Good morning. My name is Agnieszka Dowżycka. I'm responsible for investor relations at Santander Bank Polska. I'd like to welcome you at the presentation of the preliminary financial results of Santander Bank Polska Group for 2023. Today with us, we have our CEO, Michał Gajewski, our CFO, Maciej Reluga, and Wojciech Skalski, the management board member responsible for the accounting and financial control division. I'd like to mention that throughout the conference, you can send your questions via email to agnieszka.dowzycka@santander.pl. I'd like to give the floor to our CEO now. Hello, everyone, once again. Welcome at the presentation of the non-audited financial results after the fourth quarter of 2023. Let's start with the net profit. In my opinion, we generated a solid net profit and proved that our mission of helping customers prosper is reflected both in the social and financial dimension, even in the context of persisting regulatory and systemic challenges. Today, I would like to say a few words about our new strategy as well. But first, let's start with our performance. So last year, we recorded the gross profit of PLN 6.85 billion. At the same time, the tax burden was PLN 2.7 billion, while total regulatory costs amounted to additional PLN 211 million. So the total burden was nearly PLN 3 billion. In quarter four alone, we generated the net profit of PLN 980 million. Now let's go to slide seven. As a group, we provide services to over 7.5 million customers, out of which over 4.25 million are digital customers. In Santander Bank Polska alone, we have 5.9 million customers, including 3.5 million digital customers. Year-on-year, the number of digital customers grew by over 6.4%, and mobile customers by almost 19%. Customer deposits total PLN 209 billion, and grew by 7% year-on-year. The gross loans portfolio year-on-year grew by 4% to over PLN 165 billion, and assets grew by 7% year-on-year to PLN 276 billion. Now slide 8, key financial results. Of course, I will discuss the results in detail in further slides, but now let me highlight the key items. The net profit of the group in 2023 was PLN 4.831 billion, and quarter four alone, the net profit was PLN 980 million. The Net Interest Income was PLN 13.116 billion and grew by 36% year-on-year, and in quarter four alone, the Net Interest Income was PLN 3.4 billion. Net fee income in 2023 was over PLN 2.7 billion, and in the quarter four, PLN 710 million. Total income was PLN 16 billion. This is an increase of 29% year-on-year, and in quarter four alone, the total income was PLN 4.2 billion. The TCR for the group was over 18.36%, and the Tier 1 for the group was seventeen point eighteen percent, and for the bank alone, 19.62%. The return on equity for the group was 20.3%. As you can see, our capital position has been still kept at a high level. Slides 10 to 12. Those slides describe the general information about individual segments and new products for our customers. So maybe let's go straight to slide 13, that shows some business data. We have 5.8 million accounts for individual customers, up by 5% year-on-year. In quarter four, we opened 114 personal accounts, while in the entire year, 461,000. On an annual basis, accounts in Polish zloty grew by 3.4%, while foreign currency accounts by 10.5%. In quarter four, we sold mortgage loans worth PLN 2.9 billion. That is 22% more than in the previous quarter, and in the entire year, we sold PLN 7.6 billion worth of mortgage loans. That's up by 7% versus 2022. The share of fixed rate loans and new sales in quarter four was 87%, and in the entire 2023, the share of fixed rate loans grew from 39% in January to 89% in December. So the total share of loans with adjustable fixed rates for five years in the entire PLN mortgage loan portfolio grew to nearly 29% at the end of December 2023. In quarter four, cash loan sales totaled PLN 2.4 billion. That's better than in the previous quarter, and in the entire year, we sold loans worth PLN 9.7 billion. That's better by 4.8% year-on-year. The level of lending in remote channels has been growing. In quarter four, it was 71%. Net investment fund sales was PLN 1.3 billion in quarter four, while in the entire year, PLN 4.7 billion. So our retail assets in Santander TFI at the end of the year were PLN 18.5 billion. Our market share was 10.9%, and it grew by 1.6 percentage points versus the year of 2022. In the SME segment, in quarter four, we opened over 16,000 business accounts. In total, we opened over 67,000 accounts for Small and Medium Enterprises during the year. SME loan sales grew by 25% year-on-year, while quarter-on-quarter, we recorded a growth by 10%, and in total, in 2023, we've granted PLN 5.4 billion worth of Small and Medium Enterprise loans. In business banking, we recorded good performance in terms of lending. We recorded a growth in loan and deposit balances on an annual basis. We also increased income on transactional banking by 67%. We also recorded a double-digit growth in FX income and our loan and leasing income by 12% and 18%, respectively. In terms of corporate and business and investment banking, income from transactions and credit markets grew materially by 80%, and income from trade finance services also grew by 79% year-on-year. Now let's move on to slide 15, gross loans. As I said, at the consolidated level, the gross loans portfolio grew by 4%, and in quarter four alone, it grew by 1% versus the end of September 2023. In our both subsidiaries, leasing and factoring, we recorded a double-digit growth, so it's a very good development of our business. You can see the details on slide, in slides 31 and 32. Customer funds, customer deposits grew by 7%. That's over PLN 209 billion at the end of December. On a quarterly basis, deposits slightly decreased. Deposits grew by PLN 12.7 billion. The group can boast excellent liquidity. The consolidated LCR was over 218% at the end of December. Slide number 17. Profit and loss account, our Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margins. The Net Interest Income was PLN 13.1 billion, and in quarter four, it was PLN 3.4 billion, which was better in quarter four by 1% quarter-on-quarter. Interest income, quarter-on-quarter, decreased slightly, while our interest expense reduced by 8%. As you can see, as we expected at the previous conferences, the annualized Net Interest Margin throughout the last year was stable and amounted to 5.4%. Slide number 18, net fee income. The growth year-on-year is 6%, and the net fee income total PLN 2.7 billion. In quarter four, it was PLN 710 million, and it was also a sizable growth compared to quarter three by 6%. Year-on-year, we saw really good performance when it comes to fees, especially insurance fees, foreign currency fees, asset management fees, and brokerage fees. Quarter-on-quarter, we also saw really good results when it comes to asset management fees, brokerage fees, insurance fees, and leasing fees. When it comes to consumer, Santander Consumer Bank, the net fee income grew by 3% year-on-year and 4% quarter-on-quarter, primarily under the credit and insurance lines. Slide 19, income. Total income was PLN 16 billion, which represents the growth of 29% year-on-year. The income and other operations were still driven by actions taken to make settlements with FX mortgage borrowers. For the group, the cost of these settlements was PLN 330 million, while in quarter four alone it was PLN 24 million. At the end of December, across the group, we've had 9.3 thousand settlements signed. For the bank, it was 7.7 thousand, which represents nearly 24% of the Swiss franc portfolio as at the moment of. So compared to what we had at the moment of starting settlements. In 2023, we made 5.1 thousand settlements and 405 of these were made in quarter four. Operating costs, slide number 20. These costs total PLN 4.7 billion, and they were flat year-on-year, given the lower regulatory costs. If we eliminate regulatory fees, these costs were growing by 19% year-on-year, driven primarily by inflation, pay increases, so IT costs and building maintenance costs. Staff costs increased by 26%. First of all, this was the follow-up of the pay increases that we introduced in September 2022, as well as those that we made in September 2023. This was also driven by the cost of the long-term share-based incentive scheme, as well as accruals for bonuses that we made for really good performance for 2023. In quarter four alone, costs increased by 2%, while the depreciation increased by 4% in quarter four. The cost-to-income ratio for the group is 29.5%, but for the bank, this is 27.1%. Last year, for the group, it was 37.9%. Provisions, slide number 21. The net balance of loan loss provisions after four quarters at the consolidated basis is PLN 1.1 billion, which is 28% higher than the year before. This growth was driven primarily by the impact of the economic situation on the condition of our loan portfolio. The total credit risk after quarter three, four was 0.72%. The key drivers of the net balance of provisions are as follows: In the retail and SME portfolio, we saw stabilization of past due payments. In the corporate portfolio, we saw some deterioration of standing for some selected customers. And the third driver was the sale of the NPL portfolios, worth PLN 314 million in principal in quarter four, and that had a positive impact on our bottom line of PLN 41 million. The NPL ratio at the end of December was 4.58% on a consolidated basis, and for the bank, it was 4.44%. Let's talk a little bit about banking tax and regulatory costs. That's slide 22. As I said, the burden was PLN 2.7 billion, of which PLN 1.9 billion was paid in corporate income tax and PLN 782 million in banking tax. Additional regulatory costs totaled PLN 211 million. Summing up, 2023 was really good with that solid financial performance. We improved our Net Interest Income, we boosted our income fees. We saw the growth in sales volumes, especially when it comes to mortgages. When it comes to our business, I think that both quarter four and the entire 2023 were really good. Taking this opportunity, I would like to tell you a little bit about our new strategy. 2023 was the last year of our three-year strategy that we were pursuing before. It was also the year when we were working on a new strategy for the bank. This is related, of course, to our strategic planning cycle, both in the bank and across Santander Group. Of course, we are part of the global Santander Group, but we operate locally in Poland. So we can align the strategy to what we are doing here. We can adjust it to our market where we are. The focus of our new strategy is on people, on customers and employees. We're focusing on building the best possible experience and evoking positive emotions in collaboration with the bank. We believe that this is the base, best route to build sustainable profitability for shareholders. And thanks to this, we can actually achieve excellent financial performance and meet our ambition of being the most profitable bank in Poland. Our strategy is based on three pillars. The first one is Total Experience, and this embodies our belief that customer satisfaction and employee engagement are paramount to succeed financially. We focus on building customer experience and employee experience. We believe that this can make us distinctive, that the work on Total Experience is something new that will make us stand out in the market, so that, so that we are the best, both employer for our people, but also a tier one bank for our customers. And thanks to that, we will be able to generate the best possible return for our shareholders. The second pillar is Total Digitization. We think that we really have to accelerate the digitization of our processes, services, and products, both for our customers and our employees. And I'm talking about our internal processes in the bank. And we want to do it fully responsibly, not only as a responsible, corporate citizen, but also thinking about being responsible, towards the business environment, communities, but also being compliant with all the legal requirements and being consistent with ethical, top ethical standards. These are our ambitions, but in order to achieve it, we can avail and leverage the possibilities and technological solutions that the group provides us with. And that's why I've been saying that this local strategy is consistent and fit into the group's strategy. More about the strategy is available on our website. So now, let's move to questions and answers. The floor is yours, and thank you for this part. Okay, so there are a few questions. I will try to group them, but maybe let's start with the dividend. Can you see the regulatory risk that the dividend for 2023 paid in 2024 may be decreased by the interim dividend that you paid in 2023? And second question, will the dividend paid in December decrease the dividend paid in 2024, given the fact that it was an interim dividend? So the interim dividend did not come from the profit of 2023. It was paid from a part of the dividend reserve, to which all almost 100% of the dividend from 2022 was moved. And the third question, will the bank discuss the opportunity of payment of the 100% of dividends with the regulator because the baseline scenario is payment of 75% of the dividend? Well, as you can see in the data published today, the preliminary data show that we have met the criteria for 75% because the NPL ratio is below 5%. The Swiss franc share of Swiss franc loans is below 5% and even below 3%, I believe. So we meet the criteria for the payment of 75% of the dividend. This is, t hose are the guidelines that the KNF published for the entire sector, but we haven't received an individual recommendation. We expect it to be received from the KNF soon. So as we could see in 2023, we are still of the opinion that our capital surplus is very high, even too high, when compared to the expected risks and capital needs, given the growth expectations for the next year. So we assume that theoretically, payment of some profit from the previous years, that we have in the dividend reserve could be possible, but this will be the subject of our discussions with the regulator. Today, we are still expecting the individual recommendation for the distribution of profits for 2023. And there was a question about reduction of employment. I'd like to say that we are not planning any redundancies. First of all, we want to grow, and we believe that our strategy is the strategy of growth. So we are not planning to any staff redundancies. When it comes to Court of Justice of the European Union decisions, our situation is adequate. We believe that we will demand the return of economic capital after indexation, and as I said, 85%. In our opinion, is the adequate level. There was also the question whether we will expect additional cost of this provision. Now, this provision takes into account all the costs that we are expecting in the case of, the legal situation. We do think that, the settlements are better, and we will be continuing on that track. In our opinion, this is the best solution, both for the customer and for the bank. There's an interesting question about the plans to reduce the headcount. It appears again, so a few people, are thinking about it and considering that. But of course, let's move on. The revival in corporate loans. When do we expect it? And if we expect it, our forecast for the loan growth is in the order of 8%. But for the companies, for the businesses, we think that it might be even a two-digit growth. Yes, we expect a revival and some help in this we're already seen last year. And 2024 might really materialize with this, and investments are growing, and this will be fueled by the private sector, and this will stimulate the demand for loans. So we expect it, yes. Let me talk about the cost of risk. In quarter four, there was a usual, similar, you had a sizable sale of NPL. Is the cost of 85 basis points a good indicator? Now, we keep emphasizing that the sales of the NPL portfolios is something driven by the market situation. We don't have any guidance. We are just looking at what is happening. When it comes to the guidance for the cost of risk, let us go back some time. In the past, we used to say that the cost of risk over the cycle is in the order of 80%. In our previous strategy, for the previous three years, we were referring to the average before the pandemic, so slightly below 80 basis points. And that's what we delivered. It is slightly above 70 basis points. If you look at our targets and KPIs of our strategy for the next three years, we are also saying the band expected for the next three years, and that's 70-80 basis points. That's what we were saying before. And this is still something valid for us, given our balance sheet. What is the opinion of the Management Board about the new mobile application? Because you can, you can see the decrease in the number of mobile customers. When outlining slide number seven, I was saying that the growth in the users of the mobile application was 19%. I can't see any decrease here, but let me comment on this. This application was already available across the entire 2023, but in September, we had the mass rollout. The NPS results at first decreased, but in our opinion, this is more a follow-up of the migration process than the assessment of the very app and the follow-up of the customer experience they have with the new app. Each change, also the change of the application, was also followed by a decline. When you have mass rollout, the customer satisfaction is falling, and only afterwards, it build up slowly but surely. This is the assumption when we introduce the new applications, that we will see a rebound clearly. We take efforts to make this experience better. In the autumn, there were some bank incidents, but that was not related to the mobile app, but to the breaks in services, other technical services, which impacted the customer satisfaction. Also, what they experienced with the mobile app. Our NPS was among top three after 2023. So we are among the leaders. The implementation of the mobile app was something that we introduced because customers were saying that our previous mobile app was something to be improved, and that's why we introduced the change. We have to work on that continuously, and we are all aware of this, but it does not meet each and every need our customers have. And we do have to take efforts to improve mobile app, and this year we'll be focused on this as well. There were two other questions. Now, let me discuss those related to Net Interest Margin. Can we find out what are the reasons why you are maintaining the Net Interest Income, just like in the previous quarter, even though there was a decline in interest rates? And there are a few reasons to that. One, the lower cost of deposits. Yes, that's one of the reasons. After the first decline, we adjusted prices of our deposits, and we took into account the possible further cut. Was it driven by the deferred repricing of loans? Yes, that's what it was. To show you the scale, you might remember each quarter we tell you which part of the balance sheet is based on a fixed rate. Either we have the fixed rate assets, or we have floating rate assets, but they are hedged by swaps, and that was 28% after quarter three, and quarter four, it was 32%. The other 68% is the floating rate. If we look at the patterns and the repricing periods, 1/3 is based on one-month rate, nearly half on the three-month pattern, and there is quite a lot on six months, based on six-month rates. So not all the assets have repriced yet, and this is not yet reflected in our results yet. So there is this deferral. Of course, it will continue, and to some extent, this is neutralized by higher volumes and sales. So we have the flexibility in our performance to interest rates. Now the sensitivity to changes in interest rates, in our case, if they move by 100 basis points, PLN 500 million. Is it related to interest income from the bonds portfolio? We were saying that we were hedging our balance sheet with the swap transactions. We were also extending the duration of our bonds. But as you know, the bonds market is very volatile. I hope that this explains why we have a stable NIM. You might remember that in quarter two, we were saying that it should stay at the plateau for subsequent quarters, and that is what is happening. Now a question about remuneration. What percentage of the total staff cost is represented by bonuses and so on? Last year, bonuses and equity-based schemes represented 20% of the total remuneration cost, and the equity-based instruments were 20%. These bonuses and these schemes based on equity instruments depend on the performance against the budget, and the extent to which we exceed our budgets. But that's this was last year. Moreover, as I said during my presentation, the 26% growth in stock costs was related to the fact that in 2022, we revised salaries, we increased the pay, and that was only in September, and that was carried forward to 2023. While in 2023, we introduced the pay increases only in September, which was also reflected in the higher costs for quarter four. And of course, we had the provision, the accruals made for the payment of bonuses. And that actually made quarter four to reflect all those elements in the line. There are two more things. It seems to me you've already just mentioned what could be the level of provisions for Swiss francs in 2024? In our opinion, at the end of the year, this is the adequate level of provisions, what we already have in place. And there is one more question, or more a suggestion or request, how to reflect certain things in our annual report when it comes to Swiss franc things. But I don't think we have to look into the annual report. We always try to describe it properly where we are showing the costs arising from the active Swiss franc exposures, and this is the line. In other operating costs, we are showing the cost of those Swiss franc exposures which are not active. That is those which were cleared. The other element of the operating costs are the cost of legal services, but these are internal costs. Can it include staff costs there? No, we do not show them separately, and we do not allocate it as a cost because this is an internal staff cost. This is an element of staff costs. And there is also a question about the number of new lawsuits. The growth after four quarters is 5,600. And this is for all four quarters. From September to or June and September, this was 1,400. So we can see that there are a bit fewer lawsuits than before, than at the beginning of 2023. We can see that our program of settlement has been working. What is the output for fees and commissions? Well, we don't give guidance in this respect, but you could see clearly last year that it was a really good year, and that we also had a really good quarter four in this respect. And we pay a lot of attention to have this item growing because it's independent of interest rate changes. And there is one more thing: What is the sensitivity of the Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin to the changes in interest rates at the end of 2024? I don't understand it, at the end of. Over the 12 month horizon, that's what we are quoting, and that's how we are describing the sensitivity. The total sensitivity of NII is in the order of PLN 500 million, and of course, that would materialize gradually in the upcoming quarters, assuming the stable balance sheet structure and size. And of course, we would neutralize that. And there is one question about credit volumes. Previously, there was a question about businesses, now about consumer and mortgages. We think that the trend will continue when it comes to the sales of these products, and that's it. There are no more questions? No. There was a repeated question about the sensitivity to interest rate changes, but I actually just received it when you were actually answering that question. So, thank you very much and see you next time in the next quarter. Goodbye.
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