February 202319How to manage the network of physical branches and ATMsThis depends on the intensity of the fight and which part of the two is controlling the area. We shut down operations in all territories illegally occupied by Russia, and for territories controlled by Ukraine we have our branches regularly open with the binding rule that in case of rockets attack our colleagues must close the branch and run to the closest shelter. As a general rule, since the air-alert starts, the average time to impact is around 8\10 minutes, the nearest shelter must be within the range of 300 metres, if not we keep the branch closed and never open.About ATMs, we signed together with all banks in Ukraine an agreement that allows all citizens to choose any ATM on the territory, without distinction, and withdraw cash without extra fees. But, from this point of view, things get easier as Ukraine is way more developed in terms of digitalization than many countries in Europe and almost all citizens have a card on which the salary is provided or where financial aids are credited this makes the branch footprint and ATMs proximity becoming less and less relevant.Banking in wartime also implies a different management of employees from an HR and work organization perspectiveMaintaining relations with our Ukrainian colleagues has been for us the most painful aspect of the war.On 24th February while watching on TV hundreds of rockets flying all over the country our main concern has been to stay in touch with our colleagues, give support to them and their families, prepare plans for evacuation of women and children.For several months our first duty in the morning has been to count all the members of our respective teams, confirm their location and communicate to the IntesaSanpaolo Central Crisis Team if any of them missing, not reachable, or if any volunteered for the Army or the National Guard. Really hard times.In a few days, we could manage to relocate over 300 colleagues and family members in Europe, mostly in Italy, women and children because males cannot exit the country due to the martial law. This has been possible only thanks to the unparalleled support we received from the parent company which took care of everything: from travel expenses, to accomodation costs, to any other need. This makes me really proud to work with the IntesaSanpaolo Group.Second step has been to start working in remote to support our colleagues still in Ukraine. We literally rebuilt part of the bank in Italy (accounting, backoffice, all staff units) and this allows us to keep Pravex up and running in Ukraine... as I mentioned already, we could even find the way and the necessary energy to invest and innovate! The impact of the war on the online banking and cybersecurityThe process of converting "standard" clients into "digital" clients already started a few years ago with the covid pandemic, the war just accelerated the pace. Also, because Ukraine is a very young country and pretty developed in terms of digitalization.About security, we had to improve our defensive mechanisms mostly to contain cyberattacks from russian hackers but, so far, Im happy to say that we did not suffer any breach. BCOur digital onboarding program also benefits the existing clients, they can open a saving account or apply for a virtual card after allowing Pravex mobile app to link with their DiiA profile
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