Dear Shareholders,
I am pleased to present to you the annual report of the Bank Pekao S.A. Group for the year 2021.
We
can
consider
the
past
year
successful
for
the
Polish
economy,
the
banking
sector
and
for
Bank
Pekao.
It
was
a
period
of
gradual
recovery
of
the
Polish
economy
from
the
Covid-19
pandemic
in
economic
and
social
terms.
Despite
the
ongoing
pandemic
restrictions,
Polish
companies
and
households
coped
well
with
the
adaptation
to
the
new
conditions,
which
resulted
in
an
almost
6%
increase
in
GDP,
one
of
the
strongest
labour
markets
in
the
European
Union
and
a
growing
demand
for
our
products
and
services.
Trying
to
cope
with
them
as
much
as
possible,
we
increased
the
scale
of
our
operations
by
about
10%,
at
the
same
time
accelerating
the
acquisition
of
new
customers.
The
outlook
for
the
Polish
economy
for
2022
is
strong,
although
the
risks
associated
with
the
tightening
of
monetary
policy
and
Russia's
aggression
in
Ukraine,
and
the
related
impact
on
the
economy, make us forecast cautiously.
Customers
are
at
the
heart
of
our
new
strategy
for
2021-2024.
In
the
first
year
of
its
implementation,
we
continued
the
process
of
digitizing
our
offer,
so
that
now
more
than
half
of
banking
activities
can
be
performed
in
a
convenient
digital
self-service
model.
The
new
PeoPay
Kids
offer
has
gained
international
award
recognition
for
its
support
in
introducing
children
to
the
world
of
finance.
We
are
expanding
the
functionality
of
our
mobile
application,
which
is
becoming
more
and
more
popular.
As
the
bank
of
first
choice
for
corporate
clients,
we
often
accompany
our
clients
in
their
business
successes
on
the
Polish
market
and
through
dynamically
growing
exports.
In
particular,
we
are
pleased
with
the
very
rapid
growth
in
the
segments
of
smaller
and
medium-sized
companies,
where
we
reap
the
fruits
of
a
significant
improvement
in
the
customer
service
process.
Market
requirements
are
changing
and
we
plan
to
keep
up
with
them
and
further
expand
our
offer
for
customers.
New
standards
of
sustainability
(ESG)
lead
to
new
investment
projects
in
the
segment
of
corporate
clients
and
the
corporate
sector,
and
the
processes
of
energy
transformation,
automation
and
robotization
give
us
a
room
for
a
new
client
business
that
we
plan
to
utilise.
Our
success
would
not
be
possible
without
our
most
valuable
resource
-
our
employees.
Their
diligence,
expert
knowledge,
dedication
and
flexibility
enable
us
to
meet
our
clients'
needs.
Bank
Pekao
makes
every
effort
to
fairly
reward
this
work
on
a
market
basis,
flexibly
adjust
work
standards
to
the
pandemic
reality
and
ensure
that
our
bank
continues
to
be
a
valued
employer.
Employment
issues
are
also
at
the
heart
of
our
own
sustainability
strategy
for
2021-2024.
As
part
of
this
strategy,
we
care
about
the
high
working
standards,
close
the
salary
and
development
opportunity
gaps
between
women
and
men,
and
we
increase
our
commitment
to
volunteering.
We
also
conduct
a
continuous
dialogue
with
the
social
side
and
trade
unions
operating in the Pekao Group.
Bank
Pekao
takes
a
responsible
approach
to
its
role
in
the
economic
environment
as
an
institution
that
cares
for
our
other
stakeholders.
In
2021,
we
were
at
the
forefront
of
the
largest
Polish
corporate
income
tax
payers,
sector
tax
on
financial
institutions,
as
well
as
an
important
contributor
to
the
Bank
Guarantee
Fund.
Working
with
the
BGF,
we
carried
out
the
process
of
purchasing
Idea
Bank
under
resolution
procedure,
which
secured
the
banking
sector
and
offered
Idea
Bank
clients
the
possibility
of
continuing
the
banking
relationship.
This
transaction
was
carried
out
with
responsibility
for
the
stability
of
the
financial
sector
and
engaged
several
hundred
employees
in
an
IT
merger,
which
was
successfully
completed
in
the
fourth
quarter of last year.
Bank
Pekao
has
already
started
its
involvement
in
helping
victims
of
the
war
in
Ukraine,
and
our
first
activities
are
humanitarian
aid, including for refugees coming to Poland. We are also introducing a special offer for Ukrainian citizens and entrepreneurs,
free
of
charge
and
language-adapted.
We
also
express
our
readiness
to
provide
further
necessary
assistance.
As
a
systemically
important
bank,
we
will
continue
to
care
for
the
security
of
banking
services
and
the
financial
security
of
our
clients.
Our
activity
has
been
appreciated
by
the
shareholders
of
Bank
Pekao,
who
will
consider
2021
a
successful
year.
We
managed
to
pay
the
dividend
for
2020
after
the
pandemic
restrictions
imposed
by
the
Polish
Financial
Supervision
Authority
expired,
confirming
our
long-standing
dividend
credibility
that
stands
out
on
the
market.
The
valuation
of
the
Pekao
Group
more
than
doubled,
following
the
improving
profitability
outlook.
We
have
rebuilt
our
consolidated
net
profit
to
pre-pandemic
levels
despite
significantly
lower
market
interest
rates.
It
was
possible
thanks
to
the
increased
activity
of
our
clients
in
terms
of
both
transactions
and
financing,
which
positively
influenced
our
result
-
commission
and
interest,
respectively.
Of
course,
the
balance
of
risk
provisions
also
improved
significantly
in
the
past
year,
even
though
we
conservatively
maintain
a
large
buffer
of precautionary provisions in the initial phase of the pandemic.
We
are
entering
2022
with
cautious
optimism.
We
believe
that
global
and
national
efforts
to
deal
with
pandemic
containment
will
achieve
the
intended
effect,
which
will
allow
all
of
us
to
return
to
normal.
We
realize
that
in
many
aspects
of
economic
life,
normalization
does
not
mean
a
return
to
the
reality
we
remember
from
the
beginning
of
2020.
While
2020
was
a
year
of
disturbance
in
economic
activity,
and
the
past
year
was
a
time
of
gradual
recovery,
2022
will
be
a
period
of
paying
the
bill
for