UniCredit begins Middle East expansion

UniCredit has begun the process of opening a new branch in Abu Dhabi in the effort to create international trade flows between the Gulf area and Europe. UniCredit's enhanced International Network continues to support the banks European business customers through the facilitation of their international expansion plans. This step marks the beginning of UniCredit's Middle East expansion with further expansion expected over the next few years.

Bank retains European leadership in syndicated loans with €11.8 billion in first 5 months of 2016

Milan, June 20, 2016 - UniCredit continues to strengthen its International Network - an integral part of the Corporate & Investment Banking division - as it aims to support the Group's European business customers with their own international expansion plans.

Specifically, the bank has now begun the process of opening a new branch in Abu Dhabi, where it currently has a representative office. Operations will start as soon as all competent Authorities have granted their approval.

As well as serving the needs of European businesses with interests in the region, the new branch will also focus on the increasing opportunities connected to international trade flows in the Gulf area and flows of investment from that area towards Europe.

"We have several hundred European business customers that are highly active in the Gulf area," said Gianni Franco Papa, deputy general manager of UniCredit and head of the Corporate & Investment Banking division. "Trade with the European Union is in the order of €200 billion a year, plus the significant flows of investments from the Gulf to Europe. The new branch will be at the heart of these flows, serving as a hub for the entire Middle East area and also Africa".

The opening of the Abu Dhabi branch marks a historic step in the development of UniCredit's International Network, led by Gianfranco Bisagni. The Madrid branch was opened in May, while the preceding six months saw additions to the London, Geneva, New York, Sao Paolo, Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, with new bankers recruited to improve client coverage and new desks for capital markets, global transaction banking, and commodity finance.

At the end of 2015, UniCredit served over 1,000 Italian, German and Austrian groups in Asia, the United States and Latin America, with growth of 26% compared to the previous year.

The International Network of UniCredit Group branches and representative offices now spans 21 cities in 19 countries across 4 continents (Abu Dhabi, Athens, Canton, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Madrid, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Beijing, Podgorica, Sao Paolo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Skopje, Tokyo, Tripoli, Zurich).

However, UniCredit's role in supporting European and international businesses is also evident in other ways.

The Group is the absolute leader for syndicated loans in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), amounting to €11.8 billion in the first five months of the year, according to official tables published by DeaLogic.

The main transactions contributing to this result were those with Switzerland's Glencore (US$7.7 billion) and Dutch company Trafigura (US$5.1 billion). In Italy the main operations were with Lavazza and Marcegaglia, in Germany with Krauss Maffei and Telefonica DEU, the United Kingdom's Ascential, and in Austria with Lasselsberger.

Adding Euro note issues to the syndicated loans, UniCredit was the most active on the EMEA market with some 214 transactions in the first 5 months of the year.

Commenting on the results, Gianni Franco Papa said: "The figures confirm two things. The first is UniCredit's primary role in supporting the real economy in Europe, in what is a particularly difficult and turbulent time for financial markets. We continue to help build the European economy, also thanks to very low interest rates which enables us to finance projects and investments at extremely favorable conditions. Secondly, they confirm UniCredit's strong standing in international capital markets, which means that we can act as the natural bridge to institutional investors throughout the world for a growing number of companies."

UniCredit Corporate & Investment Banking ended the first quarter with revenues in excess of a billion euros and profitability among the highest in the industry, with a ROAC (Return On Allocated Capital) of 17%.

Milan, June 20, 2016

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