Letter from the CEO Repositioning the Bank for profitable growth Komplett Bank is on a journey that really started towards the end of 2021. At that time, we sold portfolios of defaulted loans and entered into ongoing sales agreements for defaulted loans (so-called forward flow agreements) in all countries where Komplett Bank operates. The clean-up of the balance sheet enabled us to reduce credit risk in the bank, and through this work, we are now in a much better place to position ourselves for growth going forward. At the beginning of 2022, we carved out a new strategy with a clear goal of repositioning the bank for profitable growth, with a focus on improving risk-adjusted margins and significantly increasing efficiency and scalability. During the past year, we started delivering on this plan. The first step was to reduce the management team from ten to six members with clearer and more defined areas of responsibility that would enable the overall management team to implement and deliver results of the new strategy more effectively. Together, we have gained a good understanding of how to build a future-oriented company, and we have set ambitious goals to be a modern and cost-effective niche bank that is positioned for the exciting growth opportunities we see ahead. In the second half of the year, we started seeing very good results from the many initiatives we put in place to increase new sales and grow the loan portfolio, resulting in a strong balance sheet growth of approximately 30% during the period, while managing to keep the margins relatively stable. In addition, we are already seeing results from the structural measures we have implemented to reduce costs. At the same time, we see potential for significant further efficiency gains: Technology simplification is one of the strategic initiatives that is now being implemented to improve scalability and reduce costs. We are well underway in transferring the business to a more efficient IT platform, which will eventually result in a significant reduction in IT infrastructure costs. We expect this process to take 12 months. The tragic war in Ukraine has contributed to increased macroeconomic uncertainty throughout 2022. This uncertainty has spilled over into the household economy for most people, and many have experienced increased prices on groceries, electricity, and most notably, higher interest rates on loans. This global macroeconomic situation is likely to persist in 2023, which will affect consumer liquidity and spending patterns. In 2022, we established a strategic action plan which we gradually implemented throughout the year. In 2023, we will gradually reap the benefits of growth and increased efficiency before scalability will truly be manifested in 2024 8 Letter from the CEO
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