“Trust and innovations are what make us the market leader now; trust and innovations will strengthen this position in 2009 and allow us to perform in line with the interests of all key stakeholder groups,” says Gernot Mittendorfer, CEO of Ceska sporitelna. “We perceive this award as an acknowledgement of the hard work and commitment of our staff, together with innovations in products, services and processes,” he adds.
Striking new products have included the Personal Account, taken up by more than half a million customers within six months, which allows account-holders to choose from 30 levels of products and services that they can add to and change as required. Sporitelna’s Ideal Mortgage is a similarly flexible concept on the lending side.
The bank also offered Czech retail investors their first access to a local real estate fund, and pioneered lifecycle funds. These are designed to invest with a specific time horizon in mind, as a more liquid alternative to supplementary pension schemes that also offers greater diversification, including money-market, bond, commodity and equity products.
On the corporate client side, sporitelna has focused on bringing new services to small and medium-sized enterprises. These include the TOP Energy programme, for financing energy conservation projects in small businesses, combining cost reduction for clients with corporate social responsibility.
