INTESA SANPAOLO: BRANCHES OPEN UNTIL 8PM AS WELL AS ON SATURDAYS

CLOSER TO CUSTOMERS: NEW BOOST TO PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETITIVENESS; INNOVATION AND EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT

• Opening hours until 8pm and on Saturday mornings; branch managers can reach customers at "home" as part of new initiatives dedicated to different types of customers; greater integration between traditional and direct "24/7" channels

• From January, around 100 branches will have extended hours across the whole country; to reach 500 branches by June

• Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Enrico Cucchiani: "Our Bank wants to be close to its customers, including in the evenings and on Saturdays, in its branches and through direct channels, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Furthermore, this new service model is a sign of awareness of workers and represents an innovative way of preserving jobs."

Turin - Milan, 15 January 2013. Intesa Sanpaolo begins the year 2013 with the new development of its network service model for customers: the Bank will see a gradual extension of opening hours until 8pm and on Saturday mornings in its main branches. By the end of January, around 100 branches will have extended opening hours; 500 branches are set to adhere to the new hours by June 2013, with a gradual increase in the months to follow, depending on market necessity.

Intesa Sanpaolo is the first major Italian bank to innovate in terms of access to banking services, addressing not only opening hours for branches, but also its offering to customers: branch staff will also be able to reach customers directly at their homes or at their workplaces.

Through these innovations, Intesa Sanpaolo aims to better respond to the changing lifestyles and work conditions of its customers. At the same time, the Bank plans to improve the organization and working performance of its branches, developing new professional skills and supporting employment.

Efficiency, productivity, boosting competitiveness, innovation and professional quality of the network: these are the levers of organizational change that will be applied in more than 5,000 branches of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Retail Banking Division.

"The new service model that Intesa Sanpaolo offers to its customers represents an important step of innovation – Enrico Cucchiani, Managing Director and CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, comments. – Thanks to this service model we will be closer to all our customers in the evenings and on Saturdays in the branches and through direct channels, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The new service is a sign of awareness of workers and represents an innovative way of preserving jobs."

Intesa Sanpaolo and workers’ representatives have worked on comprehensive planning and consultation activities in order to define this new model. It has been necessary to rearrange the schedule of the relationship managers involved, provide for effective cooperation between colleagues to ensure a branch representative is always present for customer reference in the extended hours, and improve reception and information services. "The agreement, which was reached in October with the trade union representatives reads the future of a country undergoing deep changes," says Francesco Micheli, Chief Operating Officer of Intesa Sanpaolo, confirming an advanced model of industrial relations.

"We want to represent an example of service quality and effectiveness for our customers - says Giuseppe Castagna, General Manager in charge of the Retail Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo. For this reason, our branches will be open during the hours when people have time to dedicate to their financial decisions – however small or large – which are important for their future. We are committed to improving customer service."

Intesa Sanpaolo benefits from a network of relationship managers that are amongst the most qualified in Italy. A wealth of knowledge and expertise, operational capacity and closeness to customers, which will be enhanced thanks to the possibility of accessing the bank in times which adhere to the new lifestyles and working conditions of our customers.

Our product and services offering is evolving: not only into products but solutions, practical answers to customer needs.

New initiatives are also expected, in particular, in the area of supplementary pensions, automotive drivers’ protection and protection at home or at work, which will be focused on at specific events held at the branches, aimed at developing relationships with various types of clients.

 

For further info:
Intesa Sanpaolo Media Relations
Banca dei Territori and Local Media
Tel +39 0115556652
Tel +39 0287962677
stampa@intesasanpaolo.com