Investments, trust and support to the economy: cornerstones to the good 2020 results

The Sella group closes 2020 with a positive balance. Results approved, by the Boards of Directors of both the Parent Company Banca Sella Holding and Banca Sella showed a beneficial commercial development thus confirming the good performance, high capital soundness, and the effectiveness of measures adopted for employees, and clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consolidated results of the Group.

The group net profit is 30,2 million Euros. The EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes), raised by 6.6%. The trend in deposits was particularly notable, among the best ever, testifying to customer confidence. Direct deposits grew by 10,7% worth 14 billion Euros, total collection at market value raised by 8,7% worth 42,8 billion Euros, the net collection increased by 3 billion Euros. loans, including repurchase agreements, grew by 8,2% worth 9,1 billion Euros. Thanks to the high diversification of the business model and the profitable performance of important sectors such as investment services, corporate and investment banking and the payment systems, the net banking income grew by 6,2%, worth 640 million di Euros. Results show an amelioration of credit quality indexes. with net NPL Ratio falling at 2,9% against 3,6% at the end of 2019.

The results of the bank
End of year results for Banca Sella show a net profit worth 28,1 million Euros, a growth in the EBIT by 3,2%, a very positive growth in (Direct deposits by 9,1%, worth 12 billion Euros, global collection at market value by 8,1%, worth 30,1 billion Euros, Net inflows reached 2 billion Euros and loans (grew by 4,8%, worth 7,7 billion Euros). The net banking income rose by 1,2% worth 370,8 milioni di euro. 

Soundness
The high financial soundness is also confirmed by a consolidated Cet1 of 12,22% while the Total Capital Ratio stands at 14,13%, growing against 2019 and well above the required thresholds. The Cet1 index of Banca Sella is 16,14% with a Total Capital Ratio of 19,94%.

Investments
Over 2020, the Sella group increased investments, continuing its growth strategy based on developing an open financial ecosystem, the platform model and open banking, which continues to record exponential the growth of operations through API. In this context, Sella also launched the first industrial consolidation operation in the Italian open banking market, with the signing of the joint venture with Illimity in Hype, to further boost the growth of the challenger bank born in SellaLab.

Employees and Clients 
Over 2020, since the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency, the Group and the Bank have always ensured the full operation of services as a result of both the commitment of their staff and investments in technological and digital innovation as a leading factor of their development. In this context, to safeguard the health of both employees and customers, in addition to security measures adopted at offices and branches, remote customer relations and wide-spread smart working were a choice, whenever possible. In this context, to safeguard the health of both employees and customers, in addition to security measures adopted at offices and branches, remote customer relations and wide-spread smart working were a choice, whenever possible (involving peaks of 3.500 people working simultaneously, and 460 thousand smart working days overall). As a plus, all employees and co-operators had the opportunity to voluntarily undergo the flu vaccine and SARS-COV2 serological test.

Alongside personal safety and business continuity, the Group and the Bank are committed to supporting families and businesses in the complex context caused by the pandemic. Through its network of shareholdings, and interactions with startups and fintech companies, the Sellalab innovation platform, and the Fintech District of Milan new solutions were put in place to foster remote interactions with customers: (i.e. the web cooperation platform for branches and private bankers in partnership with the scale-up company Bandyer), to spread e-commerce among stores affected by restrictions (in partnership with the Vidra start-up), to foster contactless and remote payments (with link and Qr Code) and to speed up the disbursement of loans provided for by the Liquidity Decree (in partnership with Credimi, in which Banca Sella holds a stake).
Group companies and employees donated overall 484 thousand Euros to health organizations and structures in various Italian regions.