This year, for the first time, we have drafted a Voluntary Consolidated Non-Financial Statement as part of our ongoing commitment to report clearly on our ESG efforts and commitments.
From the day we were created
Letter to Stakeholders
Dear illimity friends,
We are very proud to be publishing the illimity Group's first Voluntary Consolidated Non-Financial Statement.
For everyone at illimity, this document marks an important milestone in sharing, with all our stakeholders, the responsibility that guides us as we support entrepreneurs and companies in their growth and turnaround plans in order to return value to the loans of companies going through troubled times and to offer innovative banking services that simplify life for people and companies.
Even through the uncertain times brought by the pandemic, illimity has proven itself to be robust and resilient, innovating ceaselessly through new strategic projects. The choice as to the use of technology and the organisational model have proven fruitful, allowing us to guarantee operational continuity throughout the year. In the company, the extended periods of working from home have not only highlighted the powerful team spirit, but also created an opportunity to really test the profound values that we share …
A materiality analysis is a key part of identifying the environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities for illimity and our stakeholders. The process is guided by the Bank's purpose, benchmarks and industry trends, the business plan and an in-depth analysis of media publications. The identified themes are then surveyed further both inside the Group and externally by involving our stakeholders.
We use various channels to involve illimiters: company intranet, newsletters, internal surveys, events, and online and in-presence staff meetings. Constantly listening is a fundamental principle for our focus on human capital.
Clients are engaged through a variety of touchpoints: retail and corporate websites, illimity app, regular surveys, communication initiatives tailored to client needs, smart care and social networks.
We engage partners who share our expertise, innovation and cooperative approach to provide comprehensive, integrated solutions using regular calls, the illimity website and online and in-presence events and conferences.
Selecting our suppliers is driven by illimity's Procurement Area, which supports the relevant company offices to find and select suppliers and to ensure the subsequent relationship is built on transparency and efficiency.
Investor Relations is in charge of managing relations with shareholders, using regular calls, roadshows and the Shareholders’ Meeting. The corporate website has a special section in which company documentation can be downloaded.
The creation of our "Vai Oltre la Forma" community is pursued through various channels. Weekly surveys, interviews, meet-ups, focus groups and questionnaires give people a voice and provide a continuous engagement channel.
Our materiality matrix is based on assessing themes of potential relevance for the Bank and our stakeholders. The matrix was updated following the materiality analysis in November 2020 involving over 700 internal and external stakeholders. In addition to the priority themes identified by the survey, as shown in the matrix, there are a number of topics that are inherently important for illimity: "Integrity, regulatory compliance and combating fraud, money laundering and corruption", "Cyber risk, data management, security & privacy", "Environmental protection", "Clear and transparent communication, brand and reputation", and "Protecting human rights".
Importance for stakeholders
Importance for illimity
Environmental impact & combating climate change
Responsible activities & products
Partnership development & consolidation
Customer relations and personalised response capacity
People
Robustness of results
Innovation
Support for SMEs
Highlights
48
Net Promoter Score
Score showing the word-of-mouth capacity of retail customers
85%
Overall satisfaction for illimiters
illimity was certified as a "Great Place to Work" for the second straight year
30
Average training hours per employee
In line with the industry average
100%
End-to-end digital onboarding of retail customers
80.8%
Collaborative Agreement Index
Distressed credit, out-of-court agreements
as percentage of total
488
Greenhouse gas emissions (tCO2 eq)
Scope 1 and Scope 2, which we will offset through certified carbon credits
Figures at 31/12/2020, first year of publishing illimity's Voluntary Consolidated Non-Financial Statement.
The pillars of sustainability
The corporate governance system matches best international practices and sets out a Board of Directors, in office since 20 September 2018, with numerous independent members and people of high standing that have key and complementary expertise and experience.
Since the company was listed, we have adopted the Corporate Governance Code for Listed Companies first approved by Borsa Italiana's Corporate Governance Committee in March 2006 and regularly updated, the last time in July 2018. In December 2020, the Board of Directors resolved to adopt the new Corporate Governance Code approved by the Corporate Governance Committee.
Sustainability issues are monitored in accordance with best practices by a Board Committee that was specifically formed for this purpose in January 2020 and has three members.
illimity's Sustainability Board Committee is tasked with supporting the Board of Directors and it has the power both to advise and formulate proposals in relation to assessments and decisions on sustainability issues. Assisted by the Communication & Stakeholder Engagement office, the Committee promotes a responsible and sustainable culture in the Group and makes proposals to the Board for the medium and long-term sustainability goals.
The Board of Directors approves the materiality matrix created through stakeholder engagement and the Consolidated Non-financial Disclosure, which represents and communicates the Bank's commitment, results and goals for improvement on sustainability themes.
The Communication & Stakeholder Engagement Office supervises the Group's sustainability efforts and coordinates the process for monitoring and reporting on such aspects, working closely with the Group's various offices and divisions.
The pillars of sustainability
When speaking about human capital, many factors have to be taken into account, including the company culture , the expertise and diversity of employees, the welfare initiatives , and the compensation policies , to mention only some.
At illimity, human resources management is based on three fundamental pillars: talent, engagement and digitalisation.
Across every level of our organisation, we provide people with opportunities to grow based on training and the development of personal and professional skills. Uncovering talent starts right from recruitment and follows employees throughout their career thanks to personalised development plans. Engagement initiatives ensure every illimiter feels part of a shared project. The company's flat structure encourages the sense that every individual can have an impact on the end results and fosters communication between employees and their bosses. Process digitalisation helps simplify certain aspects of the work lives of employees.
Diversity and inclusion are essential, distinctive elements. At illimity, we work hard to go beyond physical, communication and cultural barriers, adopting an approach that places great importance on inclusion. We cultivate diversity in gender, age, culture, skills and experience, forging a heritage on which to build value and trust. At 31 December 2020, the Group had 587 employees from 15 industries, over 200 companies and 20 nationalities. The average age is 36 and the most representative generation is the junior millennials, meaning from 25 to 32 years old.
The company's welfare policy is also cutting edge. The flexible benefits system enables each illimiter to customise his or her welfare according to individual and family needs.
This is truly a system of policies, initiatives and actions that place the individual at the centre.
Related initiatives
illimitHER, a Diversity & Inclusion programme from illimity to make the most of the potential of young women.
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The pillars of sustainability
Our purpose is to provide SMEs with growth potential with loans when such companies require specialist support or have had problems. We guide SMEs through a process of development, restructuring and relaunching, which brings a positive social impact and knock-on effect, helping to keep jobs and bolster local manufacturing.
In 2020, we provided about €247 million in loans for struggling companies to help them onto a turnaround pathway. We also provided about €29 million for transactions with environmental value, impacting the circular economy, green transportation and renewable energy.
In the second half of 2020, we also launched an experimental system to integrate ESG parameters into credit assessment activities and thus enrich the risk mapping of the companies to fund with inclusion of their sustainability positioning. This analysis resulted in 15 reports. Building up our cache of such information will provide illimity with a database to strategically guide optimal investment decisions and draft plans for supporting companies on the pathway to sustainability, thus encouraging them to adopt policies that improve their approach to the sustainability of their business.
Our Distressed Credit Investment & Servicing division is committed to helping struggling businesses, engaging in constructive dialogue that will help them resolve their debts and potentially start operating again. The division adopts a very professional approach to such relations, identifying focused actions designed to find mutually agreeable out-of-court settlements that speed up the resolution of such matters.
Our distinctive feature is our capacity to manage the entire distressed credit value chain , from acquisition right up to placing the related assets on the market. All the servicing activities are done with our neprix platform, which is the leading Italian operator specialising in servicing distressed corporate credits while also being able to sell the underlying assets through its rich portfolio of specialist websites.
In 2019, we recognised that the energy industry could become an area of specialisation and so a specific desk was established, with technical and legal professional experience in energy and the environment. The business model is built on a partnership with a party with a solid industrial track record and sets out direct action in managing installations to get them back up to full green production and recover value that is then partly returned to the entrepreneur.
Related initiatives
illimity Stories. We work side-by-side with SMEs in Italy with a single goal: uncover their potential, together.
Find out more
The pillars of sustainability
Being a new paradigm bank without any legacy equates to innovatively combining a business model that enjoys structural and sustainable competitive benefits with a strategy focused on major market segments that are not suitably covered by the traditional players.
At illimity, innovation is a strategic lever found across the organisation, from the corporate culture to the operating processes and technological infrastructure.
We firmly believe that when innovation is spread across every level of an organisation, it becomes the driver for generating value for the entire company. Thus, it is essential for innovation to be seamlessly integrated into every division, area and team and to have shared processes that enable illimiters to work in cross-cutting teams that, also, increase their skills, generate new ideas and identify new opportunities.
A capacity to innovative plays a role in achieving business targets and responds to customers' needs through a new, inclusive and collaborative model that uses synergistic services designed around the needs of businesses and people.
The pillars of sustainability
The business model adopted by the illimity Group, with a 100% digital infrastructure that is entirely on the cloud, is designed to reduce our direct environmental impact and use resources more efficiently. Right from our creation, we have been committed to monitoring and reporting our energy consumption, our greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation, partly in response to the rules on environmental protection set out by constantly developing EU regulations and Italian and regional laws.
illimity's business model, with no branch offices and a digital, cloud-based infrastructure, is also aimed at combating climate change. For this same reason, in 2020, we launched another initiative to define an effective project approach that will mean we can, from this year, determine a carbon neutrality strategy based on calculating the company's carbon footprint, identifying ways of improving efficiency, reducing emissions and selecting certified carbon credits to offset the company’s non-avoidable emissions.
In 2020, with the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy, the Bank swiftly developed a series of initiatives to help protect the health of everyone who works for or with illimity, and to support our corporate and retail clients.
Related initiatives
illimity talks about Climate Change. Telling the stories of the best green, sustainable and digital ideas for the future of our planet.
Find out moreillimity has drafted its first Sustainability Report 2020 pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 254/2016, which implemented EU Directive 95/2014 on the disclosure of non-financial information, and in compliance with GRI Standards, the global guidelines for sustainability reporting. The Report was approved by the Board of Directors on 10 March 2021 and subjected to assurance by an external audit firm.
Rosalba Casiraghi
Elena Cialliè
Paola Elisabetta Galbiati