F CUS
Dialogue for consumer protection
At UniCredit we are focused on enhancing our credibility and bolstering our commitment to transparency and consumer
protection, to enable us to better address the needs of our customers in all the countries where we operate.
In 2012, our consolidated partnership program Noi & UniCredit in Italy worked with 12 Consumer Associations (CAs) and focused on:
• strengthening consumer protection by concluding a new 2012-2014 agreement with CAs in Italy. This agreement calls
for: increased transparency of products and services; financial inclusion through social innovation; new educational and
communication initiatives for customers; greater awareness of sustainable purchasing options; better understanding of
customers’ needs by monitoring consumer protection issues on websites; and the ability to resolve complaints quickly
• reinforcing relationship networks that link CAs to UniCredit’s territorial structures. These networks were created as a result of
UniCredit Consumer Day, which entailed 10 territorial meetings held from 2011 to 2012. Roughly 510 local CA representatives
and 157 UniCredit managers are members of this network, supporting our efforts to anticipate and resolve critical issues
• completing the Facile & Sicuro initiative that promotes the responsible use of credit and debit cards. Including 20
seminars and 748 participants, the initiative was tailored to at-risk consumers (e.g., pensioners, homemakers). On
national Credit Card Day, we distributed 7,370 brochures in 18 Italian cities to highlight the safe use of credit and debit.
We also launched a new edition of Facile & Sicuro to focus on multichannel banking services. In 2013, we will work with
three CAs in Italy to conduct meetings with 120 of their local representatives, and 20 seminars for young adults (18 to
30 years) and adults (30 years and up)
In Austria, our BA - Fremdwährungskreditbeirat (Bank Austria FX loans advisory committee) continues to liaise with CAs on
foreign exchange loans to address key issues.
In Bulgaria, our engagement with the Commission for Consumers Protection and other consumer protection authorities
aims to improve regulations. We also maintain an active dialogue with state institutions and non-governmental
organizations to increase the transparency of our communications, contracts, account statements and general conditions.
Our Group also engages with CAs in Hungary to enhance customer satisfaction by improving the quality of our products and
services.
Generating positive customer impact This certification process was implemented recently Groupwide.
The results so far show that we are on track with our new approach.
To have a positive effect on our customers, we have to make a
difference in their lives every day. This is our Real-Life Banking In addition to assuring alignment between our customers’ needs
approach, the core of our brand positioning. This is the promise and our brand promises, we are also investing in new technology.
that shapes our interactions with current and prospective Our aim is to discover how we can simplify products and services
customers: to provide solutions that are easy and efficient. to ensure that our bank is easier to deal with, in line with our
multichannel strategy6.
Through Real-Life Banking, we develop products and services that
meet customers’ real needs and help us build lasting relationships. In Italy, we were the first bank to launch an online paperless
Our Real-Life Banking certification process includes the use of a account, which new customers can access within 48 hours after
“brand filter” - a questionnaire that poses five simple questions opening it without having to visit a branch. In Germany, we
and helps us understand whether our new products, projects and introduced our current account HVB Online, which attracted roughly
services align with our brand positioning and promise. If they pass 10,000 new clients within the first four months of 2012 due to its
our “real-life-banking-compliant” test, they will have a a concrete efficient account-opening process. And in Poland, our Bank Pekao
and positive customer impact. customers appreciated the micro-websites we created for personal
loans and mortgages.
In Ukraine, for example, we launched three new term deposits
and one new card after they passed our brand filter, while the We also simplify our documents and processes. In 2012, these
introduction of two new term deposits was postponed after they investments continued to deliver a range of benefits - to our
were found to be non-compliant. customers, the environment and our bank.
6. Refer to the “Enhancing our presence” paragraph of this chapter for more information on
our multichannel strategy.
UniCredit · 2012 Sustainability Report 37