Retail and Business Banking

The Bank provides services for retail customer, focusing primarily on the personal account offer, term deposits and consumer finance products (i.e. cash loans, account limit, credit cards, insurance). The offer includes all forms of current banking services, savings, investments and loans.

At the end of December 2019 there were 2 tariff plans within the Bank’s offer of personal accounts for retail customers: Konto Otwarte na Ciebie – a new current account, which replaced the previously offered Konto Optymalne and Konto Maksymalne and Konto Bankowość Prywatna for clients within the private banking segment. In the May ranking of personal accounts by Money.pl, the new Bank account was recognized as the best personal account.

In the branches and remote channels of the Bank acquired by the date of the operational merger, as part of the RBPL core banking activities, the following products were offered to customers: Wymarzone Konto Osobiste, Konto Osobiste Premium, Konto Aktywne and Konto Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen.

As concerns the management of the retail banking product offer in 2019, the Bank focused on improving the efficiency of operations and the profitability of products. Business processes underwent further standardization, as did regulations and price lists.

As part of the new personal account Konto Otwarte na Ciebie (introduced to the Bank’s offer on 8 April 2019), three types of debit cards are issued: Karta Otwarta na Dzisiaj – dedicated to people with lower incomes, looking for inexpensive and transparent financial solutions; Karta Otwarta na eŚwiat – dedicated to frequent online buyers who use remote channels of access to the Bank and are concerned about security in cyberspace; the card has free Cyber Assistance Insurance; Karta Otwarta na Świat – dedicated to frequent travellers, who value convenience and lower costs of foreign currency transactions. The card won 1st place in the Ranking of Travel Accounts conducted in June 2019 by the financial portal Money.pl.

184,000 personal accounts have been opened since the introduction of the new offer – Konto Otwarte na Ciebie, of which only 4% did not choose one of the cards offered for the account. The Bank’s branches were the main sales channel for the Konto Otwarte na Ciebie (approx. 80% share in sales), the remaining part include customers who opened an account via online applications on the Bank’s website.

The Bank’s deposit offer for retail customers included savings accounts (Konto Dobrze Oszczędnościowe, Rachunek Sejf, Autooszczędzanie Savings Account and products transferred from RBPL – until the day of operational merger: Konto Wymarzony Cel and Konto Lokacyjne Plus) and term deposits (deposits in PLN and foreign currencies, internet term deposits available via online internet banking, promotional deposits, progressive and special deposits available for selected segments of the Bank’s clients).

In 2019, the Bank focused on standardization and full unification of the offer of deposit products throughout the Bank. This process included among others equalization of interest rates on deposits, their availability in individual channels and for selected customer groups, ended in November 2019 together with the operational merger. In addition, the Bank focused on stabilization of the savings portfolio of retail clients and continuation of optimization of the interest margin in light of the low level of NBP interest rates maintained since 2015.

The margin optimization included also the portfolio of BGŻOptima – a brand that is part of the Bank, specializing in offering savings and investment products in the direct model. In 2019, the average nominal interest rate on the deposit portfolio in this segment was reduced to 1.07%. The volume of deposits accumulated by BGŻOptima at the end of 2019 accounted to PLN 4.05 billion, which, compared to the end of 2018, constituted a decrease of PLN 1.55 billion, i.e. 27.7% y/y.

The Bank regularly launched attractive special offers for its Premium and Private Banking customers for selected maturities of the Lokata Premium deposit and a promotional interest rate for the Autooszczędzanie account.

Along with providing clients with new mobile and internet banking services – GOmobile and GOonline respectively, the Bank has prepared a dedicated offer of term deposits, available from the fourth quarter of 2019 exclusively in these channels. Customers could take advantage of the entire family of GOonline online deposits and Lokaty Mobilnej, which is a particularly popular deposit (with an attractive interest rate of 1.50% for 3 months).

In 2019, for customers expecting profits higher than interest on term deposits, the Bank offered a wide range of investment products, including: over 500 investment funds of 25 domestic and foreign investment fund management companies, available on Pl@net platform and online (open investment funds); 5 investment portfolios – strategies based on FIO BNP Paribas subfunds, structured certificates issued by BNP Paribas Issuance B.V located in the Netherlands and the Individual Retirement Account (in the version of a savings account or in the form of a pension fund) and the Individual Retirement Protection Account in the form of an investment fund.

Furthermore, in 2019 the Bank:

• continued the Bank at Work Partner Program, intended, i.a. for employees the Bank’s Corporate and SME Banking customers, employees of public and private universities, employees of entities providing financial intermediation, employees of financial institutions, employees of uniformed services, employees of Local Government Units.
• In cooperation with Arval Service Lease Polska Sp. z o.o. (a company from the BNP Paribas group) offered long-term car rental for retail and business customers;
• in cooperation with Financial Intermediaries and Employment Agencies in the area of retail product acquisitions (personal accounts and cash loans). On this basis, the Bank developed a product offer addressed to clients from the Ukraine. The service is facilitated by a website, the GOmobile application, a Contact Center and advertising materials in Ukrainian. In addition, the Bank charges lower fees for foreign transfers made via online banking from BNP Paribas Bank Polska to banks in the BNP Paribas Group, including Ukrsibbank.

The retail customer loan offer in 2019 included mortgage loans in PLN, personal account loans (renewable loans), consumer finance products (described in more detail in Chapter Personal Finance).

In 2019, the Bank noted record results in the sale of mortgage loans. The volume of concluded contracts amounted to almost PLN 4.3 billion. In the last months of the year, penetration reached 99%. Such a good result was the effect of numerous system and process improvements (e.g. launch of so-called Virtual Branch-During a telephone conversation with a video expert, the client can make a preliminary assessment of his creditworthiness, receive a personalized list of required documents and arrange to submit an application at a branch of his choice), attractive product offer together with favorable, high demand for mortgage on the market.

In order to support customers in financial difficulties and those with mortgage loans, the Bank continued its government support program financed from the Borrowers Support Fund.

Private Banking provides services to customers with assets exceeding PLN 1 million and to a dedicated customer segment with assets over PLN 10 million: Family Fortunes. BNP Paribas Wealth Management offers an individual approach to each customer and additionally a relational approach, i.e. „family approach”.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management benefits from the over 100-year experience, market position and best practices of the BNP Paribas group – number 1 in the field of Wealth Management in the Euro Zone and the seventh largest global player in Wealth Management.

In February 2019, BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Poland received a distinction in the prestigious annual competition of the “Euromoney” British financial magazine for the best quality of private banking services in our country. In addition, the brand received an award in the „Private Banking Services Overall” category, i.e. for overall operations.

BNP Paribas Wealth Management was also recognized as the best private bank in Poland in the following four categories:

• Succession Planning Advice and Trusts – the best private bank in the field of wealth management,
• High Net Worth Clients (USD 5 million – USD 30 million) – best private bank for a HNWI (HighNetWorth Individuals) customer,
• Super Affluent Clients (USD 1 million -USD 5 million) – best private bank for Super Affluent customers,
• Philanthropic Advice – the best private bank in philanthropic consultancy.

In the prestigious Forbes ranking of credit cards, the MasterCard World Elite BNP Paribas Wealth Management credit card took 3rd place, which meant a rise of nine positions compared to the last ranking published by this magazine.

In the eighth edition of the prestigious Forbes rating of private banking services BNP Private Banking received a 4.5 star rating which is mainly due to the open architecture of products, as well as the focus on innovative solutions both in the sphere of investment, and in the field of tax and succession planning. The Forbes rating also appreciates real estate brokerage and access to global markets.

In July 2019, BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Poland was awarded the title of Best Private Bank 2019 in the prestigious World Finance Banking Awards 2019 ranking. The award is granted by the British World Finance magazine dedicated to the financial industry, business and key issues of the global economy. An international jury selected winners on selected markets – based on market analyzes, analysts and managers’ opinions and indications of the Customers themselves. BNP Paribas Wealth Management in Poland has been recognized in particular for the best quality of services rendered, as well as for an innovative approach to banking and a high level of service. The World Finance Banking Awards distinction is of particular importance because the choice of winners was influenced not only by experts, but also by readers – clients, the most important reviewers of BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

As far as the offer addressed to Business Customers is concerned, the Bank provides products which satisfy various customer needs relating to the funding of their operations, transactional banking and depositing funds.

From 1 April 2019, three new product packages were introduced to the Bank’s offer as part of transactional banking for business customers: Konto Otwarte na Biznes – intended for customers with simplified financial reporting, as well as full financial reporting, if their net sales revenue for the previous financial year did not exceed PLN 4 million; Konto Otwarte na Biznes Non-profit – offer addressed to non-profit organizations, e.g. foundations, home owners’ associations, property managers and housing cooperatives; Konto Otwarte na Agrobiznes – offer addressed to individual farmers.

Depending on the offer, new accounts charge fees in a dynamic way, depending on the amount of inflows to the client’s accounts and the average balance maintained on the current account. Since the introduction of a completed offer, these products have differentiated charging for deposits, withdrawals and electronic transfers, and the level of commission charged will depend on the number of transactions and the threshold of the amount of inflows to the client’s accounts.

The deposit offer for business customers in 2019 was standardized as part of integration completed in November 2019. The offer includes both savings accounts – Rachunek pomocniczy lokacyjny w PLN oraz walutach obcych, as well as term deposits, available in many deposit periods and sales channels, including especially popular Overnights.

The loans offered in the business segment to finance daily operations and investment needs are addressed to micro-enterprises, small enterprises (subject to simplified financial reporting requirements), as well as individual farmers and home owners’ associations.

The key loan products offered by the Bank are: overdraft facilities (secured and unsecured), revolving/non-revolving working capital loans, cash loans (fixed term), investment loans and consolidation loans. Additionally, business clients (micro-enterprises and individual farmers) were able to use EU loans, subsidised loans, guarantees and currency risk management products.

The Bank also offers products that minimize the risk of agricultural activity: seasonal insurance of agricultural crops. Through a crop insurance contract, the farmer gains insurance protection and financial security. Insurance of at least 50% of arable land is also a condition for obtaining a low-interest disaster loan and full financial assistance in the event of a natural disaster.

In order to improve the efficiency of the crediting process for micro-enterprises and individual farmers, the Bank undertook a number of initiatives aimed at its significant improvement. Due to the optimization and automation of the credit process, the time needed for credit decisions was reduced for simple, uncomplicated and unsecured credit transactions, and a simplified procedure was implemented for clients with good credit history (currently used for nearly 40% of applications submitted in the Micro-enterprises segment). In addition, quick loans were introduced in branches.

At the end of February 2019 factoring products offered in cooperation with BNP Paribas Faktoring Sp. z o.o . (an entity of the BNP Paribas group) were added to the Business Banking segment product offer. The factoring sales model was based on the path of transferring customers to a factoring company. A Business Consultant and a factoring specialist cooperate in the process of granting factoring limits.

In the second quarter of 2019, the Bank introduced the ELENA program of the European Investment Bank to the offer for home owners’ associations. The funds obtained through this initiative will allow the Bank to create an energy efficiency financing program whose beneficiaries will receive comprehensive technical support and consultancy for thermomodernization as well as preferential financing. Additionally, the beneficiaries will receive 90% refinancing of energy audit, renovation and construction projects costs. The ELENA project as a grant from EU funds is combined with national funding in the form of a 20% bonus from Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.

The offer for home owners’ associations  in the second quarter of 2019 was expanded to include financing under the non-renewable FTL loan – loan up to PLN 200,000 PLN with a shortened list of documents required for analysis. As part of financing, the bank does not control the client’s investment and launches funds into the current account.

In the first half of 2019, the Bank expanded its long-term car rental offer for micro-enterprises. In June 2019 the Bank launched access to a tool intended for the entire sales network. The tool streamlines the process of transferring customers to Arval Service Lease Polska Sp. z o.o.- an entity of the BNP Paribas Group.

In the first half of 2019, the Bank conducted marketing campaigns: Biznes Ofensywa (’Business Offensive’), Agro Ofensywa’ (‘Agro Offensiove’) and Wspierajmy Sąsiedzki Biznes (‘We support Neighbourly Business’). The last one, apart from business aspects it was also a social campaign, encouraging the use of products and services of local companies, and promoting the importance of neighbourly business in local communities.

In the second half of 2019 the bank introduced a special offer for unsecured instalment loan in the amount of up to PLN 250 ,,Mikro Kredyt”. Special pricing conditions include zero margin and commission for granting a loan of 2.99%.

Bank guarantees

In 2019, the Bank issued 43 bank guarantees at the request of business customers for a total value of PLN 2.4 million.

As at 31 December 2019, Retail and Business Banking deposits on a consolidated level amounted to PLN 50,585 million and were PLN 1,728 million, i.e. 3% lower than at the end of 2018. The largest decrease was recorded in terms of deposits: by PLN 2,318 million. The percentage share of each of the three basic product categories has changed: share of current accounts increased (by 5 p.p.to 38%) while savings accounts and term deposits decreased (by 2 p.p. to 32% and 3 p.p. to 30% respectively).

 

As at 31 December 2019 the value of the loan portfolio in the Retail and Business Banking segment on a consolidated level amounted to PLN 40,085 million, i.e. 5% (PLN +1,874 million) more than at the end of 2018. The increase concerned primarily mortgage loans (+16%, PLN +2,567 million).

In the analysed period, the volume of FX mortgage loans (withdrawn from the offer in 2008-2009) amounted to PLN 4,892 million (as at the end of 2018 it was PLN 5,226 million), including loans in CHF which constituted almost 99% of this portfolio.

In 2019 the gross profit in the Retail and Business Banking segment was negative and amounted to PLN 22.1 million (compared to positive PLN 93.6 million in the previous year). The negative result was a consequence, among other, of: creation of provisions in the total amount of PLN 69.6 million for a proportional refund of commission in the case of an early repayment of the loan by the customer, creation of provisions for portfolio risk related to proceedings on CHF mortgage loans in the amount of PLN 29.5 million (CJEU judgement) as well as of increase of costs of bank guarantee fund caused by an increase of the total amount of contributions paid for the bank restructuring fund – compared to 2018.

The comparability of results with 2018 was affected by the finalization, on 31 October 2018, of the acquisition of the core banking activities of Raiffeisen Bank Polska S.A. The profit and loss account of the Bank’s Capital Group in 2018 included RBPL’s revenues and costs generated within two months.

The income on banking activity of Retail and Business Banking in the 2019 amounted to PLN 2,226 million and was 32% higher compared to the previous year. This result accounts for 49.3% of the total income on banking activity of the Group in the analysed period. Personal Finance generated 31.9% of the income on banking activity in this segment.