- UniCredit named Europe's Best Bank for the second consecutive year
- Honoured with a total of 12 accolades across Europe, reinforcing UniCredit's pan-European leadership.
UniCredit has been named Europe's Best Bank for the second consecutive year at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026. The award recognises the bank's European leadership, record financial performance in 2025, and relentless focus on delivering for clients across 14 markets.
In addition to being named Europe's Best Bank, UniCredit received a further 11 awards across Europe as part of a ceremony held at The Peninsula in London on 16 July 2026.
Among the accolades, UniCredit was named Best Bank for SMEs in both Germany and Central and Eastern Europe, acknowledging the bank's commitment to empowering small businesses across its core markets. The bank was also recognised as Italy's Best Retail Bank, reflecting its focus on making banking simpler, more innovative and more efficient for millions of customers.
UniCredit's strength across Central and Eastern Europe was further underlined by Best Bank awards in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bulgaria, alongside recognition spanning SME, ESG, corporate and investment banking categories.
Together, these awards reflect the success of the bank's transformation in recent years - and provide further momentum as the bank embarks on its next phase of growth under its UniCredit Unlimited strategy.
Dominic O'Neil, Europe Editor, Euromoney, commented: "UniCredit had yet another record year of profitability in 2025, with return on tangible equity increasing to 19.2%. Revenues increased to €23.9 billion in 2025, compared to only €16.3 billion with a higher cost base five years ago. The cost/income ratio was exemplary at 38.5% in 2025, while cost of risk remained exceptionally low. UniCredit's Europe focus and financial outperformance, including strong capital generation - coupled with strategic proactiveness - make it the key player in European banking integration today."
Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit, commented: "This recognition - for the second year in a row - reflects the strength of our pan-European model, the disciplined execution of our strategy and, above all, the talent and commitment of our people. Today, we are a true European leader, competing and winning at the highest level while consistently delivering more for our people, our clients, our communities and our shareholders. As we embark on our next chapter through UniCredit Unlimited, this award gives us even greater confidence in our ability to drive further growth and set a new standard for banking."
The full list of awards won is as follows:
· Europe's Best Bank
· Germany's Best Bank for SMEs
· CEE's Best Bank for SMEs - UniCredit
· Italy's Best Retail Bank - UniCredit
· Bosnia and Herzegovina's Best Bank - UniCredit Bank Mostar
· Bosnia and Herzegovina's Best Bank for ESG - UniCredit Bank Mostar
· Bosnia and Herzegovina's Best Bank for SMEs - UniCredit Bank Mostar
· Bulgaria's Best Bank - UniCredit Bulbank
· Bulgaria's Best Bank for SMEs - UniCredit Bulbank
· Croatia's Best Bank - Zagrebačka banka
· Croatia Best Bank for Corporates - Zagrebačka banka
· Croatia's Best Investment Bank - Zagrebačka banka
Milan, 17 July 2026
Contacts
Media Relations
E mail: mediarelations@unicredit.eu