LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MANAGEMENT BOARD OF BANK MILLENNIUM
Dear Stakeholders,
I have the pleasure of inviting you to review the Bank Millennium Group’s 2015 Corporate Social Responsibility Report in which we depict our impact on sustainable economic, social and environmental development. This year’s report is the tenth publication of this type, and at the same time, it confirms that we have long upheld CSR principles in the conduct of our business.
The Bank’s current business strategy defines the aspects on which we focus in our cooperation with our surroundings. These aspects include offering the highest quality of customer service, ethical marketing and sales, ensuring the safety of the funds our customers deposit with us and implementing innovative products. We also place emphasis on creating stable and attractive working conditions and limiting the adverse impact on the natural environment. We also get involved in programs supporting local communities.
Providing the highest quality of service is one of the Bank’s priorities. We design services driven by customer expectations using the findings from our survey research, third party audits and analysis of our customers’ feedback. We endeavor to furnish innovative solutions to our Customers so that they can utilize our financial services in any and every time and place in the easiest manner possible. We are keen on making all Customer groups, including disabled persons feel comfortable as they interface with the Bank. That is why we have introduced a host of conveniences such as branches, ATMs and a method of service catering to the needs of disabled persons.
We also respond to the needs of Customers who face tough financial circumstances. To curtail the adverse repercussions ensuing from the growth in the Swiss franc exchange rate at the outset of 2015 we introduced a number of solutions incorporating the Polish Bank Association’s recommendations facilitating the debt service of mortgage loans extended in this currency. In addition, every Customer holding a mortgage loan in Swiss francs received a proposal of special conditions for swapping the currency and early loan repayment.
The solutions we rolled out in the quality of service area have contributed not only to enhanced customer satisfaction but also to market recognition. In 2015, Bank Millennium was the leader in all the major service quality rankings: Quality Star (“Gwiazda Jakości”), Quality You Can Bank On (“Jakość na bank”) and Newsweek’s Friendly Bank (“Przyjazny Bank Newsweeka”), the most prestigious ranking (victory in 3 categories: Bank of Choice for Mr. Smith (“Bank dla Kowalskiego”), Web Bank, (Bank w Internecie”) and Mortgage Banking, “Bankowość Hipoteczna”).
Motivated Employees play the most important role in building a culture of quality. Their efforts contribute to customer satisfaction. We build employee relations
predicated on open communication to appreciate their expectations and to be able to respond to them. We strive to provide Employees with satisfactory conditions to do their jobs and for their development as well as to promote work-life balance. The training and skills development programs we run in the Bank and the project entitled Endorsing Parents (“Rodzice na Tak”) serve this purpose. This latter project has been implemented to support Employees who are parents.
Employees also participate in events supporting local communities with the Bank’s participation. Bank volunteers lend their support to disabled artists in the program entitled Nikifory, they run classes in finance for middle school students under the Catch the Bug (“Bakcyl “) program and they run their own social projects in the program entitled Volunteerism 55+ (“Wolontariat 55+”).
An important role played by the Bank is its action to enhance Poles’ financial awareness and knowledge. We are engaged in this process by educating Customers about financial services, by providing school students with practical financial knowledge in the Bakcyl program and by supporting the Economic Knowledge Olympics organized by the Polish Economic Society. The idea of supporting entrepreneurship and innovation is also something we consider to be dear. Last year we were a partner and a member of the jury in the Eagles of Innovation (“Orły Innowacji”) contests organized by the Rzeczpospolita daily whose purpose was to select young Polish firms with the best prospects offering innovative products and services.
On top of supporting programs supporting local communities we are also a long-term partner of many institutions involved in running high culture programs. Nearly 700 thousand people attended the concerts, musical and theatrical festivals, museum and gallery exhibitions and documentary film reviews we supported in 2015. For the past 17 years the Bank has also been the founder of the Golden Sceptre (“Złote Berło”) annual award for a Polish artist conferred by the Polish Culture Foundation for outstanding artistic achievements.
The Bank’s adherence to sustainable development and ethical business principles has also been confirmed by external assessments. Since 2011 the Bank has been in the RESPECT Index consisting of socially responsible companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The Bank also received POLITYKA’s 2014 CSR Silver Leaf – a distinction awarded to companies implementing sustainable development measures and it earned the title of being an Ethical Company in the contest organized by the Puls Biznesu daily.
I would like to encourage you to peruse this report and garner information concerning the specific measures we are pursuing in response to the expectations of our surroundings.
[Chairman's signature]
Joao Bras Jorge
Chairman of the Management Board of Bank Millennium
Bank Millennium
Bank Millennium, through its chain of outlets and telephone, Internet and mobile banking channels offers modern financial services and products to individual and business Clients. The Bank is the core of the Bank Millennium Group, which includes: Millennium Leasing, Millennium Dom Maklerski and Millennium Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych.
