It is the fifth bank in Spain by volume of assets and the most important financial entity based in Andalusia. And this Friday it definitively closed the process of renovating its dome to overcome a turbulent period of change, in a context of economic instability, which has hampered its growth in the last year. The ordinary general meeting of shareholders of Unicaja has given the green light to the election as independent director of José Sevilla, a step prior to his taking office as non-executive president of the entity, replacing Manuel Azuagawho said goodbye acknowledging the difficulties of recent times: “It has not been an easy task.”
With these changes, the bank, which has recently updated its image and simplified its corporate identity (it has stopped calling itself Unicaja Bank), hopes to have taken firm steps towards a definitive takeoff after the turbulence derived from the merger with Liberbank.
Together with José Sevilla, who contributes his past experience in the reconversion of Bankia, the helm of Unicaja will be in the hands of Isidro Rubiales, appointed CEO last September.
The renewal of the entity’s management must be accompanied by an update of its business model to improve its profitability without giving up its “genetic inheritance” (in the words of Manuel Azuaga), which includes profitability, sustainability, competitiveness but, above all, “a low risk profile.”
To this end, Isidro Rubiales has detailed the content of a strategic plan that involves improving efficiency through “operational excellence”; advanced risk management with a “conservative profile”; improving and increasing digital banking capabilities; and the “commitment to sustainability” in all lines of business.
The shareholders’ meeting has, on the other hand, approved the payment of 132 million euros in dividends, which translates into a gross profit per share of 4.97 cents, 2.7% higher than the previous year. The forecast is to pay the payments next April 19.
In addition, the CEO explained the implementation of a share buybackwhich is already underway after having obtained the approval of the European Central Bank, for a maximum amount of 100 million euros, with a maximum of 3.8% of the share capital. “The execution of this program will result in an improvement in all per-share metrics, including a growth in the dividend per share that all of you will receive in the future,” Rubiales explained.
Unicaja’s main business commitment continues to be linked to mortgage operations, which account for 60% of the loan portfolio. These, together with those related to the public sector, constitute 72.3% of the total, which gives the entity a low level of risk, as the CEO has highlighted.
At the end of 2023, on-balance sheet deposits from retail clients in the private sector reached 62,284 million euros, after registering a growth of 1.9% in the last quarter, reversing the trend of previous quarters, explained Rubiales. “Its stability and granularity, given that 75% of the total belongs to individuals, with a low concentration and average amount of around 20,000 euros, allow us to add value to our retail commercial banking model and provides us with a competitive advantage in a scenario of more normalized interest rates,” he added.
In 2023, the Unicaja Banco Group obtained a net profit of 267 million euros, which represents a reduction of 4% in annual comparison, although excluding the impact of the new banking tax, which was paid for the first time in this year, in the amount of 63.8 million euros, the result would have amounted to 330 million of euros, 19% higher than in 2022.
These results are also impacted by the significant effort made in terms of write-downs, of 546 million euros throughout the year, in order to accelerate the reduction of non-productive assets and improve structural profitability, “placing us in a good starting position.” to achieve the objectives announced for 2024, to the finalization of the current Strategic Plan”.
The general meeting of shareholders has also approved the re-election of Mara Luisa with Arjon as an independent director and the appointment of Vctor Covin as advisor Sunday on behalf of the Caja de Ahorros de Asturias Banking Foundation.