Investment spending in 2019
The investment projects run by mBank in 2019 were aimed primarily to support technological development and, in consequence, further organic growth of the bank. We put the greatest emphasis on solutions enhancing customer satisfaction and experience. With PLN 424.1 million spent in 2019 (vs. PLN 363.5 million in 2018) the Group’s investment spending was lower than in the past years.
As in the previous years, the biggest portion of mBank’s investment spending was allocated to IT (PLN 339.9 million). We further enhanced our mobile banking app by launching new features such as the finance navigator for private banking clients and factoring financing for small and medium-sized enterprises. Other important investments which began in 2019 and will be continued in 2020 include the development of mInvest, an investment app, and mDM Mobile, a brokerage services app that will replace the current one. Our digitalisation efforts focused on, among others, automation of the mortgage process for individuals, improvement of customer interaction in the chat platform, direct invoicing in online banking, and client onboarding via video chat.
We continued to invest in cost optimisation and process efficiency improvement projects. We streamlined our lending processes for businesses and implemented a new centralised onboarding and after-sales service model in Corporate Banking. We increased our operational advantage through internal process automation and procurement platform development.
Furthermore, we carried out a number of projects adjusting the bank’s processes and systems to new regulations, such as MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive), PSD2 (Payment Services Directive), EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the new definition of default (changes affecting default triggers and parameters), and changes in Polish tax regulations (clearing house ICT system (STIR) and split payment).
With PLN 41.2 million, the real property area ranked second in terms of investment spending. In 2019 we continued the One Network project adding two light branches to the existing network (in Warsaw and Katowice).
Investment plans for 2020
Investments scheduled for 2020 will focus on further digital transformation. We will be optimising and automating customer service and internal processes to strengthen our competitive advantage. The projects will support our digital first approach and omnichannel customer service.
We will further enhance our mobile app in 2020 by offering clients new features and improving the existing ones. Our investment efforts will be aimed at the development of transactional elements, such as the BLIK service, regular payment management, payment assistant, and personal finance manager. We also plan to integrate the app with additional services, such as parking, public transport, and motorway payments.
We will continue to invest in the development of our online banking platform. We plan to launch new transaction navigation, simplify money transfers sent to beneficiaries in Poland and the EU, and adjust the main scenarios to the needs of blind clients.
The new Warsaw headquarters of mBank and mBank Group subsidiaries located in the Mennica Legacy Tower will be one of our most important investments in 2020. The project is planned to be completed in 2021.
We will also continue to optimise our branch network. Two additional branches and four initially scheduled for 2019 will be opened in 2020.
We will also focus on ensuring full compliance of our business with the applicable legal requirements