Supporting Companies
F CUS Providing simpler financing products and services makes our
bank easier to deal with, which is why our Group carried out
numerous activities at the country level.
Remote customer interactions
In Slovakia, we improved our decision-making processes by
making our loan applications easier to assess. In Poland, our
Thanks to our video conference customer advisory service SME Client and Risk departments teamed up to create an
in Germany, we are among the leading banks in the field agreement called Manifesto, to define their responsibilities in
of remote interaction. As part of our Business Easy service, improving the credit application process and to facilitate their
Small Business Relationship Managers use video calls both decision-making and transaction assessments. Moreover, a
to introduce and revise forms and contracts with clients. simple loan process was created for low-value credit products,
shortening the application procedure for SME loans by 25%.
Since May 2012, about 900 such applications have been
Austria is also in the vanguard on this issue. The Online
submitted.
Finance Check will be implemented in 2013, offering time
saving to clients who receive Relationship Managers (RMs) Similarly, in the Czech Republic we developed the Quickie Invest
summaries of the performed finance check via email, loan for SMEs, with a maximum five-day credit response time.
eliminating the need to meet in person. This loan can be used for a wide range of purposes, including
technology investments or real estate development.
In addition to credit products, we also introduced services that
Simplicity and transparency respond to customer demand for greater simplicity. These new
services included the Cross Border Account Opening initiative,
Being easy to deal with which is particularly appreciated by corporate customers
seeking to initiate business relationships in different countries
To better respond to the needs of business customers, UniCredit
in which our Group operates12. As of December 2012, the project
is working to simplify and improve its processes and products.
had been rolled out in the vast majority of UniCredit countries.
Considering the urgent need for business credit allowance
The Cross Border Account Opening initiative seeks to
in light of the global economic downturn, we are focused on
standardize Groupwide processes and documents related to the
shortening our Credit Response Time (CRT) and streamlining
opening of accounts by a single client in different jurisdictions.
formalities to provide clients with quicker response.
The account opening agreements are provided both in English
and in the country’s native language, and the information
In 2012, we improved the timing we respond to clients’
required is presented in the same standardized format from one
financing needs. In each country, we implemented procedures
country to another. The documentation also adheres to country-
to analyze our CRT and identified ways to simplify and
specific legal and regulatory requirements. All of these features
shorten processing. As a result, our average CRT for large
save time and money for our customers. Only four out of 20
corporate improved since 2011 in our main countries. To
countries are now requiring customers to be physically present
gauge our progress, we have instituted a number of monitoring
to open an account.
mechanisms. In Italy, for example, we created Credit Dashboard,
a monthly internal report that monitors our CRT to assess
Simplicity is also a key feature of products such as:
whether we are on the right track.
• our All in Leasing Package which provides small business
customers in Austria with professional automobile fleet
management. The package is simple and transparent, and the
Credit Response Time total price includes a prepaid gas card, insurance, periodic
average in Austria (2011 vs maintenance, car replacement and roadside assistance. In
2012): from 3.9 to 3.7 days 2012, we secured roughly 200 deals
• our Daily Money Account product, in Germany, requires
for SMEs and from 4.7 to less administration and less manual input, given that it is
4.5 for large corporate automatically linked to the market interest rate
Our drive for simplification is bearing fruit in Austria, where
the Best 4 Business project brought together more than 100
colleagues for workshops that identified key client needs in the
SME segment.
As a result, we reduced bureaucracy related to the loan process,
achieving faster response times and a leaner credit process.
This also reduced administrative work and freed up more time
for us to focus on our clients. 12. Refer to UniCredit International in “Proposing tailored solutions” paragraph for more
information.
46 2012 Sustainability Report · UniCredit