Global Private Banking Awards 2015: Winners’ Profiles – National Winners (Southern Europe)

Best Private Bank in Italy

UniCredit Private Banking

The largest private bank in Italy with €98bn in client assets, winner of this award for three years running, has launched several initiatives aimed at growing its assets under management. 

These included the introduction of a new compensation scheme, which gives prominent role to growth results in the assessment of the advisers’ performance and consequently their annual bonus. A specific training programme was brought in to promote “growth attitude” among private bankers. Increased synergies with corporate banking resulted in the selection of 1,200 Italian big companies, with the purpose of developing relationships with main stakeholders. This specific partnership originated net sales of about €500m in UniCredit Private Banking in 2014.

A new customer relationship management  tool improved management of prospect clients.

As a result of these initiatives, last year 65 per cent of bankers generated net positive sales, versus 45 per cent on average in the last few years.

In 2014, assets under management surged by 7 per cent to more than €91bn, including net new money of €3.2bn – double the amount of net new money in 2013. Client satisfaction has also reached historical highs, according to surveys carried out independently by an external provider.

“We had a brilliant year for investment performance,” boasts Salvatore Pisconti, head of Private Banking Italy at UniCredit,
claiming that the increase in assets and number of clients testify to client trust.

The bank’s advisory approach is based on the holistic approach of “real life banking”, aimed at understanding client’s life goals and providing solutions to achieve them.

“In a complex world, clients look for one-stop-shop institutions,” says Mr Pisconti. The bank will continue to invest to enhance private bankers’ competence and skills, financial planning and consultancy/lending solutions. These are particularly relevant giving the pick-up of the domestic real estate sector, he explains.

With 50 per cent of potential private banking clients still not served by specialised institutions, growth opportunities in Italy are significant. A key challenge is utilising technology potential available at UniCredit Group to improve the client multi-channel strategy, believes Mr Pisconti.

Several projects last year had the goal of improving customer experience and proximity, reducing cost, while attempting to meet the needs of increasingly tech-savvy clients and capture the next generation. The bank broadened the investment instruments tradable through its remote advisory tool via internet banking, which enables bankers to advise clients remotely. It created a feature enabling clients to send/receive/archive documents in a secure area of their online banking. It also introduced a paperless advisory process, which allows clients to use a digital signature on specific contracts.

In order to strengthen its services to the ultra-wealthy, UniCredit has recently announced the creation of a new firm, specifically dedicated to serving clients with more than €5m in financial assets.  ET

Best Private Bank in Spain
BBVA Banca Privada

Spanish banking faced a near-death experience following the global financial crisis, with 53 banks reduced to just 14 over the past five years, following closures and consolidations.

Banks with poor operations and accounting practices were the first to go, with a handful of serious, surviving institutions turning a new page, especially in the area of technology.

Consultants active in the Spanish marketplace see BBVA as the undoubted front-runner in the tech transformation race, opting to offer a broad menu of digital services five years ago and soon followed by rivals including La Caixa and Santander.

The bank says its growth drivers, leading to $7bn (€6.2bn) of net new money flowing in during 2014, included a recovering Spanish economy and improving investor confidence, coupled with tightening regulatory pressure.

Income from fees also rose 19 per cent during the year, as the bank took a more selective approach to customers, deciding to focus predominantly on the high net worth segment, while offering a flexible pricing model.

Investment in technology has transformed the front office in particular, with new software improving customer service.

Tax-efficient, Ucits-compliant mutual funds have been a bestseller during 2014, although structured products are also back on the agenda and low interest rates have fuelled appetites for a recovering Spanish property market.

“A 3 to 5 per cent yield has proved quite attractive for our investors,” says Alberto Calvo, head of Spanish Private Banking at BBVA, with both retail and commercial property featuring in portfolios.

Online tools have been developed to help gauge customers’ risk appetites and the bank has also been a leader in establishing digital communities and evaluating portfolios.

“These services are very expensive, but they provide a clear benefit for us,” says Mr Calvo, with further investment in tools and software promised from group level. “Information has to be available for 24 hours, seven days a week. This offer is now part of our DNA.”

While BBVA clearly has international ambitions, with operations in several jurisdictions in Latin America, any talk of a high-tech cross-border network is played down by Mr Calvo. “We have co-operation between different units, but it is not easy for a client from Latin America to have a position in Spain or vice versa, although we help offer services when this situation occurs.” YB

Best Private Bank in Latin America
Santander Private Banking

Private banking is a people business – something that Santander claims to take very seriously.

“The banker is the key, with a goal to know in depth the customer, helping in taking investment decisions, and being close in the follow up of the investment portfolio, establishing a confidence relationship in the long term,” says Gonzalo Algorri, group director of Global Private Banking Santander.

For this reason, training is fundamental, not only from a technical point of view, but also in the use of communication skills. Resources are dedicated to tailor-made programmes for banks at leading universities. In addition, the bank develops in-house training in which professionals share their experiences and knowledge.

The bank has also developed a technology platform to allow managers to track their clients’ needs, with “cutting-edge” tools that puts features of the advisory model at the disposal of the client.

“Our tools help bankers to manage client portfolios giving them information, alerts and all the data they need to provide tailor-made solutions every time,” explains Mr Algorri. “Customers feel comfortable when they notice that Santander Private Banking has enough material and human resources for developing a personalised and highly specialised management of their capital.”

In product terms, the emphasis is on creating solutions to meet clients’ financial needs. The current interest rate scenario sees increasing client demand for credit operations, either for tax reasons or to undertake new investments.

Santander has achieved growth at more than 22 per cent last year in Latin America. Business in Brazil is growing 23.3 per cent; in Mexico at 17.3 per cent; in Chile at 25 per cent and in Spain at 8.4 per cent.

“Our commercial business model adapts to local regulations in every country where we have presence,” adds Mr Algorri. “For instance, in Latam we have anticipated the regulatory changes that have been implemented in selling procedures.   CJ

Best Private Bank in Andorra

Andbank

In 2014, Andorra Banc AgrícolReig, (Andbank), embarked on a strategic plan, aimed at consolidating its recent growth. In this, the first year of the plan which stretches until 2017, it has increased its assets under management by 60 per cent to €21.5bn  and its  gross margin is up  14 per cent on 2013.

International jurisdictions now account for more than 70 per cent of the group’s AuM. At the end of 2014 Andbank gained a presence in Israel, after signing a deal with a local investment company Sigma Investment House, and the group also concluded the process of acquisition of Banco Bracce in Brazil.

With these two operations, Andbank increases its presence to 12 countries, and its banking licensees to seven.

“Private banking is the bank’s only activity, therefore investment decisions are not taken on the basis of other business areas’ interests,” says CEO, Ricard Tub.  CJ

Best Private Bank in Croatia

Zagrebačka banka – UniCredit Group

Zagrebačka banka or Zaba, the largest bank in Croatia with €1.1bn in client assets, was acquired by UniCredit Group in 2002, as part of the Italian bank’s push into Europe. UniCredit acquired Bank Pekao in Poland in 1999 and other banks in a number of other countries creating the “New Europe Division”. The acquisition of HVB Group in 2005, a major bank in Central and Eastern Europe, including Bank Austria, gave new momentum to the expansion project, leading to the creation of the “largest international banking group in CEE”.

UniCredit CEE Private Banking operates in 10 different countries, (excluding Poland which is managed separately) from which it sources €10.7bn in client assets. In total, UniCredit Private Banking manages €180bn, but more than half are sourced from Italy.

The key pillars of the Croatian private bank are “a high level business model integrated with a long-standing culture of working together with the client and strong regional presence,” says Miljenko Zivaljic, CEO of Zagrebačka banka.

With “one of the highest” client satisfaction levels within the UniCredit Group, the Croatian bank aims at increasing its market share in the country, currently standing at more than 25 per cent.

There are significant opportunities for growing the share of investments in clients’ portfolios. “I believe we have a lot of work ahead of us in the area of investments promotion and communication, as the market in Croatia is still too much focused on deposits and cash equivalents,” says Mr Zivaljic.

From its headquarters in Milan, Unicredit Private Banking started rolling out its “preferred partner” approach to fund selection in Europe five years ago. Today, it is believed the bank’s main challenge remains the harmonisation of the approach across all markets in which it operates. Croatia, for example, does not apply this guided architecture approach, due “to the specifics of the local market”.

The Croatian bank, however, like other banks of the group, benefits from and implements many of the market views given by the global investment strategy team headed by Manuela D’Onofrio. Work carried out by the fund selection team in Milan feeds into the management of discretionary mandates of private banking clients, managed by Zagrebacka Banka’s fund management company.

“Central and Eastern Europe remains a core area for private banking in UniCredit and we are committed to build on current achievements to serve our customers even better,” says Ian Tronicek, head of CEE Private Banking. The dominant part of the wealth in the region is new money created after 1990 and the main client segments are business owners and managers. “Russia, Turkey, Czech & Slovak republics and Bulgaria are the fastest growing markets for the group.”  ET