UniCredit vuela un 878% en Bolsa impulsado por Orcel

In the Italian banking sector, UniCredit has surged by 878.42% in the stock market, outperforming its European competitors, who have averaged a 254.98% increase. Since Andrea Orcel took over as CEO in April 2021, the bank has more than doubled its value compared to its European peers, with BBVA's 449.77% growth being the highest.

Ten years ago, UniCredit was on the brink of collapse, facing a 14% credit delinquency rate (Gross NPL Ratio) in 2016. To stabilize, it hired Orcel and forced the bank to sell key assets, including its Pioneer Investments fund, Polish subsidiary Bank Pekao, and significant trading platform FinecoBank. In 2020, UniCredit weathered the pandemic by setting aside nearly €5 billion to cover potential defaults, reducing its loan delinquency rate to 3.5%.

Orcel's strategy focused on streamlining the company's management layers, with the number of organizational units dropping from 11,500 to 6,400 by the end of 2020. He also prioritized digital transformation, acquiring Belgian digital bank Aion Bank for €376 million and technology provider Vodeno. Analyst Nuria Álvarez predicts 2025 as UniCredit's inflection point, as it integrates technology, expands into new products, and ventures into digital channels and geographic expansion, all driven by significant investments in AI and technology.

UniCredit's 2028 strategy aims to capture high-quality market share and increase profitable and faster revenue growth compared to competitors. The market is optimistic about UniCredit's acquisition of Commerzbank, with JPMorgan analysts predicting the merger will boost the German bank's net profit by €4 billion by 2028. Analyst Adrián Hostaled notes that UniCredit plans to cut Commerzbank's cost base by €1.3 billion, a fifth of its total, keeping it as a separate unit until 2029 or 2030.