Andrea Orcel announces further business simplifications

Dear all,

At the outset of our work together, I promised you that we would simplify this business. I did so because I know this is critical if we are to operate efficiently and serve our clients effectively. But I also did so because it was the overriding request from you – the people who know this bank best. You asked me to remove the layers of bureaucracy that slow you down and prevent you from doing your best work.

It is easy for this kind of well-intentioned bureaucracy to build up over time. But it is lethal for a business like ours. For too long UniCredit has operated in spite of its structure not because of it. It – and the excellent individuals working within it – have not been allowed to flourish. Any successes have been very hard won.

The first step in doing so must be to remove unnecessary structures, blocking layers or middle businesses that serve only to act as interlocutors between businesses or individuals that should be communicating directly. These delay decisions confuse information and prevent us from being the bank that I know we can be.
The existence of these structures is true at all levels of the business, which is why we started with the GEC and committee reconfiguration. Today we announce the renewed first line of each of our geographical regions and the majority of our partner functions to the business, and the work will continue as the journey is by no means complete.

All of the decisions we have made around any new structures are informed by the following principles:

• Our business must be structured and managed dynamically, able to move at speed and respond quickly to opportunities and challenges.
  
  
• Our leaders must be empowered and accountable for their business functions and for bottom line performance. They must role model and embody our values in their actions and decisions.
  
  
• Our organization must reflect the highest standards of control woven intrinsically into the fabric of how we do business.
  
  
• Our technology and digital strategy must become part of our operational DNA.
  
  
• We must be positioned to embrace flexibility, challenging our own status quo, identifying new prospects, and ensuring we excel in each one of our markets.
  
  
• We must underpin all of this with an unwavering focus on supporting and elevating the customers we serve and the communities in which we operate.

Remember that we are not doing this to create a business that is simply fit for purpose. We are doing so to create a business that can compete against the very best. A business which, over time, can be the very best.
Some doubted our ability to move at the pace I have asked for, but with your contribution we have proved them wrong and will continue to do so. There is no doubt it has taken a collective effort to propel us this far. But this is part of the vision I shared with you on my first day. This is the first step in the journey I asked you to come on with me. 

If we get this first step right, then we will have a structure that enables performance optimization, ensures we have the right people in the right roles, and allows us to put our clients and their futures at the heart of all we do.  We are building together our bank. And it will pay dividends - for all.

These changes are just the beginning, they are evolutionary and part of the holistic review that we committed to doing.  We will likely see further adjustments and enhancements as we cascade and establish the new vision that we have for this business, so I would ask for your trust, patience and ownership as we work through this exciting time.

Thank you all for your continued commitment to building this UniCredit, for your resilience, tenacity and belief in this institution.

Andrea