In 2020, Polish and global economy had to face unexpected challenges connected with the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Global economy was hampered by restrictions introduced with a view to curbing infection rates.
In Poland, COVID-19 caused a recession, which had not been recorded for many years; GDP decreased by -2.8%. Radical measures taken by monetary and fiscal authorities (sharp increase in the budgetary deficit, aid programmes for households and enterprises) helped mitigate the economic shock. The measures, in particular the interest rate cuts by a total of 140 bps, had a huge impact on the functioning of the banking sector. On the other hand, the support measures had a positive impact on the financial standing of many enterprises and on the labour market, which may reduce banks’ risk costs in the future. Provisions for legal risk associated with foreign currency mortgage loans also had a significant negative effect on the results of some banks. For mBank, it was the second year in a row when the provisions markedly reduced the generated profit.
Despite numerous challenges and unfavourable conditions, the income of mBank Group hit record high, totalling more than PLN 5.8 billion. Net profit stood at PLN 103.8 million. The key events of 2020 include:
- Increase in income by 6%, including a rise in the net fee and commission income by 19%;
- Improvement in efficiency measured by the cost-to-income ratio to 41.1%;
- Creation of high provisions for legal risk related to foreign currency loans amounting to more than PLN 1 billion;
- An increase in risk costs to 119 bps. connected with uncertainty about the impact of the pandemic on clients’ situation;
- Dynamic inflow of deposits (+18%), in particular into current and savings accounts of retail clients;
- Further increase in mortgage loan sales, coupled with a decrease in non-mortgage loan sales;
- Maintenance of a strong capital base – capital ratios significantly surpassed regulatory requirements: Tier I at 17.0%, Total Capital Ratio at 19.9%;
- Numerous measures supporting clients and employees during the pandemic, among others:
- we were the first bank to introduce loan repayment holidays for individual clients, micro-enterprises and enterprises;
- we were one of the first banks that enabled clients to apply for funds under the aid programme of the Polish Development Fund (PFR) via mBank’s transactional systems;
- we implemented many solutions enabling clients to use our services remotely;
- we provided companies with a set of tools helping them to start an e-commerce business;
- since the beginning of the pandemic, we enabled a majority of our office staff to work remotely and ensured the necessary protection measures for the rest of the staff. We actively helped them to achieve work comfort in home office.
- Initiatives for other stakeholders:
- we increased the pool of funds for renewable energy projects to PLN 4 billion;
- we continue to support and cooperate with the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP);
- our actions and approach to ESG issues was reflected in the improved rating score assigned by Sustainalytics.
Awards and distinctions
In the last edition of a competition organized by Global Finance magazine, the jury decided mBank to be the best Polish bank in the category “World’s Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Bank in CEE 2020”. We competed with the banks from all over the world. Decision was taken by the multinational experts’ group from the Infosys company. They were guided by such criteria as: digitalisation strategy, increase of the cyber services users, rise of the number of online banking clients, scope of the product offer, the range of the benefits from cyber innovations as well as assessment of the functionality of the transactional and mobile services.
This international finance magazine distinguishes mBank each year. In 2019 we were the best Polish bank in the categories “The World’s Best Treasury & Cash Management Banks and Providers 2019” and “The Best Corporate Digital Bank 2019”. We were also awarded first position for the best cyber bank for corporate clients in Central and Eastern Europe: “World’s Best Corporate/Institutional Digital Banks 2019”.
We are the winners of the “Digital Excellence Awards” competition in the “Operational Efficiency” category. This prestigious distinction in the IT sector was granted for our project #DigitAll, which allowed for digitalisation and improvement of our business processes. This is a programme of bank-end digitalisation, meaning a comprehensive transformation of operational processes in the bank using the modern organizational practices and cyber technologies. Thanks to it our organisation became fully digital bank. This competition is organised by CIONET, the biggest community of IT Executives in Europe.
mBank won two awards in the Golden Banker competition organised by Bankier.pl and Puls Biznesu daily. The awards were granted for the third place in the Socially Responsible Bank category for mBank’s cooperation with the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) and the third place in the Best Advertising Spot category for its advertisement featuring GrubSon, a Polish rapper, addressed to 18-year-olds.
In this annual survey the clients assess the quality of services offered by their banks. In 2020 we were awarded first position for the best service, winning the category “Overall Best Services in Poland”. We are particularly proud for the record-high number of clients, who participated in the survey. Over 33 000 persons responded, which is 25% more than in 2019. This substantial responsiveness proves how important cash management is for the clients, especially during pandemic.
mBank won the title of the Trusted Brand of 2020 in the Business Account category. The results of a survey of the trust placed by Polish entrepreneurs in the brands of products and services dedicated to businesses were published in My Company Polska business monthly.
mBank was awarded by the Polish Private Equity and Venture Capital Association in the Best Financing Bank category for the fourth time. PSIK associates Venture Capital and Private Equity investors active in Poland.
In another edition of the prestigious “Effie Awards Poland” competition, mBank received two statuettes for campaigns addressed to the young people. The first, silver distinction was awarded to us together with the agency BBDO WWA and media house Mindshare Poland in the “Finances” category for the “The Autumn campaign for the young”. Another silver award we won together with the agency VMLY&R Poland for the campaign “Yearbooks”, distinguished in the „long term marketing excellence” category.
The GPW and Treasury BondSpot Poland 2019 awards were handed over at the 2019 Stock Exchange Summary gala to the best performing companies and those supporting the development of the Polish capital market. mBank was awarded in two categories: as a distributor of information for the highest value of its portfolio of orders for information products containing GPW and BondSpot data in 2019 and as the leader of market marketing on the Treasury BondSpot Poland market.
mBank received two distinctions in the 15th edition of the contest „The Best Annual Report”, organised by the Institute of Accountancy and Taxes (IRiP). We won the title “The Best of the Best” for the best annual report in the category of financial institutions for the eighth time in a row. Moreover, for the second time we also won a distinction for the best statement on application of corporate governance principles, which proves high usability of our disclosures for the shareholders and analysts.
On February 6, 2020 mBank was awarded for the best quality of the BGK-backed credit portfolio at the Partnership Guarantees Success conference organised by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK). This award is a great recognition of the work of our business, risk assessment and sales support teams.
Polityka weekly, the Responsible Business Forum and Deloitte awarded the White Leaf to mBank in the ninth ranking of socially responsible companies. This award is granted in recognition of activities in the area of corporate governance, human rights, treatment of employees, environmental protection, customer care, business integrity, and social responsibility. mBank was also recognised for “Projects and actions supporting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 – climate action: for RES policy and ESG-based investments for Private Banking clients”. The award marks mBank’s debut in the White Leaf ranking.
mBank came twelfth in the general competition and fifth in the “Banking, Financial Sector and Insurance” industry competition in the Ranking of Responsible Companies organised by Koźmiński Business Hub. The organisers rank companies in terms of the quality of their corporate social responsibility management systems.
mBank’s IT team has made it to the finals for the prestigious European IT & Software Excellence Awards 2020 in the Innovating Technology Solution of the Year category. This is a great recognition of the skills of all team members, but also of the changes they made to take mBank’s IT to the top level.
In 2020 we became one of the finalists of the „Gartner Eye on Innovation Award EMEA” competition. It awards the best innovations on the financial market. We were distinguished for our cyber tool “mBox”. It is a banking platform allowing for repeatable implementation in other institutions, which aspire to be named technologically advanced.
mBank was named one of the most attractive employers among young people in two categories: business and IT. Every year Universum, together with universities, ranks students’ preferences on the labour market.
mBank won the first prize in the HR Dream contest organised by Pracuj.pl. The jury appreciated the “Log into Development” project combining two initiatives: “Development Fridays” and “Let Development In”, and named it the most interesting and effective HR initiative.
Leszek Włodarski, IT vice-director at mBank, came second in the IT Manager of Tomorrow Awards 2020 contest. He presented the challenges faced and solutions implemented during the transformation of the central IT system in the context of the organisational culture fostered at mBank. The contest is a platform for IT specialists from various industries to present their achievements in boosting efficiency in their organisations. The jury evaluated how the contestants managed to keep a balance between three components: new technologies, efficient working methods and organisational culture.
In 2020, online portal Cashless.pl awarded Joanna Erdman, head of strategic projects at mBank. Joanna Erdman, named the most influential woman of the payment industry in 2019, came second this year. The principal purpose of the ranking is to promote professional equality in the major institutions of the payment industry in Poland.
Mateusz Namysł, the sector analyst at mBank, was one of three winners of the Young Stars of the Financial Market competition organised by Parkiet daily and the Association of Brokers and Advisers (ZMiD). The initiative honours successful young people aged up to 35.
In the “Digital Revolutions!” contest, mBank was the one who granted awards to the participants. The contest is part of the “Digital Revolutions” campaign launched in June 2020 to support online expansion of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. From over 550 applications the jury of experts selected the best ideas with a potential to turn into a thriving e-commerce business. We granted two first degree awards (PLN 100,000 each) and ten second degree awards (PLN 10,000 each). The contest was organised in partnership with MasterCard, while the campaign is supported by eIzba. Congratulations to the winners.
More information about the awards and distinctions is available on the bank’s website in the Press Office section.
mBank moves its headquarters to a new location
After 22 years mBank changed its address to 18 Prosta Street, where, since November 20, 2020, it has its new headquarters. The building is ecological and furnished with modern technologies. It won the European Property Awards competition, selecting the best real estate projects in Europe. The facility was awarded the title of the best investment in Poland and Europe in the „Commercial High-Rise Architecture” category.
mBank is the main tenant of the 140-meter tower, a part of Mennica Legacy Tower complex in the center of Warsaw. In the mBank Tower (a name chosen by the employees) the bank occupies 21 out of 28 office floors. The target number of employees working there is over 3,000 and offices are organized in a “hot desk” formula, with places for ca. 70% of the staff number.
As befits the “mobile icon’s” headquarters, the building is equipped with friendly technological solutions. After opening the gateway with smartphone, the lift to a proper floor is called automatically. The mobile app gives employees a possibility to book a room for a meeting or register a guest. Comfort module in the mobile app steers the lights, temperature and window covers so that employees are able to adjust the working environment to their needs. mBank Tower is also rich in various ecological solutions, minimizing the energy usage and our impact on the environment, confirmed by the highly regarded BREEAM certificate.
The key solutions include:
- all materials used during the construction have appropiate credentials, certificates, and authentications of being produced in a sustainable way
- DALI system, which balances the brightness of illumination automatically
- autonomous switch off for the unused lightning zones in the building
- motion detectors in the toilets, which affect the energy savings
- heat recuperation systems in the ventilation systems
- aerators in the toilets (basin taps), saving water
- electric control for roller blinds
- 10 chargers for the electric cars in the garage
- garage accomodating 350 bikes with sanitary convieniences and cloakroom.
Aside from triumphing in the European Property Awards contest, Mennica Legacy Tower won in the CIJ Awards Poland 2020 plebiscite (in the category Best High-Rise Development and Best Warsaw Office Development). The building also received the award „Real Estate Impactor 2020 (in the category New icon of the city).