UniCredit’s importance as a private bank in Central and Eastern Europe is particularly evident in its service offering for high net-worth individuals.
In some countries, such as Bulgaria, it enjoys a commanding market share in this key private-banking segment. It has also notched up some impressive growth numbers in HNWIs, including in markets such as Hungary, where the presence of strong domestic banking champions is a factor.
One of UniCredit’s core focuses under chief executive Andrea Orcel has been CEE. It remains a key player in markets such as Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
More than ever, the focus is on enhancing digital capabilities and using that as a lever for a tailor-made investment advisory service. This ties in with Orcel’s wider focus of boosting investment in digitalization, including doing more to bring the group together under common technology.
Specifically in terms of HNWIs, much work has been done over the past year on advising clients on currency devaluation and interest-rate movements and restructuring bond portfolios in light of market movements globally and specific to the country.