ROE above 18%, C/I below 35%, 1.4 million young clients under the age of 26, 4.4 million active mobile clients, a leading position in corporate and public sector banking, and a dividend payout of 50-75% of annual net profit – these are some of the many goals of Bank Pekao S.A.'s new strategy for 2025-2027. In line with the strategy's slogan "Reaching Beyond the Horizon," the bank has set ambitious goals based on three pillars: GROWTH, ACCESSIBILITY, and EFFICIENCY. Among the priorities for the next three years are the expansion of products for young clients, the development of bancassurance offerings, the strengthening of the bank's digital channels, including the development of next-generation conversational banking, as well as further digitization and automation of key processes. The bank also sets ESG goals as an integral part of its business strategy.

Within the strategy horizon, Pekao aims to maintain ROE above 18% despite the expected decrease in the NBP reference rate to 3.5%. It plans to achieve this through, among other things, increasing market shares in strategic areas and products, changing the revenue structure, and maintaining a safe level of risk, with the expected CoR at the end of 2027 to be 65-75 bps. It also forecasts maintaining the C/I efficiency ratio below 35% and sustaining dividend payouts at 50-75% of net profit each year of the strategy. The bank will continue to maintain a safe liquidity position, keeping capital buffers well above regulatory minimums. Additionally, it intends to build an efficient capital structure through regular issuances in the local and European debt markets.

"Our strategy for 2025-2027 is an ambitious growth plan for the bank, focusing on business development in key retail and corporate segments and actively supporting the transformation of the Polish economy. We aim to consistently build the position of the bank that clients in Poland naturally turn to for their daily and most important financial decisions. Technologies – including advanced data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence – will drive this change, helping us offer more intuitive, personalized solutions while streamlining internal processes. This will translate into a lasting improvement in operational efficiency and scalability of our business model," said Cezary Stypułkowski, CEO of Bank Pekao S.A.

GROWTH, ACCESSIBILITY, and EFFICIENCY – these three pillars define Pekao's strategic actions for the coming years. The bank aims to grow in key segments and products, building solid results and increasing market shares. Over the next three years, it will also develop its remote channels and further tailor services and products to the changing needs of clients. Additionally, it will advance technologically, supporting the formation of a new organizational culture.

GROWTH

Within the new strategy horizon, the bank plans to increase the customer base under the age of 26 to 1.4 million by expanding products for young clients and tailoring the offering to their lifestyle, relationships, and needs. At the same time, it does not forget about existing clients, for whom it will also create a comprehensive offer, facilitate the management of their funds, and provide tools to support personal finance and investment planning. In this way, it aims to gain 700,000 active clients over the next three years. The bank also intends to further leverage its presence in smaller towns, viewing its extensive branch network as a competitive advantage.

Pekao also focuses on insurance products. By leveraging its partnership with the PZU Group, it plans to build a leading growth position in the bancassurance market. To this end, it will create a strong line of standalone insurance products available outside of banking products and implement a system allowing for fully remote purchase and management of insurance. The bank has set a goal for gross written premiums from insurance sales to reach PLN 1 billion in 2027.

The bank also aims to grow in leasing and factoring. Leveraging the competencies of the Pekao Group, it plans to position itself in the TOP3 for these services, offering them more effectively to entrepreneurs through appropriate positioning and process automation and improvement.

A leading position in corporate and public sector banking is another goal of the new strategy. Pekao plans to actively leverage the economic situation, financing even more large transformational projects. It will focus on forecasting client needs in priority sectors and modify decision-making processes to finance strategic clients as efficiently as possible.

ACCESSIBILITY

Pekao plans to increase the accessibility of banking services for clients by introducing an integrated service model across banking channels to ensure continuity, simplicity, and personalization, regardless of the channel through which the client conducts the process. Over the next three years, it will also develop the interactive capabilities of PeoPay, Pekao24, and the Contact Center, introducing top-quality conversational banking. Within the strategy horizon, it assumes that the number of mobile clients will increase to 4.4 million, and the share of digital sales will reach 72%. Additionally, the bank plans to focus even more on educational and advisory activities in branches, particularly in the local context.

Customer experience care is also one of Pekao's strategic goals. In 2027, it aims to be in the TOP3 in terms of NPS in mass segments. To this end, it will introduce systematic monitoring of customer experiences, develop a service model that takes into account changing customer needs, simplify communication, and increase the intuitiveness of digital solutions.

EFFICIENCY

For the aforementioned changes for clients to take place, a strong technological base is needed. To this end, the bank will build an efficient data ecosystem that will improve business processes, generate additional synergies, and be the foundation of a new information management model, the so-called Data Driven model. At the same time, within the strategy horizon, Pekao assumes a more than threefold increase in the number of cloud systems.

The bank will simplify internal processes and implement a comprehensive Operational Excellence Model to continuously monitor and improve processes. Optimization activities will focus largely on the entrepreneur segment, where key processes for companies, including the credit process for micro-enterprises, will be digitized and automated. Over the next three years, Pekao plans to increase the share of remote channels in business loan sales to 30% and achieve a digitalization rate in the SME, MID, and Corporate segments of 70%.

All these changes will be supported by an aspirational organizational culture, where the bank will act faster and think more ambitiously, and leaders will inspire and create space for action. Pekao will also invest in future competencies by creating an AI Competence Center to accelerate the implementation of new technologies throughout the organization. Thanks to these actions, in three years, work efficiency in selected areas of the bank will increase by at least 10%, the number of implemented AI solutions will more than double, and 80% of employees will use artificial intelligence.

ESG

In its strategy, the bank does not forget about ESG issues. It announces achieving climate neutrality for the Pekao Group by 2050, as well as developing products and a cooperation model with clients supporting the sustainable transformation of activities. Over the next three years, it plans to finance green projects, such as renewable energy sources, low-emission transport, energy-efficient construction, and energy efficiency, with PLN 9 billion.

The bank aims for at least 33% of top management positions in the Pekao Group to be held by women, and the pay gap for comparable positions to remain below 5%.

NEW DEFINITION OF THE BANK

Pekao has also defined the bank's values for the period 2025-2027 – in addition to the existing values "Simply," "Together," "Boldly," and "Responsibly," it has added "With Determination," "Openly," and "Honestly."

A new mission has also been defined: "With You Throughout Life," which means the bank wants to support clients at every stage of their life journey – from the first account to key decisions, from local business to international success. Thanks to the commitment of employees and smart technologies, the institution combines nearly a century of tradition with a dynamic outlook on the future.

The new vision is encapsulated in the slogan "First Choice for Today and Tomorrow." Pekao aims to be a universal, reference bank in Poland – a leader in smart financial technologies, supporting clients in their life and business journey. The bank creates a workplace where the passion and development of employees translate into exceptional customer experiences.