Bankinter launches the Bankintercard, its new brand in the card business

Today, Bankinter Consumer Finance presented its new corporate identity, as well as the new brand for one of the company's main lines, the revolving card business (or deferred payment), that will now start to operate as Bankintercard.

Bankinter Consumer Finance, the Bankinter company specialising in the consumer business, thus leaves behind its former name, ‘Obsidiana’, the brand under which the revolving cards operated since their launch in 2008. With the new Bankintercard, the company aims to build up an entire value proposal for its card business, based on the brand potential of the parent company, seeking a greater link to the Group's identity.

Bankinter relaunched its consumer company in 2015, endowing it with more resources and new teams, with the objective of turning this business into one of its main sources of revenues, taking advantage of the changing trend in the Spanish consumer market that was detected over the course of last year, representing a 14% growth.

In this new moderately optimistic scenario, albeit extremely competitive, Bankinter Consumer Finance works under an ambitious business plan, which forecasts 3,000 million euros in investments by 2020, and 40% annual estimated growth. Under these goals, the company has set a 1,000 million euro investment and one million customers as its 2016 target.

To reach those figures, the strategy of Bankinter Consumer Finance will be supported by five core areas. In addition to traditional revolving cards and consumer loans, the bank will commit to other lines of business, including auto loans and point of sale financing, and will seek synergies with other Group Companies, like Línea Directa, with a base of 2.3 million clients who may require financing adapted to their unique situations and needs.

The competitive advantages of Bankinter Consumer Finance, and where it will make the largest investments in 2016, include a firm commitment to digital innovation, with some 100% online processes, and intensive use of big data to predict future consumer behaviour. The company will also conduct a thorough risk analysis, a traditional practice in the Group, which lets the financial institution have non-performing asset ratios that are lower than the overall NPA ratio for the entire banking sector. Thus, at the close of 2015, the non-performing assets ratio of Bankinter Consumer Finance was 7.3%, a year-on-year reduction of 2.4 percentage points.

A consolidated company and a natural leader.

Bankinter Consumer Finance had a brilliant year in 2015. The company's investment volume was 719 million euros, 71% more than in 2014, with 190,000 new accounts opened in the year (+121%), with a new total of 730,000 clients. It is the consumer company with the largest growth. Gross income was 83.2 million euros. Despite the increase in expenses for undertaking new projects, in 2015 the company obtained a pre-tax profit (ex generic) of 39.4 million euros.

Bankinter Consumer Finance has a market share among consumer-oriented banks that are ASNEF members of 6.7%; and 13% for the revolving card business (deferred payment).

The Bankinter Group's commitment to this company was materialised in 2015 by strengthening its Board of Directors, now chaired by María Dolores Dancausa, the bank's managing director, and adding two new external members to make it more independent: Mario Armero, former president of GE Spain and ANFAC vice-president; and Patricia Ayuela, director of the auto division of Línea Directa.

For 2016, the company's aim includes seeking new strategic alliances with large companies that are willing to using the company's financing products to raise customer loyalty, as well as developing advanced tools so that customers have access to credit, with full guarantees, convenience and customisation.

More information: www.bankinterconsumerfinance.com