Advan Zia Bank Annual Report 2021
Advan Zia Bank Annual Report 2021
Advan Zia Bank Annual Report 2021
CONTENTS
14 SPOTLIGHT ON ITALY
15 SPOTLIGHT ON SECURITISATION
16 ABOUT ADVANZIA
16 A European digital bank
16 Transparent and flexible consumer products
16 Bespoke credit card solutions
16 Regulatory stability
16 Solid shareholder structure
2
Advanzia Bank 2021
63.2
million
KEY
transactions
2.1
million
credit card customers1
91
banks &
financial
institutions
15.4%
loan balance
growth
EUR 4.2
billion
transaction volume
1
Cards in force 5
Advanzia Bank 2021
CEO’S
MESSAGE
Despite continued disruptions caused by the pan- new and green home for our employees, which,
demic, 2021 was a successful year for Advanzia. The upon its completion in 2023, will allow greater col-
bank has stayed on its digitalisation and growth laboration in support of the spirit of #TeamAdvanzia.
journey, showing continued customer engage- This is part of our ambition to develop a collabora-
ment, implementing enhanced mobile projects and tive and mobile work environment, enabling us to
strengthening its product development ambition. continue our role as a responsible corporate citizen
through the bank’s ESG initiatives under the name of
The now fully implemented cloud-based digital “Advanzia Plus”.
banking platform is live in all markets, providing our
customers with an easy-to-use mobile experience, With many of this past year’s achievements based
and facilitating a successful entry in our sixth con- on flexibility and collaboration, I am thankful for the
sumer market with the launch of Carta YOU in Italy. commitment of our trusted service partners, and
This is also the first credit card in our portfolio that for the resilience and flexibility of all our employees
offers an entirely digital onboarding process as part without whom Advanzia’s continued success would
of our omni-channel approach. not be possible.
Along with the rebrand of our anchor product, the
German gebührenfrei.de credit card, further har-
monisations of all touchpoints across the customer
lifecycle with a unified the brand experience were Roland Ludwig
rolled out in Germany. Chief Executive Officer
Advanzia Bank S.A.
The 2021 results demonstrate yet again the sus-
tained success of our credit risk underwriting capa-
bilities and our flexibility in adapting acceptance pol-
icies and marketing strategies to improve portfolio
performance and minimise risk. During the year, we
celebrated surpassing two milestones: More than
2 million customers and more than 2 billion euro
in gross loan balance – both key performance indi-
cators demonstrate a resilient and active customer
base.
6
Advanzia Bank 2021
CHAIRPERSON’S
STATEMENT
7
Advanzia Bank 2021
LEADERSHIP
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board of Directors
MR. BENGT ARVE REM Chairman of the Board, CEO Kistefos AS
DR. THOMAS SCHLIEPER Deputy Chairman of the Board, Private investor
MR. ERLEND BONDØ Kistefos AS, CFO Kistefos AS, Class C Director until 13 January 2021
MR. NISHANT FAFALIA Kistefos AS, Investment Director
MR. TOR ERLAND FYKSEN Private investor
MR. WILJAR NESSE CEO DigiPlex, Class C Director as of 14 January 2021
Audit Committee
MR. NISHANT FAFALIA Chairman of the Audit Committee
MR. WILJAR NESSE Member of the Audit Committee
MR. TOR ERLAND FYKSEN Member of the Audit Committee
LEADERSHIP
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Management Committee
MR. ROLAND LUDWIG Chief Executive Officer
MR. FRANK HAMEN Chief Risk Officer
MR. ROMAIN FETTES Chief Information Officer
MS. LINDA FRÜH Chief Digital Officer
MR. JOHANNES NEANDER Chief Commercial Officer
MR. PATRICK THILGES Chief Financial Officer
MR. PETRUS JOHANNES (PIETER) VERHOECKX Chief Customer Relations Officer
9
Advanzia Bank 2021
REPORT
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Advanzia Bank is a digital bank that offers competitive policies and marketing strategies to improve portfolio
and transparent solutions for private customers, performance and minimise risk. In 2021, the bank
business partners and banks. The bank promotes its paid a dividend of MEUR 78 to its shareholders out of
own branded Mastercard Gold credit cards through the financial result 2020.
online marketing channels and distributes its white
labelled and co-branded credit cards via business Digital transformation and market growth
partner networks. Advanzia is furthermore a lead- The bank continued its digitalisation programme
ing pan-European provider of turnkey credit card with the setup of a state-of-the art cloud-based plat-
programmes for banks and financial institutions. form, new mobile apps rolled out in all markets and
mobile payment now on offer in all available markets.
The redesign of the Gebührenfrei brand in Germany
OVERALL RESULTS in conjunction with the launch of the new mobile app
and customer portal was a notable product develop-
Strong financial performance in a continued ment highlight. The bank entered its sixth consumer
disruptive environment market with the launch of Carta YOU for Italian con-
The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to disrupt sumers – this was the first product to launch from the
the global economy, business activity and social life new digital banking platform, and the first credit card
throughout 2021. Nevertheless, Advanzia has kept in the bank’s international portfolio to offer a fully
its growth path and reached various important mile- digital onboarding process as part of its omni-chan-
stones related to its ongoing digital transformation. nel approach.
The bank showcased uninterrupted market growth,
entered a new consumer market, and has further Loyal and active customer base
optimised its funding structure with a landmark Overall, the loan balance grew satisfactorily during
securitisation transaction, supporting the ambitious 2021, much more pronounced than the previous
growth plans. The 2021 results continue to demon- year. The number of new active customers also grew,
strate the success of the bank’s credit risk underwrit- and the bank’s existing client base was more active
ing and its ability to adequately adapt acceptance during 2021 with increasing transaction volumes per
10 2
New active customers is the number of customers who have used their cards for the first time.
3
Cards in force: The number of issued cards including active and inactive cards.
4
Active customers are customers with at least one movement on their account in the last month.
Advanzia Bank 2021
card reaching pre-pandemic levels as of the second logo and brand identity were implemented to opti-
half of the year. mise digital impact, bringing a unified and recog-
nisable brand experience to Gebührenfrei card-
The bank’s credit card portfolio increased by 216 000 holders, with the new app, website and customer
new active credit card customers2. At the end of the portal providing harmonised touchpoints across
year, the bank had 2.1 million credit cards in force3 the customer lifecycle. Overall, card applications
and a gross loan balance of MEUR 2 205. Profit after rebounded favourably during the second half of the
taxes was MEUR 121. In 2021, the total turnover on all year. In order to increase card activation numbers,
cards reached EUR 4.2 billion or EUR 3 400 per active the bank conducted new campaigns with attractive
customer 4, and the average loan balance per active customer benefits.
customer amounted to approximately EUR 1 600.
Advanzia’s main income driver, the gross loan bal- In France, carte ZERO sales development was in
ance, increased by 15.4% compared to the previous line with planned volumes, with targeted campaigns
year, to MEUR 2 205. maximising growth potential in this market. The
gross loan balance reached MEUR 152.
Advanzia employed 193 people in total at the end of
the year, compared to 204 at the end of 2020. In Austria, the Free Mastercard Gold experienced
slower growth, partly due to the market saturation
Product and market development and limited online marketing opportunities.
Advanzia operates throughout Europe, offering its Nevertheless, the bank continued to onboard new
consumer credit cards, white label loyalty cards and partnerships on its co-branded programme that
turnkey credit card solutions to consumers, busi- was launched in 2020. The year ended with a gross
ness partners and private banks respectively. loan balance of MEUR 131.
In Germany, the bank’s largest market, the The bank’s performance in Spain was characterised
Gebührenfrei Mastercard Gold ended the year by a focused marketing and onboarding strategy.
with a gross loan balance of MEUR 1 865. The new The implementation of the new application solution
11
Advanzia Bank 2021
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
12
Advanzia Bank 2021
Specialised committees
The Board of Directors (BoD) is assisted by special-
Securitisation milestone and landmark ABS deal ised committees, in particular in the fields of audit as
Following the bank’s issuance of hybrid capital in well as remuneration and appointments or internal
spring 2021, the issuance of Asset Backed Securities governance and professional ethics, according to its
in November was a landmark deal and an important needs and considering the organisation, nature, scale
step towards a strengthened and diversified bal- and complexity of the bank’s activities.
ance sheet. The transaction consisted of EUR 475 The BoD has established an Audit Committee (AC),
million in senior funding and was the first ABS pro- responsible for assisting the BoD in the audit domain
gramme in continental Europe based on a German and a Nomination and Remuneration Committee
credit card portfolio that meets the requirements (NRC), responsible for assisting the BoD in the remu-
for simple, transparent and standardised (STS) neration domain.
securitisations and sets the foundation for the
future growth ambitions of Advanzia. Operational controls
Operational controls are subdivided into three cat-
Increased automation and first AI implementations egories: (1) day-to-day controls performed by oper-
The move towards a cloud-based setup of the ating staff; (2) key structural controls including EMC
bank’s IT Infrastructure has brought increased usa- (Executive Management Committee) review, account
bility and accessibility, as well as enhanced cost-effi- balance reconciliation, and compliance checks with
ciency through better automation. During 2021, the internal limits; (3) controls performed by the EMC
implementation of Infrastructure as Service (IaaS) over activities and functions for which it is directly
enabled the bank to upscale and downscale follow- responsible.
ing pandemic-related market fluctuations, and this
inherent flexibility will continue to be an advantage Internal controls
for the years to come. The bank has implemented three distinct and inde-
pendent types of internal control encompassing risk
On an operational level, the bank has started the control, compliance and internal audit. The staff in
implementation of Robotic Process Automation charge of the internal control function report to the
(RPA) and continues to optimise agent workflow sys- EMC, the Board of Directors, and the Audit Committee.
tems as a basis for future enhanced automation and
additional implementation of AI in the customer Risk control. The purpose of the risk control function
service domain. is to anticipate, identify, measure, monitor, control
and report on the risks to which the bank is exposed.
The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) heads risk control.
INTERNAL GOVERNANCE
Compliance. The compliance function is responsible
Internal governance is established to ensure a clear for the anticipation, identification and assessment of
organisational structure and well-defined pro- compliance risks and assists the EMC in limiting these
cesses and responsibilities. The bank applies the risks. The CRO is the authorised member in charge of
Three Lines of Defence model: compliance.
The first line of defence consists of business units
that take or acquire risks and carry out controls; Internal audit. The internal audit function ensures
The second line of defence encompasses support that the system of internal controls operates effec-
functions such as the financial and accounting tively by assessing the efficiency of central adminis-
functions, as well as compliance and risk control; tration, internal governance, and business and risk
The third line of defence consists of the internal management. The function is headed by the CEO, as
audit function. the authorised management member in charge of
internal audit.
13
Advanzia Bank 2021
SPOTLIGHT
ON ITALY
“Carta YOU is Advanzia’s first credit card product with a fully digital onboarding process,
and this drastically changes the way we interact with our cardholders. As we support cus-
tomers with a digital mindset, we’ve also created new processes and communication lines,
and implemented a new approach for all our service partners. I look forward to expanding
this digital customer service approach across our other markets in the future.”
“As a native Italian speaker, I assisted in preparing the best possible communication for
our Italian customers. We had to make sure that the customer journey was clear, intuitive
and transparent on all levels, from the digital onboarding to accessing transaction over-
views in the app. As a new joiner, it was a fantastic experience to see all colleagues pull
together to bring the project alive.”
“Italy is our sixth consumer market, but launching new products is never a copy-paste
approach – each country is similar but different. Since the launch took place from our new
digital core banking platform and was linked to various digitalisation projects at the bank,
the Customer Relations teams were deeply involved in all aspects of the market entry,
cementing the internal cross-departmental collaboration. I am proud of everyone who
contributed to the successful launch of Carta YOU.”
14
Advanzia Bank 2021
SPOTLIGHT
ON SECURITISATION
“The greatest milestone for the Treasury team was ensuring that the data streams
from our card processing system were aligned with Advanzia’s core banking system.
This was quite a challenge! We would not have been successful without extensive test-
ing during all phases of the project, and without the invaluable support from our busi-
ness partners.”
“This securitisation project has made us rethink our approach to data. The required data
consolidation from multiple sources was unparalleled and unlike anything we have ever
implemented at the bank. Extensive data analysis allowed us to experiment with data
streams and gain new insights that will improve data intelligence and accountability for
the business. The great collaboration between Corporate Finance, Business Intelligence
and IT Delivery enabled a speedy implementation of a highly complex project. We now
consolidate and reconcile data for millions of accounts daily in a fully automated process.”
15
Advanzia Bank 2021
ABOUT
ADVANZIA
GERMANY
LUXEMBOURG
FRANCE
AUSTRIA
ITALY
SPAIN
17
5
Cards in force
Advanzia Bank 2021
OUR PRODUCTS
AND SOLUTIONS
18
Advanzia Bank 2021
2018
19
Advanzia Bank 2021
ADVANZIA PLUS
OUR COMMITMENT TO
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
In 2021, Advanzia Bank initiated and supported a number of projects in line with its com-
mitment to Advanzia Plus, aimed at encouraging social responsibility and supporting
socially impacting projects for our employees and for society.
20
Advanzia Bank 2021
Hiischwasserhellef
Veinen a.s.b.l.
LABELS AND
CERTIFICATIONS
19
21
Advanzia Bank 2021
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For arithmetical reasons, the following tables and the respective notes may contain rounding differences.
In thousands of EUR
Assets 2021 2020
Cash and cash equivalents 897 579 707 502
Loans and advances 2 185 484 1 896 606
whereof: financial institutions 143 123 129 438
whereof: corporates 12 -
whereof: customers 2 042 349 1 767 168
Tangible assets 2 260 3 892
Intangible assets 27 374 29 800
Other assets 13 401 12 101
Total assets 3 126 098 2 649 901
22
Advanzia Bank 2021
In thousands of EUR
2020
2021 2020
(Restated)
Financial and operational income and expenses 336 048 296 770 297 989
Interest income 325 171 292 524 293 744
Interest expenses -14 461 -15 831 -15 831
Commission income 45 103 40 319 40 319
Commission expenses -17 964 -15 915 -15 915
Net exchange result -24 -376 -376
Other operating income 4 820 3 780 3 780
Other operating expenses -6 597 -7 731 -7 731
Administrative expenses -97 542 -94 188 -94 188
Personnel expenses -21 075 -19 792 -19 792
General administrative expenses -76 467 -74 396 -74 396
Depreciation and amortisation on (in)tangible assets -8 647 -8 155 -8 155
Depreciation on tangible assets -1 774 -1 914 -1 914
Amortisation on intangible assets -6 874 -6 241 -6 241
Other loan losses -3 854 -2 320 -2 320
Impairment on financial assets -80 992 -68 408 -68 408
Result on activities before taxes 145 014 123 699 123 699
Income taxes -24 287 -23 219 -23 219
Result on activities after taxes 120 726 100 480 100 480
Result for the year 120 726 100 480 100 480
Other comprehensive income for the year - - -
Total comprehensive income for the year 120 726 100 480 100 480
Advanzia Bank changed an accounting policy for the identification and measurement of the Expected Credit Loss
(ECL) under IFRS 9. For more details, please consult the Financial Report 2020 available on advanzia.com.
23
Advanzia Bank 2021
BUSINESS KPIs
2020 figures have been restated
49 100
49 600
>2 billion
>2 million loan
customers balance
34.3%
31.6%
22.7%
21.6%
4.0% 4.1%
EUR 121
million net
profit
42.4%
36.7%
38.9%
15.3% 31.5%
15.1%
24 27
Advanzia Bank 2021