{"id":11032,"date":"2018-04-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/press-notes\/the-credit-andorra-group-holds-its-leadership-in-andorra-with-business-volum-increased-to-16266-million-euro-and-profits-of-50-1-million\/"},"modified":"2023-05-11T22:31:10","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T20:31:10","slug":"the-credit-andorra-group-holds-its-leadership-in-andorra-with-business-volum-increased-to-16266-million-euro-and-profits-of-50-1-million","status":"publish","type":"press-notes","link":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/press-notes\/the-credit-andorra-group-holds-its-leadership-in-andorra-with-business-volum-increased-to-16266-million-euro-and-profits-of-50-1-million\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Group holds its leadership in Andorra, with business volum increased to 16,266 million euro and profits of 50.1 million"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2022 The consolidated net profit was 50.1 million euro, in line with the forecast figures for a year marked by changes in banking models and adjustments for compliance with new regulations in Andorra and on an international scale.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 The bank won prizes as Bank of the Year in Andorra (\u2018The Banker\u2019) and Best Private Bank in Andorra (\u2018The Banker\u2019 and PWM), with recognition of \u2018Banking Innovation\u2019 for Merkaat (Efma).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 The bank\u2019s planned adaptation, started in recent years, has allowed it to get ahead and prepare for new business models, pushing for digitalization in response to new market needs and launching Merkaat, Andorra\u2019s first digital investment advisor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Group closed 2017 with business volume up on the previous year and figures in line with targets for the period, in a year marked by the bank\u2019s plans for adaptation to the changes in banking model for compliance with the new regulatory framework in Andorra and on the international scale. The Group\u2019s financial statements at 31 December 2017 show a business volume increased to 16,266 million euro, of which 13,658 million corresponds to assets under management and 2,608 million to loans investment.<\/p>\n

The Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Group achieved an ordinary margin of 198.9 million euro in a time of historically low interest rates, with high overheads resulting from the new financial regulations on cooperation and transparency, the effects of the automatic exchange of taxation information, and digitalization, which demonstrates the capacity of the Group\u2019s business model to generate good and recurrent results from the ordinary activity.<\/p>\n

The Group\u2019s consolidated net profit was 50.1 million euro, consolidating its position as benchmark bank in the Andorran financial market. The results are in line with targets set for a year in which, financially, the bank was completing its preparations for the final phase of the business transformation required by the new international context and for compliance with the capitalization requirements established by Basel III.<\/p>\n

These results are backed up by the high solvency ratio which stands at 16.15% (well above the legal minimum required of 10%), and the liquidity ratio of 61.02% (the legal minimum is 40%).<\/p>\n

The Group\u2019s equity at the year-end 2017 stood at 421 million euro, following the entry into force in Andorra, on 1 January 2017, of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) approved by the EU.<\/p>\n

The accounts for 2017 will be submitted to approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders, which is scheduled to take place this April<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Group\u2019s activity<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Group closed 2017 with consolidating business, in both Andorra and the other European and American markets where the bank is present with an offer of services specialising in Wealth Management. In broad lines, the management objectives have been service to the client, innovation and digital transformation, good corporate governance and social responsibility.<\/p>\n

Digitalization<\/strong><\/p>\n

During 2017, the bank has pushed on with the digitalization of products and services in response to new market needs, new profiles and generations of clients and regulatory requirements in the sector. In this context, the bank has launched Merkaat, the first digital investment advisor in Andorra, which offers the client a digital experience, adapted to the new forms of financial consumption and open to new client segments. It is a digital service, which allows the clients to operate personally and comprehensively in the management of their investments.<\/p>\n

Other tools in this digitalization are the new digital channels for client relations such as \u2018Mi gestor\u2019 (My manager), which allows chats with the manager and the secure transmission of documents; the new Cr\u00e8dit Broker market portal; and the Cr\u00e8dit Wallet application for making payments by mobile phone.<\/p>\n

Another important initiative is the creation of a specific module for financial advice in private banking services, developed on the Salesforce platform, the multinational technology chosen as \u201cinnovator of the decade\u201d by Forbes. This project involves the introduction of the new Salesforce CRM platform integrated into core banking and with the Group\u2019s insurance companies.<\/p>\n

The investment in new technological platforms in recent years and the inclusion of the most pioneering software models has enabled the bank to position itself as leader in the offer of digital services to clients and as the technological and security benchmark in the sector.<\/p>\n

Internationalization<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Wealth Management project in Europe has been backed up by the expansion of services offered in the financial hub created in Luxembourg with Banque de Patrimoines Priv\u00e9s and Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Asset Management Luxembourg. The aim of this financial centre is to stimulate the bank\u2019s role as a service platform for institutional clients and to create and manage investment vehicles<\/p>\n

Another new development is that Banco Alcal\u00e1 has increased its presence in Spanish territory by opening a branch in Valencia, in addition to those in Madrid and Barcelona.<\/p>\n

In America, Miami (Beta Capital Wealth Management) has become the hub in dollars and is the base for the Group\u2019s presence in America, as it is a strategic place for the offer of private banking and asset management services for practically the whole region and for the Group.<\/p>\n

Insurance group<\/strong><\/p>\n

The insurance group closed the year contributing a result of 9.7 million euro to the Group. In Andorra, Cr\u00e8dit Assegurances<\/em> holds its benchmark position in the life market. Also the work done by CA Vincles Actuarial Consulting, the Group\u2019s actuarial and financial consultancy body on the international scale, has enabled it to tackle with confidence the new framework imposed by the Law on the Ordering and Supervision of Insurance and Reinsurance of the Principality of Andorra, which takes Solvency II as a reference point and adapts the regulations in the sector to European and international standards.<\/p>\n

Social responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2017 the bank\u2019s initiatives in matters of sustainability were organised in consonance with the United Nations Agenda 2030 (\u201cTransforming our world\u201d) so as to contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).<\/p>\n

In the context of social commitments, the Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Group has allocated a global investment of 2.8 million euro, through the Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0 Foundation and the bank itself, to initiatives for the benefit of society, in promoting economic and social progress, knowledge, welfare, culture and the environment.<\/p>\n

At the year-end, the Group was comprised of 840 professionals, of whom 475 work in Andorra (56.5%).<\/p>\n

Qualifications and recognitions <\/strong><\/p>\n

The bank\u2019s management model has been recognised once more by Fitch Ratings, which in the last assessment in 2017 maintained Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0\u2019s long-term rating at BBB, with stable perspective, and the short-term rating at F3. According to Fitch, this rating shows a banking model balanced between the development of business in Andorra and international expansion through private banking and asset management. In its assessment, the agency mentioned the bank\u2019s capacity to generate recurrent profits in spite of the complexity of the situation in general and the impact of the new regulations, also mentioning its good capitalization.<\/p>\n

The bank\u2019s good progress in 2017 was demonstrated by the prizes which placed it as Bank of the Year in Andorra 2017 according to The Banke<\/em>r of the Financial Times group. The bank also won the prize for Best Private Bank in Andorra 2017, granted jointly by the publications The Banker<\/em> and PWM.<\/p>\n

The entity was also awarded prizes as Best Private Bank in Andorra and Best Bank in CSR in Andorra for 2017, awarded by Global Banking & Finance Review<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For its part, Merkaat, the first digital investment advisor in Andorra, developed by Cr\u00e8dit Andorr\u00e0, has won recognition for banking innovation from the Efma Association, with an emphasis on its remarkable features, level of service and differential factor. Merkaat was also awarded the Prize for Innovation by the Andorran Business Confederation (CEA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5708,"template":"","categories":[400,401],"tags":[597,598],"class_list":["post-11032","press-notes","type-press-notes","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-corporate","category-business","tag-results","tag-leadership"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-notes\/11032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-notes"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-notes"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creandgroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}