21 January 2021

Policymakers, investors and analysts share perspectives at UniCredit’s 22nd annual Emerging Europe Winter Conference

2:00 Min

UniCredit was joined by regional policy makers, prominent international investors and expert analysts at its annual forum dedicated to the CEE region. More than 350 investors – twice as many as in 2020 and including representation from Asia and the US – attended the 2-day virtual conference, along with 25 ministry officials from 15 CEE countries.

The topic of this year’s conference was “CEE: A path to recovery” and saw presentations on monetary and fiscal policy by central banks, ministries of finance and debt management agencies.

The opening speech was given by Richard Burton, Head of CIB, who welcomed all attendees and underlined UniCredit’s strong commitment to its clients and to the CEE region.

He also highlighted our support to finance Covid-19 recovery plans, in particular when governments, supra-nationals and regions need to raise money to finance their fiscal stimulus and their support programs. This has lead to a phenomenal increase in issuance in the market.

Richard Burton, Head of CIB

 

“UniCredit has been and will always be there for its clients, being part of the solution. Our fully plugged in CIB and our strong track record, mean UniCredit is ideally positioned to deliver CIB products to the SME universe and broadening the range within this client segment”.

Richard Burton, Head of CIB

 

“UniCredit has been and will always be there for its clients, being part of the solution. Our fully plugged in CIB and our strong track record, mean UniCredit is ideally positioned to deliver CIB products to the SME universe and broadening the range within this client segment”.

Gianfranco Bisagni, Co-CEO of Commercial Banking CEE, was interviews by Nimrod Pais, BCG’s Managing Director & Partner responsible for CEE Banking about “The impact of COVID-19 on CEE and the funding of the recovery.” He outlined how the intelligence gained from our Asian branches and during former crises, helped UniCredit to respond swiftly and stay close to clients, delivering what they needed most, thanks also to the swift governmental support programs and moratoria.

“UniCredit’s support for national and regional governments, local institutions and clients across the CEE underlines our commitment to the region. Our strong balance sheet and proven capital markets expertise, with CIB fully plugged into our banking operations in CEE, is powerful in combination with our excellent client coverage.”

Questioned on the relevance of ESG and green financing, Gianfranco said: “ESG is part of UniCredit’s DNA. Having been a pioneer in this market, we are ready to support all our clients with the strategic and operational challenges in their sustainable transition.” He reminded attendees that UniCredit is one of the leading financiers of renewables in CEE.