3 December is International Day of Persons with Disabilities:
UniCredit Bank Austria CEO Zadrazil: “We live barrier-free banking”
• Investments in accessible banking services and digitalisation benefit everyone
• People with disabilities are an important customer group and source of talent
• Inclusion of people with disabilities is deeply anchored in the Bank's corporate culture
UniCredit Bank Austria is one of today's leading financial institutions in Austria and throughout continental Europe in the areas of accessibility and inclusion. “For many years, our bank has paid attention to ensuring the easiest possible access to banking services for all people,” says Robert Zadrazil, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria. “During the lockdowns in the previous year, it was demonstrated that investments in accessibility and digitalisation benefit not only people with disabilities, but everyone: For instance, the strong expansion of our multi-channel offerings has enabled the vast majority of our customers to do all their essential banking business from home and, if needed, to get personal advice via video or telephone, for deaf customers also in sign language. Even though the importance of digital services has further increased during the pandemic – all our branches are also barrier-free and all essential banking transactions can also be carried out there on accessible devices.”
For the Bank, people with disabilities are an important customer group and at the same time a valuable source of talent and qualifications. It has therefore been committed to comprehensive accessibility and inclusion for many years:
Commitment to accessibility and inclusion in everyday life
UniCredit Bank Austria not only employs about 230 people with disabilities and has thus met the legal quota for years, but it also offers virtually all its services in comprehensively accessible variants, for which it has already received several national and international awards.
“Around 1.4 million people with disabilities live in Austria, which is almost one fifth of the entire population. We live barrier-free banking, and with our special offers such as the InklusionsKredit (InclusionLoan), we reach a target group that does not normally find such offers on the market. Knowing the needs of our customers well – both existing and potential – therefore gives us a clear competitive advantage,” says Zadrazil, summing up the Bank's ongoing commitment.
Georgiana Lazar, Member of the Management Board of UniCredit Bank Austria responsible for People & Culture, emphasises: “The inclusion of people with disabilities has been an integral part of our corporate culture for many years. All employees in their great diversity contribute significantly to identifying and recognising customer needs. And ultimately, satisfied employees and customers are the most important drivers for sustainable inclusion.”
Lazar therefore encourages employees to approach with openness and without fear the opportunity to share their own disability with their employer: “In the course of working life, many people are confronted with illnesses or accidents that can also lead to ‘invisible’ disabilities or performance limitations. As a responsible employer, we aim to provide all our employees with disabilities with a supportive working environment tailored to their individual needs.”
For advice and support on all relevant issues, employees of UniCredit Bank Austria can also contact the Behindertenvertrauensperson (Disability Representative) and the company's own Disability Management team.
Further information on UniCredit Bank Austria's commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities can be found at https://www.bankaustria.at/en/accessible-disability-management.jsp
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Press Office
Matthias Raftl, phone +43 (0)5 05 05-52809
E-mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at