To our shareholders

In this overall complex scenario, our, your bank has remained strong thanks to a spirit of teamwork within the Group -a Group which now totals 3,711 employees having increased by 129 during the year. All our staff have been consistently committed to offering our clients a personal service where only excellence is acceptable. Visible growth was seen in the traditional banking activities in terms of interest and commission, a result that goes hand-in-hand with the performance in finance. The companies within the group, BPS (Suisse) SA, Factorit and BNT Banca all closed the year with positive balance sheets. Although we are still awaiting the definitive results, we can foresee that the results at 31st December 2024 of our Group, based on current data, can reasonably predict confirmation of a healthy profit, better than the previous year which was already a record figure.

Capital ratios were above and beyond those requested by the supervision authorities placing the Bank at excellent levels both in the banking scenario at home and abroad. On the 30th of September last, the CET 1 ratio and the Tier 1 Ratio stood at 16.3% with the total capital ratio higher at 19.3%.

Lending continued with loans and mortgages in line with our intention to create a positive impact on the economy, guaranteeing adequate financial support not only to families but also to the healthy lively business sector in the communities in which we operate. To those clients potentially interested in diversifying their savings, new alternatives were offered in the wealth management taking into account risk appetite and opportunities in ESG. Insurance products offered through the bank have proved to be popular with our clients.

The Bank’s digital platform has been strengthened and renewed also through SCRIGNObps. Assistance given to clients less familiar with IT systems has enabled them to operate safely online.

With the aim of attracting the best Italian and European talent and launching new entrepreneurial initiatives, ‘Liquid Factory’ was set up, a start-up factory based on digital technology created together with Ing. Fabrizio Capobianco and his team who have all brought valuable business experience from California.

The robust solidity of the company and the excellent results of this year have encouraged us to continue with the expansion of our network, in stark contrast to the market trend. The year saw the opening of five new branches; Trieste, Conigliano(TV), Torino, Pordenone and Còlere, bringing the total number of branches to 360 to which we should add the numerous treasury offices and the 22 branches of the BPS (SUISSE) SA. The group now totals over 500 branches.

Positive performance of the bank in the financial year which has just closed is first and foremost due to the creativity of the management bringing fresh ideas and making careful strategic choices as well as the overall support of shareholders and clients. Of fundamental importance has been the work of the head office staff who support their colleagues in the frontline. Thanks to both individual skills and the ability to work as a team, they manage relations with our customers at 360 degrees, acting as interlocutors between the Bank and the client.

In the first half of the year many and various are the complimentary comments received on our work in terms of Investment Grade from the major rating agencies: S&P Global Ratings; Scope Ratings; Fitch Ratings and Standard Ethics. To these noteworthy evaluations must be added the evaluation of creditworthiness by Morningstar DBRS. The main rating assigned to the BPS was the long-term issuer Investment Grade BBB with a stable trend. The excellent ratings from these agencies has served as encouragement to pursue our objectives in our activities with renewed enthusiasm, to do much and to do it well.

In Singapore on September 3rd 2024, there were the Trade and Supply Chain Awards 2024 of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of Manila. The Banca Popolare di Sondrio was awarded the “Trade Deal of the Year 2023 Prize”, a recognition of our commitment towards energy transition. Other awards followed: “The Momentum Award 2024” of the ADB recognizing the high number of transactions at an international level. “The Future Bank Assurance Awards” of the EMF Group for the positive results obtained in the insurance field and the “Eurobond Awards 2024” prize for the issue of our first dematerialized green bond, a virtuous combination between the digital and the sustainable.

The Bank was pleased to take part in the campaign to raise awareness and encourage communication entitled ‘Words of Inclusion’ which was promoted by the ABI on occasion of the International Day of Violence against Women. The Bank also financed the theatrical performance ‘Il Filo Spezzato delle Scarpette Rosse’ (The Broken String of the Red Shoes) reserved for high school students, organized in collaboration with the Equal Opportunities Commission of the Sondrio Lawyers Association.

Turning now to the cultural activities of the bank, we should firstly remember the ‘Notiziario’ , the Bank’s excellent literary production, well known for its quality content and which has hosted articles by acclaimed authors on a variety of topics including those linked to climate change and environmental sustainability. On the 23rd of February last there was the conference “Development and the Banking System- Guidelines for New Progress”. In addition to well- known keynote speakers there was also a series of meetings with Carlo Cottarelli. The conference was organized in collaboration with Arca SGR to present Cottarelli’s new book ‘Dentro il Palazzo’. Another conference ‘The Bank is not an Algorithm’ was held in the BPS Sondrio Besta conference room by the Hon. Giancarlo Giorgetti, Minister of Economics and Finance. On December 6th we celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the World Savings Day and we were delighted to host in Sondrio Professor Andrea Kebecker and Luciano Sassi, author of the restoration of 12 books, commissioned by the Bank and in the custody of the Sondrio High Schools Campus in Sondrio with whom we organized the seminar entitled ‘Tipi all’Antica- Viaggio attraverso il libro di altri tempi’ (Old Style People-a journey through the book from the past ). This was also the title of the exhibition opened on the same day at our Luigi Credaro library.

The Bank also took part in the cultural festival “E’ Cultura” which was organized jointly by the ABI and the ACRI with the collaboration of the FEDUF and the participation of the Bank of Italy.

This year has seen the Bank involved in an organizational role and, at times financial too, in various public events with an artistic cultural backdrop. September saw the bank participating with great interest in the Treccani Festival of the Italian language held in Lecco. This was the seventh edition this year entitled “ Keyword: sexuality”. Another highlight of the bank's cultural activity was Elisabetta Sgarbi’s ‘La Milanesiana’ which culminated with a lectio magistralis by Vittorio Sgarbi as well as associated events in Sondrio, Livigno and Bormio where, given the occasion, our historic branch in Via Roma hosted the exhibition ‘Alice nel Paese delle Meraviglie’ (Alice in Wonderland ) by the artist and illustrator Romano Rizzatto a.k.a. Sergio. The partnership with Sondrio Festival, an international festival dedicated to naturalistic documentaries, has once again been confirmed.

It is also satisfying to recall the role of the bank in events that highlight the value of sport: the Valtellina Wine Trail - a unique sporting event set among the characteristic terraced vineyards in the province of Sondrio, the VUT – Valmalenco Ultradistance Trail and the Kima Trophy in Val Masino, all exciting high altitude mountain running competitions. We could also not fail to mention the K2 expedition of Marco Majori and Federico Secchi to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Italian conquest of the peak.

Thanks to our solidarity current account (Conto Corrente Solidarietà) we have been able to donate sums to the following associations: AISLA, UNICEF, AVIS, AIRC and ADMO.

Dear Shareholder, Dear Friend,

The modest century - plus history of this bank boasts a past of constant positive economic results, a history of growth, values and culture, all fundamental ingredients of a success story.

We are living in a both extraordinary yet perplexing period. Plunged into this rather particular historic context, we are called upon to face transition and significant transformation.

Our dreams and our creative imagination form part of an attitude destined to nurture hope, focus on objectives, see the larger picture, plan and look beyond in an effort to make sense of our reality and the unstoppable progress of technology in order to both withstand and manage the change.

Phigital or Human Digital, whatever one wishes to call it, is our strategy. A combination of the physical and the digital so that it is the client who decides how to interact within the bank.
It is time for people to be once more at the centre of our businesses, to render them a strategic asset and to create conditions for a relationship which forms an indispensable element on which we can develop and consolidate that trust which is at the basis of every human relationship. For our part, this has always been a basic rule, to observe, listen, communicate and be aware with a goal to becoming ever more network creators.

We fully intend to pursue the path we have chosen; we are keen to draw up new maps of consciousness and development in the knowledge that it is only by remaining together that we can look to a more sustainable future with a harmonic blend of rights and obligations. We are accompanied on this journey by the memory of the steps we have taken, our trust in the present and our hope for the future, indispensable elements of our task at hand.

With grateful thanks for your attention and awaiting our Spring appointment for the AGM, during which, in due course, detailed information will be given, we renew our sincere best wishes for the New Year which has just begun.

 

CEO and General Manager
(Mario Alberto Pedranzini)

President
(Francesco Venosta)