The volatility of the markets, triggered from the beginning of the year by inflation and subsequently by the invasion of Ukraine, made it necessary to redouble the efforts of the Bank's commercial teams towards banking for individuals — which accounts for a third of Bankinter's gross operating income.
This commercial effort was part of the two major transformations introduced during 2021 in the customer service model, which saw their first full year in force in 2022: the creation of the Retail Banking and Wealth Management areas.
Retail Banking brings together under one hierarchical unit the former areas of Personal, Individual and Non-Resident Retail Banking. Wealth Management integrates the areas of Private Banking, Bankinter Luxembourg and the Agency Network
In both cases, the aim was — and continues to be — to better profile customers according to their specific financial needs and potential, thereby improving service delivery and productivity.
Thanks to all this, Commercial Retail Banking obtained a gross operating income of 711 million euro, an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. A total of 103,000 new customers were welcomed, the second highest number in the Bank's history, after that of 112,000 in 2021.
The main source of attraction for customers with high loyalty and profitability was once again mortgages, where the outstanding balance rose to 23.46 billion euro despite the sharp increase in interest rates that took place from June, the fastest in history. New mortgage lendings amounted to 3.421 billion euro, the second highest figure in the Bank's history, after that of 4.176 billion for 2021.
Another major source of customer attraction was the salary account, which has kept its conditions for more than ten years. In terms of balances, the salary account grew by 11%, reaching 16 billion euro.
New personal lendings broke records, reaching close to 1 billion euro in 2022, a growth of 48% over the previous year. Premiums from life insurance increased by 2 million euros. Activity in pensions, which includes net inflows, contributions and subscriptions, amounted to 83 million euro.
In Wealth Management, assets under management exceeded 51 billion euro, with net new assets of more than 4 billion, 14% more than the previous year. In Retail Banking, assets under management exceeded 41 billion, with net new assets rising to more than 3.4 billion, 2.6 times the amount for 2021.
The balance in equities amounted to almost 18.8 billion euro at 31 December 2022, maintaining the level of 2021 in a year where stock market falls have been pronounced. In Fixed Income we have grown by almost 1.9 billion euro to close to 4.8 billion euro.
We have implemented numerous liquidity management measures, including Buy & Hold funds, which have been well received by our customers with placements in excess of 500 million euro. Bankinter once again demonstrated its cutting-edge approach with the launch of the first Spanish fund focused on the metaverse industry, as well as with the launch of a parent fund for alternative investments traditionally reserved for Wealth Management customers and now accessible also to those of Retail Banking.
As part of the efforts towards service enhancement, a website dedicated to mega trends in investment was created.
The challenges facing Commercial Retail Banking in 2023 include ensuring profitable growth and management of the loan book, preserving liquidity levels and expanding advisory roles, while keeping to the commercial tone and the pace of new customer acquisition, which is one of Bankinter's strategic objectives.
We will also continue to consolidate the changes in the customer service model that we started implementing in 2021 and kept up throughout 2022, with a special focus on households, offering financial solutions and new products adapted to the different stages in customers' lives and that of their family members. Within the framework of innovation pursued at Bankinter, in 2023 we will have a new front-end for personalised commercial management in branches.
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