GRI [2-22]
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
In 2022, we were confronted with events that we did not foresee. The
invasion of Ukraine, the economic war, accelerating inflation, the rapid rise
in interest rates, the costs associated with new regulations – these factors
have affected the bank’s financial performance. However, they have not
hindered our development. This is because for years we have been building
the bank to be resilient to unpredictable events and shocks, while at the
same time being stable and maintaining a high quality of service. An
element of stability is our strategy, which we have built around the needs
of our customers, supporting them at times of major life decisions. These
are the objectives we focus on regardless of market conditions. This
requires us to be particularly flexible and involve all staff.
Confirmation of our long-term strategy is provided by the growth in
customer numbers and commercial balances achieved last year. By the
end of December 2022, the number of customers on the retail side had
risen to nearly 4.38 million and in corporate banking to 533,000
companies.
We also increased loans by 7% to PLN 156.4 billion and deposits by 12% to
PLN 189.2 billion. At the same time, we strengthened our market share in
the corporate segment lending market to 13.15% and in the consumer
lending market to 9.02%. In turn, the deposit market share increased to
11.00% for corporate customers and 10.16% in the retail part.
As a result, we achieved a consolidated net profit of PLN 1,714.4 million in
2022, compared to PLN 2,308.3 million in the previous year. The fall in
profit is mainly the result of the charge to the bank’s income from the
credit moratorium, which occurred in the third quarter of last year.
In 2022, we continued to implement, important for the bank’s
development, long-term projects related to infrastructure replacement,
changing the architecture of IT systems and banking applications. At the
same time, we were successful in encouraging customers to use digital
solutions. In retail banking, we saw further growth in the number of
transactions and sales in digital channels. The higher number of remote
operations was accompanied, in line with our strategy, by lower customer
activity in bank branches. This is a trend we have been observing for many
years now.
We have also seen an increase in remote channel transactions in corporate
banking. We have also increased the number of online shops with an active
imoje payment gateway and the number of payment terminals installed.
Social issues are always at the centre of our attention. In 2022, Russia’s
brutal aggression against Ukraine triggered a huge wave of aid to our
neighbours. Since the first days of the war, ING Bank Śląski and the ING for
Children Foundation have been involved in various activities for Ukraine.
We support charities and provide assistance to refugees in Poland.
In 2022, we implemented a new ESG Strategy for 2022-2024. Conducting
business in a responsible and sustainable manner is at the heart of our
operations. At the same time, our ESG objectives are integrated into our
business strategy, stemming from our bank’s mission and values.
We have also consistently implemented the provisions of the
Environmental Declaration, which stipulates that the bank actively
participates in climate action, including by financing investments that
support customers’ environmental transformation. Promoting positive
change always starts with ourselves. We have been taking
environmentally friendly measures in our own operations for many years,
including reducing energy or water consumption. The ING Grant
Programme, which supports start-ups and young researchers working
towards sustainable development, was very positively received by our
stakeholders. In 2022, during the first two editions of the programme, we
provided PLN 2 million for this purpose.
Our commitment to sustainability has been recognised by the market. We
were the first company in Poland to be awarded an ESG rating by the
rating agency Sustainable Fitch. We also became the leader of the
Responsible Companies Ranking and were among the winners of the ESG
Leaders competition.
I encourage you to read the report and see a detailed description of our
activities.
Sincerely yours,
Brunon Bartkiewicz
,
President of the Bank Management Board