Dear Members of the UniCredit Board of Directors,
BETTER FINANCE wishes to express its concern over the recent abrupt termination of the financial instruments custody agreement between Zagreba?ka banka, an important member of UniCredit Group, and VZMD (Pan-Slovenian Stakeholders’ Association).
For the past four years, VZMD has operated its “Share SUPPORT” programme in cooperation with UniCredit, delivering services that strengthen retail investor engagement in EU capital markets.
We are therefore alarmed by the sudden and unilateral termination of this agreement, executed without any prior notice, explanation, or attempt at engagement, which has effectively severed thousands of retail investors from exercising their rights. No reasonable time was granted to secure an alternative arrangement or transfer assets, leaving 1,200 small shareholders exposed, with their savings frozen.
This case falls into a broader pattern of civil society organisations in the EU being de-banked, without regard to the European Banking Authority (EBA) Guidelines on de-risking (EBA/GL/2023/04), which require financial institutions to:
- Conduct case-by-case risk assessments;
- Explore mitigation measures before terminating services;
- Provide clear justification and documentation;
- Ensure transparency and inform clients of their right to challenge decisions.