From one of the first banks to a leader in the Czech and Slovak banking market and part of a successful pan-European Commercial Group.
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UniCredit Bank celebrates the 150th anniversary of the founding of Zivnostenská Bank, one of the first Czech banks, which became the backbone of the domestic economy
UniCredit Bank celebrates the 150th anniversary of the founding of its predecessor, Živnostenská Bank, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which had a significant impact on the development of the country's economy.
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Živnostenská Bank and the celebration of 100 years of domestic banking, UniCredit Bank invited a number of renowned persons from across the banking sector to the former premises of Živnostenská Bank, now the Czech National Bank. The history, the present and the future of banking in the Czech Republic and Slovakia was presented by: Jiří Rusnok, Governor of the Czech National Bank, Václav Klaus, Former President of the Czech Republic, Jiří Kunert, CEO of UniCredit Bank, Carlo Vivaldi, Head of the CEE Division of UniCredit, Tomáš Prouza, President of the Confederation of Trade, and writer and historian Pavel Kosatík.
The UniCredit Forum also featured an exhibition describing the fascinating history and importance of Živnostenská Bank as well as its transformation into UniCredit Bank.
"After the creation of the Czechoslovak state, Živnostenská Bank took the lead in banking as well as in economic life and managed to quickly switch to modern operating methods. At UniCredit Bank we have proudly continued this tradition. In recent years we have experienced several important events and accomplishments: the first cross-border banking merger of Czech and Slovak branches, the consolidation of services under UniCredit Bank as well as the development of strong corporate, private and retail banking have further bolstered our leading market position," says Jiří Kunert, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of UniCredit Bank, who also served as long-term director of Živnostenská Bank. "It is an honour that thanks to our clients, their families and companies, we can be a protagonist not only in terms of history, but also in the development of the domestic economy across several decades."
Investing in the future
Over the last few years, UniCredit Bank introduced many developments and innovations to the market. It considerably reinforced its distribution network, implemented the concept of franchise outlets, introduced its flagship free account, and provided its clients with simple mobile and internet banking as well as the opportunity to purchase banking products online. UniCredit Bank has always been focused on retail, corporate and investment banking in order to provide best-in-class service to its clients. Given the fast evolving needs of clients, the bank is constantly looking ahead and continues to invest in its digitalisation.
"Digital is a key pillar of our strategic plan, Transform 2019, and we are making considerable investments in innovation and IT systems to meet and anticipate customers' changing needs, behaviours and expectations. Clients ask for speed, innovation and simplicity and the aim of our digital transformation is to improve their experience while enhancing efficiency. In the future, we will concentrate our investments on providing services with high added value while using relevant data to personalise the products and services on offer to the greatest extent possible. We also want to continue investing in our people - our main competitive advantage," says Carlo Vivaldi, Head of the CEE Division of UniCredit Group.