UniCredit Board.
A little over two years ago, when we launched our new strategic plan UniCredit Unlocked, the world was beginning to build back its confidence and strength after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the previous year.
The world may be uncertain, but our vision for UniCredit has never been clearer.”
We embarked on an ambitious plan that would fundamentally change our banks across Europe and align our employees towards a new vision for UniCredit – to be the bank for Europe’s future.
What we could not have anticipated is the ways that the world has transformed radically since then. The effects of the pandemic have now been compounded by the outbreak of international conflicts and resultant shocks to global markets, creating a macroeconomic environment characterised by high-interest rates, soaring inflation, and pervasive uncertainty.
Yet, while the world has continued to transform, so has UniCredit. Despite the turbulence of recent years, we have maintained our commitment to our transformation across UniCredit’s 13 banks – to uniting behind our cultural values and shared purpose, to unlocking the strength within our Bank, to empowering communities to progress.
As a result, UniCredit has delivered 12 quarters of profitable growth while undertaking numerous initiatives to support our European communities, such as the financial resources worth a total potential value of 10 billion euros we issued for ‘UniCredit per l’Italia’ and our partnerships with Teach for All and Junior Achievements Europe.
And we are far from done. We are a better, stronger bank, more capable of foreseeing and reacting to geopolitical instability and shocks. We are in a position where we can act, rather than react. But our transformation is not over yet. We must use the advantage we have gained to build on our progress, so we are able to support our clients through whatever new challenges may arise.
We are in an evolutionary period – a time of transformation and flux, created by this uncertain environment. Businesses that are proactive, mobilising their human capital and cultural heritage in combination with strong governance, will avoid being overwhelmed by changes in the environment and continue to create value for clients. In the last year, UniCredit decided to adopt a one-tier system to enable more open, transparent decision making, which we believe will translate to better results for our clients.
Ownership and control are essential to the continued prosperity of our communities, particularly at this moment in time. This is as true in politics and society as it is in business. All of these form links in a chain of governance, and each link in the chain must perform its duties responsibly and adequately to ensure their mutual wellbeing.
Part of the reason for the success we have enjoyed, and which has helped us to support Italy through this period of instability, is that Italy has performed better than had been anticipated economically. We are seeing tangible progress being made, as demonstrated by the success of the NRRP.
By continuing to act as a strong link in the chain of governance, we can support the ongoing recovery of Italy and other European countries, as part of our wider ambition to be the bank for Europe’s future. Through initiatives such as NextGenerationEU, for example – a recovery instrument that aligns with our own digital innovation and ESG-conscious ambitions, and which we have already supported – we will be able to catalyse the growth Europe needs, giving it the financial stability and resilience to become a major economic bloc.
We will facilitate this through our own stable and sustainable transformation – by keeping firm our dedication to delivering our best for UniCredit’s clients and communities across Europe, which is the reason why we are here today. We just need to keep going.
To all of my colleagues in UniCredit, I want to thank you for your diligent efforts. I also wish to thank our CEO Andrea Orcel for his leadership, which has had such a transformative effect on UniCredit, and the Board for their guidance. Their knowledge, experience, and fostering of a culture of ownership and responsibility within our Bank have been invaluable. I know they will enable us to accomplish even greater things in the future.
For our clients, for our communities, for Europe, let us show the world what the bank for Europe’s future looks like.
Yours sincerely,
Pietro Carlo Padoan
Chairman UniCredit S.p.A.