CheBanca! Press Release

In its first year of existence, CheBanca! has recorded commercial results far beyond expectations: €5.3bn in deposits, and 170,000 current accounts opened.

The market has given clear signs of its appreciation of CheBanca!, rewarding it for its transparent, efficient and distinctive approach. The results achieved are even more positive given the current market conditions. Since January 2009 — as brand recognition has increased, the speed of product acquisition has picked up considerably, reaching an average of 2,000 products sold daily, and up to 50 accounts per branch. This growth was spread across the whole of Italy, with the majority being in Northern Italy (60%), followed by Central Italy (22%) and Southern Italy (18%). The challenge facing CheBanca! is to provide its customers with a modern and genuinely multichannel bank: it is the customers who choose which channel to use, in the certainty that they will find the same products on offer in all of them at all times. The real innovation is putting the bank at the service of the customers and their real needs, rather than the bank imposing the channel which it believes to be most practical or convenient. One example will suffice: the adoption of “shop” hours for CheBanca! branches. This innovation has been so successful with the public that it has accelerated the bank’s plans for geographical expansion. Indeed, by June the CheBanca! network will have 50 branches spread throughout Italy. Two important new products are scheduled for May:

•  “Mutuo Risparmio”: a real innovation in the mortgage world; floating rate mortgage which allows customers to manage their repayments actively.
•  Easy home banking: where images and icons guide customers intuitively in managing their savings