• Spain becomes a strategic market for UniCredit
• UniCredit aims to be a leader in corporate and investment banking between Spain and the bank’s main markets – Italy, Germany, Austria, and Central and Eastern Europe
• Bank wants to contribute to Spanish companies’ growth
• Spain’s exports to Germany, Italy, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe accounted for EUR 77 bn in 2015, 30% of total Spanish exports
• UniCredit has a competitive and flexible structure in Spain, adaptable to changing conditions of banking sector

UniCredit today announced the launch of its country office in Spain. The leading European banking group will thus reinforce its presence in the continent, where it is the second largest corporate lender.

Federico Ghizzoni, CEO of UniCredit, said: “As a leading European bank, we are happy to open a new hub in Spain, one of the leading, fastest growing European economies whose ties with the rest of the continent are significant. We aim to be a leader in corporate and investment banking between Spain and our main, well-established markets in Europe, Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. We believe that our international footprint and cross-border capabilities will be a perfect match for Spanish companies willing to expand abroad.”

UniCredit Spain’s CEO Pedro Fernández de Santaella said “UniCredit will offer our clients in Spain a very strong international capital market platform, the best network in some European countries like Germany, Italy and Austria, and the largest bank in Central and Eastern Europe.”

Fernández de Santaella said that “the bank is well positioned to benefit from traditionally strong commercial ties between Spain, Italy and Germany and the growing trade flows between Spain and the Eastern European countries. Spanish companies’ investment growth has increased in the last few years, especially in non-traditional markets, such as in the Central and Eastern European countries”.

Spain’s exports to Germany, Italy, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe accounted for EUR 77 bn in 2015, which represents around 30% of total Spanish exports. Exports growth to these countries has also been significant, with two digits raise in the case of Poland (22%) and the Czech Republic (17%).

UniCredit is already supporting a number of Spanish companies and, thanks to the opening of its branch in Spain, it plans to “increase that support significantly during the next few years”, according to Pedro Fernández de Santaella.

60 large clients in Spain

UniCredit in Spain will focus on around 60 clients: large corporates, financial institutions and private equity firms.

According to Fernández de Santaella, one of UniCredit’s strengths is its strong capital market platform – bonds issuance and syndicated loans – and its access to a broad investor network in the countries that hold the greatest pool of savings in Europe, which are Germany, Italy, Austria and the United Kingdom. UniCredit Spain has the capacity to offer these services to Spanish companies.

Within the corporate and investment banking division, UniCredit offers Spanish companies various global transaction banking services, such as cash management, payments, securities services, guarantees, and trade finance in all countries in Central and Eastern Europe due to a network of more than 500 European regional banks.

UniCredit is also strong in credit research, with a team of analysts that covers more than 200 corporate bond issuers.

UniCredit is currently, and for the first time, number one in both syndicated loans and Euro denominated bonds for corporates in its core markets of Italy, Germany and Austria. It is the leader in the Italian M&A league table, for the first time, and closed the year in the first position in Europe in acquisition financing to private equity sponsors by number of deals.