Creand Group: A Model of Committed Banking

Creand Group: A Model of Committed Banking

Creand (formerly Crèdit Andorrà) is a global financial services group with nearly 75 years of experience and expertise in retail banking, private banking, asset management and insurance. The vocation of service and closeness to customers has defined and guided the bank throughout its many decades of operation. It is the leader in customer AUM and loan investment in Andorra, and has a significant presence in other financial centres in Europe (Spain and Luxembourg) and America (Miami). In these markets, it offers a personalised and specialised private banking and wealth management service in a boutique format.

Creand is a financial group focused on innovation, being a pioneering model of committed banking, and working to deliver value to its customers, employees and shareholders, as well as society as a whole. It is committed to social and environmental sustainability, aiming to generate a positive impact on customers, society and the planet.

Recent successes have earned Creand the accolades of Best Digital Bank Andorra and Best CSR Bank Andorra at this year’s Global Banking & Finance Awards. This comes in the wake of another successful year of operation for the group, having closed 2023 with a business volume of EUR 27.62 billion, 10.47% more than the previous year and over 14% above target, and a significant profit increase to EUR 71.3 million.

Global Banking & Finance Review editor Wanda Rich asked the CEO of the Creand Group, Xavier Cornella, about the critical factors that made these achievements possible. “In recent years, Creand has developed a strategic business plan based on specialisation, innovation and excellence in customer service,” Xavier began. “This has allowed us to consolidate our leadership position in Andorra and achieve sustained growth in the other markets in which we have a presence. The organic growth experienced in the past few years has been complemented by some corporate transactions that have enabled us to consolidate our presence in different geographies.”

One catalyst for this was the acquisition of Vall Banc, the private banking specialists in Andorra, which accelerated the objectives of Creand’s 2021-2023 plan. “This meant the bank was able to strengthen its position in this business area. In Spain, where the bank has seen remarkable growth in recent years, the acquisition of the high net worth advisory and family office business of GBS Finance has allowed us to create the Creand Family Office division within the structure of Creand Asset Management. From here, we offer a comprehensive and high-added-value service to customers.”

“Over the last financial year, profits have increased in an atypical context, given the swift rebound in interest rates,” Xavier added. “In addition, the consolidation of the synergies obtained from the aforementioned acquisitions, as well as the good performance of the international business and the insurance business, made a significant contribution to this growth.”

Through the strategic plan for the next three years, Creand is well-positioned to build on these successes. “The new 2024-2026 strategic plan is geared towards growth in product and service specialisation, strengthening the commercial and management team, continuing to drive innovation and digital transformation and ensuring global efficiency, all with the aim of improving financial services,” Xavier reported. “In terms of geographies, Creand is aiming to bolster its leadership in Andorra while being an active part of the country’s economic and social progress. On the other hand, having consolidated our presence in Spain, Luxembourg and Miami in recent years, another aim is to further secure the business model in these territories, with a focus on the personalisation of services, the creation of differentiating products and services and enhancing resources for the digital transformation. This will undoubtedly lead to better customer service and improved operational efficiency.”

He revealed that the bank will also continue to promote strategic alliances with leading institutions, to strengthen the group’s capabilities as well as its growth in different markets and business segments. “It is clear that one of the keys to growth in the banking business lies in specialisation, in having the best teams of experts in different fields, and in encouraging the engagement of all professionals. Of course, process efficiency and customer service capabilities, adapting to customer needs in an ever-changing and increasingly competitive environment, are also among the group's priorities for the coming years.”

Driving the push for innovation while maintaining highquality customer service can require a careful balance, which is crucial to uphold while implementing new technological advancements as digital banking continues to evolve. “We have a management model for a customer profile that demands quality, trust and innovation in equal parts,” Xavier said. “Our long history of nearly 75 years is our best endorsement. To meet customer needs, we are driving a strategy based on embracing the digital transformation and innovation processes. The customer is becoming more and more informed, and demands new services that are adapted to the evolution of the market and have a high technological and digital component. Naturally, we also take the service and personalisation component very much into account, as differential elements to maintain their trust in the long term.”

As part of this process, Creand has recently launched a new online banking application and service, heralded as mobilefriendly, agile, intuitive, customisable with multiple digital features, and offering a robust security system and an enhanced user experience. “It is a channel that adds to and complements the personalised service for our customers,” Xavier said. “Also worth noting is the investment portal, which makes it much easier for customers to manage their investments and have access to market information, including reports from our experts and advanced analytics.”

“However, it is clear to us that, even with such a level of technological innovation, the defining feature of future success in customer relations will continue to be maintaining the closeness and personalisation of service as the best way to respond to customer needs with a high degree of specialisation.”

“As a result of this effort to offer a comprehensive service, the strategic alliance with a leading company in the digital assets sector was also born,” he added. “We have signed an agreement to develop a cryptoasset trading and custody service in Andorra, in a secure environment, in line with national regulations and European and sector-specific standards.”

Adaptability is not just a requirement but a necessity in the ever-changing global financial industry, and these changes come from all directions. “The present and future of financial services depend on the ability to adapt to the environment, technological challenges and the expectations of customers,” Xavier said. “It is about providing a more efficient service through an integrated team of professionals who can offer solutions in a fast and coordinated manner, covering different disciplines of global wealth management.”

The Creand approach to innovation incorporates developing the latest technological tools to make its services more efficient, connect with new generations, and facilitate the development of new products and services. “We as a bank continue to pursue this – for example, as I mentioned earlier, through the development of cryptoasset trading and custody services. We are also incorporating the transformation brought by AI to develop products and services that are better adapted to customer needs. We are pioneering the use of data to deliver better service, and moving towards becoming a ‘data-driven’ company thanks to the implementation of predictive AI.”

“Our success depends on remaining faithful to a banking model that allows us to offer differential value – a model that generates added value for our clients as well as the economy and society,” he continued. A good example of this is the Innovation Hub, Creand’s pioneering project in its home market of Andorra, to generate and share knowledge between Andorran companies and the start-up sector. “The Innovation Hub is another step forward in our efforts to promote an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Andorra.”

Such forward-thinking measures are characteristic of the bank’s allegiance to the communities in which it operates, and Xavier observed that for Creand, growing sustainably and profitably means creating value for all stakeholders in service to a variety of different needs. “At Creand, we promote this through the committed banking model that defines us: committed to customers, by offering inclusive solutions that respond to their real needs; committed to society, by promoting financial education and investing in economic, cultural, social and environmental protection actions (exceeding EUR 3.5 million in 2023); committed to Andorra, by supporting strategic projects for the country related to snow or tourism, for example; committed to the entire team of internal collaborators whose motivation, effort and commitment make all the difference, and lastly, committed to our shareholders, by working to provide a robust bank with a long-term perspective.”

The discussion concluded with the subject of Creand’s award-winning focus on CSR. Creand has several avenues through which it is working to develop its corporate responsibility strategy, and Xavier highlighted 2023’s incorporation of the new Sustainability Unit into the bank’s organisational structure. “This unit reports directly to the CEO, a further example of the importance we give to this area, whose main function is to define the strategic sustainability agenda and promote, from the highest executive level and with a cross-disciplinary approach, the incorporation of ESG (environmental, social and governance) aspects into the bank.”

“We are the only bank in Andorra to have a stand-alone foundation, one of the most important in Andorra, which allows us to run social, educational and cultural programmes for the benefit of the whole community,” he went on. “We are also the only bank in Andorra to enter the national carbon credit market, with the installation of four of our own electricity production plants powered by photovoltaic panels. In addition, we are the first and only financial institution in Andorra to have issued our own sustainable bond, earmarked for investments to promote the country’s environmental and social development. We are members of the United Nations Global Compact and a signatory to the UNEP FI Principles for Responsible Banking to move forward with a defined roadmap.”

“Ultimately, corporate responsibility and social engagement have been with us since our beginnings, and we strive to promote them to harmonise business criteria with social progress and environmental protection.”