UniCredit

Infobox Company
company_name = UniCredit S.p.A.
company_
company_type = Public
foundation = 1870 (as Banca di Genova), 1895 (as Credito Italiano)
location = Rome and Milan, Italy¹
key_people = Dieter Rampl, Chairman
Alessandro Profumo, CEO
industry = Finance and Insurance
products = Financial Services
assets = €1,059.767 billion EUR (2007)
revenue = profit €25.893 billion EUR (2007)
net_income = profit €5.961 billion EUR (2007)
Employees = 169,816 FTE (2007)|
Website = [http://www.unicredit.com/ www.unicredit.com]
footnotes = ¹The company has registered office in Rome, its management head office is in Milan.

UniCredit SpA (FWB|CRI, ISE|IT0000064854|UCG) is an Italy-based, pan-European bank, with over 40 million customers and operations in 22 countries. UniCredit's core areas of operations are Italy, Austria and Southern Germany, one of the European Union's wealthiest transnational regions. Moreover the bank has substantial operations in Central & Eastern Europe. Until May 2008 it was officially called UniCredito Italiano SpA; it is also known as the UniCredit Group and as UniCredito.

The UniCredit Group has substantial investment banking divisions running in Munich and Frankfurt.

UniCredit at a glance

UniCredit is a major international financial institution with strong roots in 22 European countries as well as representative offices in 27 other markets.

The group has its roots and a leading position in the wealthiest regions of Western Europe: Austria, Germany and Italy. In 2007 UniCredit strengthened its position in Italy by integrating the Capitalia Group.

UniCredit Group is the undisputed leader in Central and Eastern Europe with a market share that is double that of its closest competitors. In 2007 two important acquisitions were done: [http://www.atfbank.kz/ ATF Bank] which ranks among the top five domestic banks in Kazakhstan offering a broad range of financial products through its branch network of 154 outlets throughout the country and the acquisition of [http://www.usb.com.ua/en/ Ukrsotsbank] which is mainly oriented towards retail banking coupled with a solid presence in the corporate and SME sector. With these two banks in addition the Group extended its operations in this area to 19 countries (including Central Asia).

Key Figures

Customers 40 million
Employees (30/06/08) 177,571
Branches (30/06/08) 10,185
Operating Income (2007) € 14.043 bn
Operating Profit (2007) € 5,682 bn
ROE (2007) 15.6%
Total Assets (30/06/08) € 1,059.767 bn

Business Model

UniCredit has adopted a divisional business model. The goal is to fully leverage the network by generating value in all of the businesses in which UniCredit is involved and by capitalizing on growth opportunities as they occur.

This business model is based upon four pillars:

* Delineating clear business lines - such as retail, corporate, private banking, investment banking and asset management - which are all common to the markets in which UniCredit operates;

* Creating specific global “factories” - for the development of products such as credit cards, consumer loans, mortgages and leasing in order to leverage the growing global potential for such businesses;

* Centralizing support services - such as Information and Communication Technology and back office activities - in support of the daily requests of all Divisions;

* Adopting a multi-local approach empowering UniCredit’s local banks to oversee distribution networks and customer relationships.

History of the Group

The Group’s origins date from the creation of Rolo Banca in 1473, over five centuries ago, when the public pawnbroking institution Monte di Pietà was set up in Bologna.

In more recent times, UniCredit Group was formed in 1998 by the merger of "Credito Italiano" (formed in 1996 by the merger of "Credito Romagnolo", "Cassa di Risparmio di Modena", "Banca del Monte di Bologna e Ravenna" and "Banca Popolare del Molise") and "Unicredito" ("Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona" (called also "Cariverona"), "Cassa di Risparmio di Torino", "Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto", "Cassa di Risparmio di Trieste" and "Cassamarca") and in 1999 with "Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto" (called also "Caritro") e "Cassa di Risparmio di Trieste", and the subsequent combination with the German group HVB and the Italian Capitalia company ("Banca di Roma", "Banca di Sicilia" and "Bipop Carire".

In 1999, UniCredito Italiano, as it was then known, began its expansion in Central and Eastern Europe with the acquisition of the Polish Bank Pekao. Growth continued over the next few years with the purchase of the Pioneer Investment group, and the subsequent formation of Pioneer Global Asset Management, and further strategic acquisitions in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Romania, Czech Republic and Turkey.

In 2003, UniCredito Italiano completed its reorganisation plan, S3, by forming three banks in Italy, for individual market segments - UniCredit Banca, UniCredit Banca d’Impresa and UniCredit Private Banking - and with the creation of the New Europe Division. This reorganisation process made UniCredit the first bank in Italy to adopt a business model based on its divisions, and still operational today.

In 2005, UniCredit merged with the German group HVB, itself formed in 1998 by the combination of two Bavarian banks: Bayerische Vereinsbank and Bayerische Hypotheken-und Wechsel-Bank, resulting in a single, major European bank.Integration with the HVB Group, reinforced by the merger with Bank Austria Creditanstalt in 2000 and its territorial establishment in many areas of the new Europe, enables further growth for UniCredit Group, thus building on its own European vocation.

In 2007, by combination with the Capitalia Group, the third Italian banking group, UniCredit Group consolidated and strengthened its position in one of its most important domestic markets, Italy.

Capitalia was established in 2002 from the integration of two pre-existing entities, the Bancaroma group, in turn the result of the merger between the oldest Roman banks (Banco di Santo Spirito, Cassa di Risparmio di Roma and Banco di Roma), and the Bipop-Carire Group.

Apart from these two banks, the Group also has the Banco di Sicilia Group, one of the oldest Italian banks, with its well-established base in the South, MCC (formerly MedioCredito Centrale) and FinecoGroup, the first direct bank and first online broker in Italy.

Mission & Values

As a Group, UniCredit adheres to commonly held principles and a distinct set of values.

As one of Europe's leading financial groups, UniCredit is proud of its geographical root heritages which are the foundation of the Group’s common identity.

The Group commits itself passionately to creating a new way of banking by constantly thriving to serve its clients with innovative solutions. UniCredit’s reputation is built on trust, accountability for results and quality in the Group’s businesses. UniCredit’s set of values is based on integrity as a sustainability condition, which makes it possible to transform profit into value for its stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders/ markets and local communities.

The UniCredit Integrity Charter sets out the principles that should direct and guide its employees in daily business. It is the result of a shared process within different parts of the organisation that allowed the Group to define a framework of values to draw on at critical junctures in the work of its employees. These values guide their behavioursin order to coherently meet the Goup’s vision of the customer relationship.

The six Foundations of Integrity – Fairness, Transparency, Respect, Reciprocity, Freedom, Trust – further elaborate and develop the contents of the 5 Group Values. They must be the pillars to guide employees’ behaviour.

UniCredit's efforts concerning Corporate Social Responsibility have been recognised in several ways, amongst others UCG’s inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good indices, and in the positive sustainability ratings UniCredit has received from rating agencies and investor associations.

ee also

* European Financial Services Roundtable
* [http://www.unicredit.com UniCredit Group]
* [http://www.unicredit.it/Day1/site/merger/en/index.html UniCredit-HVB Group Merger Announcement Website]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/companies/6674463.stm Unicredit to buy Capitalia]
* HypoVereinsbank
* Pioneer Investments

External links

* [http://www.unicreditbank.ba/info/ UniCredit Bank d.d., Mostar - Bosnia and Herzegovina]
* [http://www.novablbanka.com/blb/index.shtml UniCredit Bank a.d., Banja Luka - Bosnia and Herzegovina]
* [http://www.bulbank.bg/ UniCredit Bulbank AD, Bulgaria]
* [http://www.zaba.hr/info/ Zagrebacka banka dd, Croatia]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.cz/cz/uvod.html UniCredit Bank Czech Republic, a.s.]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.hu/ UniCredit Bank, Hungary Zrt.]
* [http://www.atfbank.kz/ JSF ATF Bank, Kazakhstan]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.lv/eng/ As "UniCredit Bank", Latvia]
* [http://www.pekao.com.pl/index.xml?/602311-384287-21010 Bank Pekao Sa, Poland]
* [http://www.unicredit-tiriac.ro UniCredit Ţiriac Bank]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.ru Closed Joint Stock Company "UniCredit Bank", Russia]
* [http://www.ykb.ru/en/ JSBC Yapi Kredi Bank Moscow, (CSJC), Russia]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.co.yu/?jez=en UniCredit Bank Serbia J.S.C.]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.sk/ UniCredit Bank a.s., Slovakia]
* [http://www.unicreditbank.si/ UniCredit Bank Slovenija d.d.]
* [http://www.yapikredi.com.tr Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. Turkey]
* [http://www.usb.com.ua/ JSBC "Ukrsotsbank", Ukraine]
* [http://www.unicredit.com.ua UniCredit Bank, Ukraine]