A big one can be agile too

The question of whether the scale of business is a strength or a weakness at a time of unprecedented pace of change was discussed by the participants to the panel "Financial ecosystem of the future: towards sustainable growth". It was attended by the representatives of three companies that form one financial conglomerate: PZU, Bank Pekao and Alior Bank.

- The PZU Group is a very large organism, a financial conglomerate, i.e. an enterprise combining more than one type of activity - the only Polish one among 65 conglomerates in the European Union. We provide insurance, banking, healthcare, and asset management services. This increases the group's stability as it expands its sources of income; however, it is also a challenge because it is necessary to consolidate all those types of activity around a single goal," explained Tomasz Kulik, the member of PZU's management board and CFO of the group.

According to him, through the diversification of operations and also the development of synergies within the group, PZU was able to achieve very good financial results in the first half of this year . The profit amounted to PLN 1.7 billion, which is almost six times more than in the corresponding period of 2020 and more than in the previous six years. - Thanks to an increasing diversification of our operations, we can show good results quarter over quarter even in a difficult market," agued the member of PZU's management board.

Competition as a strenghtening factor

The group's assets now total nearly PLN 400 billion, and it is difficult to change their structure if necessary. This is one of the challenges resulting from the scale of operations. With such assets - according to the director Kulik - the company can invest large amounts, as 0.5 percent of revenue per year means PLN 120 million. Such a scale of investment is unattainable for many competitors. - Thanks to this, not only can we react to the changing reality, but also anticipate the changes and shape them - he assured.

- The most obvious synergy from being a part of the PZU Group is that we can offer our own products to each other. Insurance products on our part, and banking products on the part of PZU," said Leszek Skiba, CEO of Bank Pekao. Such collaboration has long-term and non-obvious consequences. - We can build a lasting relationship with our customers. We don't want to offer them one product only, for example a loan, and then target another customer," he explained.

Iwona Duda, the President of Alior Bank, made a similar statement. - What customers expect is not only a growing product offer, but also personalisation. This is only achievable with a very broad portfolio of services, which is an opportunity for financial groups. Each of the group companies can contribute the best they have, she said. She added that it is also important for the group that Alior and Pekao compete with each other, and therefore remain vigilant, dynamic and innovative.

Keeping up with customers

- We are trying to create a model in which we are not only the sum of the parts, but something more. We need to constantly get ahead of customers' expectations, thinking about what they will need. We want to surround the customers with the widest possible portfolio of services that fit together and are actually needed. It is not to be a multi-trade store but a coherent platform where the customers receive a complete ecosystem of products and services under one roof of PZU," said director Kulik. He indicated the possibilities for developing a joint offer, for example combining mortgages with home insurance, home improvement services and minor home repairs.

This direction of growth can be seen in the group's results. In the first half of the year, insurance premiums collected by PZU from sales of insurance policies through Pekao and Alior more than doubled year on year to nearly PLN 700 million.

Banking products are offered throughout the insurer's sales network. At the end of June, total loans and customer deposits acquired by PZU for Pekao exceeded PLN 800 million.

The member of PZU's management board emphasized that the role of the insurer is changing. Today, the insurer must not only compensate the insured for various losses, but also actively prevent those. - An example is the life band we have deployed, which monitors functions critical to a patient's health and life with medical precision and alerts healthcare professionals when alarming symptoms appear. Another example is PZU GO, an electronic device that can be glued to a car windshield, which, upon detecting an event that could result from the absence of contact with the driver, immediately alerts and sends emergency services to the scene," he said.