UniCredit: Best Social Impact Bank Europe 2021

Pan-European commercial bank UniCredit levers its strong profitability, capital and liquidity positions to fulfil its “Do Right” commitments. UniCredit has Italian roots and an established network in Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The group operates on a value system of ethics and respect, and integrates sustainability across financial, human, social, intellectual, and natural capital strategies. UniCredit took proactive steps to protect and support staff and clients during the pandemic. It moved quickly to remote working and trained team leaders in virtual environments. Discounted financing solutions and repayment moratoriums helped to ease stress for clients. UniCredit has launched initiatives to accelerate sustainable development, including financial education for youth and capacity-building programmes for female entrepreneurs. The group is proud of its diverse, multicultural team, and over the next two years it aims to double the percentage of women in senior leadership roles, which was at 15 percent in 2020. Last year, the group’s community contributions totalled €42m, and it intends to raise support for projects with positive social impacts to €1bn by 2023. UniCredit prioritises environmental responsibility through tree-planting partnerships, energy efficiency campaigns and science-backed climate action. It has taken a hard stance against coal, putting restrictions on new financing while increasing investments in renewable energy. UniCredit is an ESG-aligned bank making clear progress on ambitious targets. The CFI.co judging panel presents repeat winner UniCredit with the 2021 award for Best Social Impact Bank (Europe).