LOOKING BEYOND COVID
Monday 08 February 2021
UniCredit CIB sponsored the 27th Assiom Forex Congress and led the two-day event with two webinars: one describing the world of work beyond Covid, and the other outlining the macro outlook one year on from the start of the pandemic.
The first instalment, titled “The new normal and how working will change post Covid”, hosted Renato Miraglia, Head of Private Banking of UniCredit Italy, and sociologist Domenico De Masi, scholar of the theory of smart working. The speakers discussed the acceleration of smart working in the current context of the pandemic and its implications in the approach to work in the financial services industry.
Renato Miraglia discussed his experience with the remote work, describing how UniCredit was among the first Italian institutions to support smart working, citing some projects that date back to 2011. UniCredit accelerated during the first period of lockdown, when 70% of Italian employees worked from their home.
Domenico De Masi, professor emeritus of Labor Sociology at La Sapienza University in Rome
“At the beginning of 2020, around just 570 thousand Italians were smart working, but by the beginning of March this figure had increased to 7-8 million. The pandemic sped up a process which was intrinsically slow. We changed our routine and its effects will be reflected in the long term.”
During the second webinar, “Covid-19 one year later: macro outlook and yield curve strategies”, Marco Valli, Head of Macro Research and Chief European Economist at UniCredit, walked us through the macroeconomics of the growth of the eurozone, and the close link between fiscal and monetary policy. Luca Cazzulani, Co-Head of Strategy Research, discussed the implications for bond markets and the best positioning strategies on the curve.
UniCredit CIB played an active role during the annual congress organised by Assiom Forex. The 27th edition of the event, held digitally this year, was once again a pivotal event for the Italian banking community and financial institutions.
The agenda also comprised of other workshops and panels addressing current topics and market issues as well as Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy, who made his first public speech.
Massimo Magni, UniCredit Italy’s Deputy Head of Markets
“This year we renewed our commitment to Assiom and to the whole Italian financial community by engaging the attendees with up-to-date insights on the current macroeconomic scenario, and by providing discussion points on our new way of working.”