2023 was an eventful year for our bank. We operated against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical instability. The war in Ukraine continued and new armed conflicts emerged on Europe's borders. These converging crises led to uncertainty and volatility in many areas, putting pressure on industrial and private activity in our markets. Despite these elements, we took important steps in the implementation of our strategy focused on Growth, Accessibility and Sustainability (GAS). We prepared the bpost bank merger, which we completed with the successful migration of customer accounts in January 2024. We also achieved strong financial results, both in our banking business and in our specialised subsidiaries. Above all, BNP Paribas Fortis’ teams were fully committed to helping our more than 4.7 million Belgian clients.
We started the year with the successful implementation of our New Commercial Organisation (NCO), focused around three customer groups. Retail clients are now served by multidisciplinary teams while private clients and corporates benefit from dedicated relationship managers.
Michael Anseeuw, Chief Executive Officer:
“An important part of our New Commercial Organisation is the bpost bank project, involving the migration of 3 million customer accounts, 80,000+ hours of preparation and the training of 2,270 bpost employees. Our staff gave their best to prepare and complete the merger and welcome more than 1 million new customers. With over-the-counter banking services in 656 post offices, expert advice in BNP Paribas Fortis branches, 16 Client Houses, the Fintro bancassurance network and Nickel's now more than 400 points of sale we are able to offer the Belgian population a service tailored to their needs and have laid the foundations for the most accessible retail network in Belgium.
We also launched our Easy Go and Easy Guide modular packs. With these packs, each customer has a unique offering in which they can fine-tune the interaction option, product mix and advice from multi-disciplinary teams. In the area of mortgages, we strengthened our franchise by merging the Krefima and Demetris credit brokers into the new BNP Paribas Fortis Credit Brokers brand.
With a 14% increase in digital contacts, our Easy Banking App remains the main gateway to our products and services, to the satisfaction of our customers. Our 2.5 million app users give the app a 4.6/5 rating and our digital solutions were also recognised with several prizes.
We remain fully committed to the financing of the Belgian economy. While GDP rose by 1.5% in 2023, our total loans grew by 4.5% to 159 billion euros, driven by the strong growth of 11.3% in our ESG related loans. Our customers also increasingly prefer sustainable investments. Our sustainable off-balance portfolio grew with 10.4%, outpacing the 9.8% growth of our global investment portfolio.
Our strategy in 2024 and beyond remains focused on building a sustainable bank with people and technology at its core. Everything we do is guided by these principles: our investments in IT and Artificial Intelligence to improve new products and customer satisfaction, the diversification of our distribution channels, the expansion of our app with innovative services and the development of green solutions for housing, vehicles and industry.
I would like to thank our employees for their efforts and our customers for the trust they continue to place in our bank.”
You will find the entire press release and the slideshow in attachment.
