Bpm Group Group Bpm 2008 Report Responsibility Social BPM Group Social Responsibility Report 2008 2008 BPM GROUP SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2008 Prepared by the Coordination Committee of the CSR Project and Social Responsibility Report Layout and art direction Agema Rosso – Milan Methodology and procedural assistance Avanzi S.r.l. – Milan Printing Agema Grafiche S.p.A. – Milan It is forbidden to reproduce either in full or in part the text and images contained in this report Further information about this document, which may also be downloaded from the website: www.bpm.it, can be obtained by contacting the Investor Relations of Banca Popolare di Milano or by e-mailing: [email protected] 2 CONTENTS 6 Letter from the Chairman and General Manager 10 Methodology 15 BPM GROUP IDENTITY 17 Profile of the BPM GrouP 20 Key dates 29 Mission, guiding principles and strategies 30 • Our mission 30 • Our guiding principles 31 • The strategy: the main objectives of the strategic plan 2007-2009 32 Progress in the 2007-2009 strategic plan 34 A structure that reacts to the market 34 • Group companies 36 • Equity investments 39 • Distribution network 43 Governance 43 BPM Governance 46 The General Meeting of Members 48 BPM’S Governing bodies: an overview 51 • Directors’ requisites 54 • The board of Directors 56 Amendments to the Articles of Association approved by the General Meeting of 13 December 2008 59 BPM’s supervisory structure: governing bodies and activities 60 • The three levels of control 63 Documents to know BPM 68 Management structure of the Parent Bank 71 BPM GROUP ECONOMIC REPORT 73 econoMic rePort 73 Economic results of operations 76 Calculation of Value Added 78 Distribution of 2008 total gross value added to the stakeholders 3 81 PaRENT BaNk SOCIaL POLICIES REPORT 83 Stakeholder 85 The ParenT Bank BPM “CusTomers” 87 cuStoMerS 88 Customers’ expectations: listening 88 • Customer satisfaction 91 • Handling of complaints 92 Customers’ expectation: from listening to service 92 • Transparency 93 • Financial inclusion of weak categories 97 • Diffusion of socially responsible investment products 99 • Activities in controversial markets 100 • Offer of lending products which promote environmentally sustainable life styles 101 • Offer of lending products to cope with the crisis 103 • Services and initiatives for the Third Sector 103 • Collaboration with associations and foundations involved in development of social responsibility 105 Customers’ expectations: accessibility and choice of channels 105 • Corporate image 109 • Boosting self service tools 110 • Evolution of on-line channels 111 • On-line documents 112 • Security 115 The ParenT Bank BPm “memBers and shareholders” 117 MeMBerS and ShareholderS 119 Share capital structure 121 Terms of admission to Membership and restrictions on share ownership 124 Value creation and return on capital 126 Communication 128 Participation by the members 131 Members’ associations 143 The ParenT Bank BPm “men and Women” 145 the Bank’S Men and WoMen 147 Training and development 147 • Training 150 • Development 153 The remuneration system 155 Corporate welfare 4 155 • “The Garden of Bez”, the Bank’s nursery 159 • BPM Pension Fund 159 • Mutual Health Fund 161 • ARES Bipiemme (Social Club) 164 Industrial relations 165 Involvement and communication 168 Equal opportunities 172 Safety and health 175 The ParenT Bank BPM “suPPliers” 177 SuPPlierS 177 Mission and guidelines of the Central Buying Service 179 Relationship with suppliers 181 The SIRF Project 183 The ParenT Bank BPM “CommuniTy” 185 coMMunity 187 Community, an ongoing relationship 188 Grants and donations 194 BPM for the non-profit sector 198 Other forms of local assistance 205 The ParenT Bank BPM “environmenT” 207 environMent 208 Initiative completed 208 • Energy consumption 212 • Company cars 213 • Other activities 205 The ParenT Bank BPM 2009 “oBjeCTives” 216 Objectives for 2009 218 Corporate responsibility strategy: areas of intervention in 2009 223 BPM GROUP BaNkS aND COMPaNIES 225 Banca di Legnano 237 Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria 249 Banca Akros 257 Bipiemme Gestioni SGR 265 aTTaChmenTs “Figures and raTios” 289 glossary 5 LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND GENERAL MANAGER Massimo Ponzellini Fiorenzo Dalu Chairman General Manager Banca Popolare di Milano Banca Popolare di Milano 6 2008 will be recorded as the year of the crisis that totally upset financial markets. A phenomenon that surprised most people, both for its speed and for its intensity. As often happens in such cases, many economists try to give it an interpretation that allows them not to fall into the same trap the next time. It’s just a pity that these analyses get made by the experts after the fact, when nobody needs them anymore. We agree with those who consider it a crisis of ethics even before talking about a crisis of confidence, which undoubtedly had a systemic impact, but which started from a sense of emptiness. The concept of growth was so rooted in the minds of businessmen and financiers that there was no longer any point in asking the question why do we have to grow? and what are we growing for? This mania about size and pursuing the myth of growth at all costs made us lose sight of the fundamentals (in the sense of fundamental values, not balance sheet ratios). With the result that what happened was bound to happen. Growth is important when we know why we are trying to grow and we are sure that by so doing we are creating more value than what we are destroying: not 7 just economic value, but social value as well. In other words, we undertake not to diminish, and hopefully to increase, the stock of corporate, social and environmental capital available to us. To understand whether we have achieved this objective, which for us is a priority, we have to measure the impact of what we have done. This is the purpose of the Social Responsibility Report. Social responsibility is not so much a question of “doing more things”, but “how things are done”. So, despite the crisis, we do not intend making an about-turn with respect to the commitments that we took in the past. In our opinion, social responsibility is not a luxury that we can only allow ourselves in times of prosperity; indeed, we believe that it is precisely in times of difficulty that one can see the extent to which creating value for all of the stakeholders really is a shared objective and not just an empty declaration of intent. And it is precisely because trust is a form of capital that one earns over time and which can only be maintained if the commitment is continued that we are well aware that we have to be consistent in wanting to be a responsible bank, even more so than before. We do not deny that, like all other companies, we have been forced by the current situation to revise our spending policies and strategies, which for a couple of years will probably have to concentrate above all on constructing barriers against the consequences of the crisis: prudence, precise definition of priorities and attention to costs will therefore be the key words for the immediate future. But also courage, creativity, flexibility, i.e. the ability to resist and react to the crisis in a positive way, taking all those steps that help to cope with it, to the benefit of the Bank and of all its stakeholders. 8 In this context, we have continued to invest in relations with our stakeholders, even if less intensely. Precisely because of the characteristics of this crisis, which we will emerge from with a strong sense of shared ethics, we are convinced that if we manage to show that we have never given in to the temptation of lowering our commitment and continue to trust our customers, staff, members and the community in which we work, all of them will in turn trust in us. The link between us will then be even stronger and more convinced and our Bank will be more solid as a result. Massimo Ponzellini Fiorenzo Dalu Chairman General Manager Banca Popolare di Milano Banca Popolare di Milano 9 METHODOLOGY The Social Responsibility Report has as its main point of reference the “Guidelines for the Preparation of Social Responsibility Reports” drawn up by the GBS (the Social Responsibility Report Study Group) and the “Manual for the Preparation of Social Responsibility Reports by the Banking Sector” published by ABI. In the same way as in previous years, and in compliance with the standards mentioned above, the 2008 Social Responsibility Report is also made up of three sections. 10 i d e n t i t y This describes the BPM Group’s profile, its mission, its guiding principles, strategies and governance. e c o n o M i c r e P o rt This presents the Group’s key financial highlights, the calculation of value added and how this wealth has been distributed among the various stakeholders. S o c i a l P o l i c i e S r e P o rt This explains the social commitment of the Parent Bank Banca Popolare di Milano (to which the term BPM refers) versus the various categories of stakeholder, showing above all the activities undertaken during the year and the areas of potential improvement in the future. 11 In line with past editions, a section of the document is reserved for a description of the activities carried out by the other banks in the Group and by the main product companies. The 2008 Social Responsibility Report refers to the BPM Group as identified in the Consolidated Financial Statements. In this connection, we would point out in particular the two important operations that were carried out by Banca Popolare di Milano during 2008: the acquisition del 56.99% of Banca Popolare di Mantova and the purchase of 38 branches from the UniCredit Group.