Jean Pierre Mustier, Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit S.p.A., commenting on the 1Q20 Group results, said:

“The first quarter of 2020 reconfirmed the positive impact of Transform 2019 across our business.

Our commercial performance for the first two months was very strong, NII held steady and fees were up 5.2 per cent year on year. We now draw on remarkable capital strength with a significant increase of our CET1 MDA buffer in the quarter to 436bps, well above our 200-250bps target, as well as a very strong liquidity position which at the end of the first quarter at 143 per cent8.

From the first days of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy, UniCredit has taken decisive action to protect and support its employees and clients while remaining fully open for business across all geographies. Thanks to the unfailing commitment of all team members, we have continued to serve our clients and the economies where we are present. In addition, both the Group and its employees have made significant donations to the fight against Covid-19.

Following the widespread lockdown, we took the proactive decision to anticipate our regular Q2 IFRS9 macro scenario update, announcing an additional €902 m in LLPs. Based on realistic assumptions, we expect our FY20 cost of risk to be in the 100-120bps range.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all my colleagues and to reassure them that, as the lockdown starts to ease across our markets, we will base our decisions as to how proceed on data, not dates. We will always do the right thing, placing the health and wellbeing of our colleagues and clients first. We are well positioned to meet the unprecedented challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to our fundamental strengths and focussed business model.”

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