Bank Pekao makes every effort to ensure that advertising messages do not undermine public confidence in advertising activities, do not contain content or images that offend generally applicable customs, do not abuse customer confidence by taking advantage of their lack of experience or knowledge, do not take advantage of a sense of fear, do not contain elements that could lead to or encourage acts of violence, and finally do not accept discrimination, in particular on grounds of race, religion or gender.
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In accordance with the applicable internal regulations, marketing and advertising activities conducted at the Bank and the Pekao Group take into account the generally applicable laws and guidelines of supervisory authorities, the principles of fair financial market trading, good practices and statements of intent of the customer concerning these activities. In addition, they are carried out in compliance with the Bank’s communication strategy, the Bank’s visual identity and image, adopted internal regulations and in a way that maintains the intelligibility of the message being communicated. Bank Pekao complies with the principles of the Code of Banking Ethics of the Polish Bank Association and the Canon of Good Financial Market Practices adopted by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. The Pekao Group Code of Conduct, meanwhile, emphasizes that each employee is an ambassador of products and services offered by both the Bank and other entities of the Pekao Group. Professional promotion of products and services strengthens customer confidence and helps build relationships based on mutual respect and trust.
Responsible promotion of the Bank is based on reliable and transparent knowledge of products, including possible risks arising from changing macroeconomic conditions or the activities of regulators. Marketing and advertising activities conducted in the Pekao Group take into account generally applicable laws and guidelines of supervisory authorities, principles of fair trading on the financial market, good practices and are conducted with respect for the customer’s will concerning said actions. The key regulations relating to this area of compliance risk assessment are: the New Product Implementation Policy and the Principles for Creating Marketing Communication, which were drawn up in connection with the decision of the Management Board of the Bank to adopt the Principles of Corporate Governance for Supervised Institutions, issued by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. This regulation takes into account, i.a., basic requirements applicable to the content of marketing and advertising materials, including the nature and specification of the relevant product, including: consumer loans, mortgage loans, bank accounts (in particular savings accounts, savings and settlement accounts, or term deposit accounts), insurance products, as well as investment products.
Bank Pekao also has an Order Principles of communication of Bank Polska Kasa Opieki Spółka Akcyjna in social media relating comprehensively to communication, as well as promotional activities conducted with the Bank’s stakeholders through social media. In 2021, a new regulation was introduced, the Pekao Group Brand Architecture Management Policy, addressed to all subsidiaries, which relates to the protection and promotion of the Bank’s brand and includes a comprehensive Book of Visual Identification.
In 2022, in line with previous years covered by non-financial reporting at the Bank, there were no cases of non-compliance with regulations or non-compliance in the area of marketing communications.
Promotion through art
In 2022, Pekao, in a new project under the slogan “When art creates business”, decided to return to the model of promoting the brand through art (art branding), including in the virtual space. The idea refers to a decades-old tradition, when promotional materials for the Bank were prepared by artists associated with the Polish School of Posters, including Waldemar Świerzy and Wiktor Górka. This approach became key to the creation of new compositions for advertising prints – a collage figure of a cyclist and the accompanying slogan “Have an easy ride downhill” appeared on display windows, flyers and in the online space. The new graphic line draws on the Bank’s style from years ago in a modern way. At the same time, the reference to the poster and, above all, to the work of Wojciech Fangor makes the Bank move away from communication in which stock photos are the dominant image. In addition, in 2022 Bank Pekao became the first universal financial institution in the world to tokenize art. NFTs with elements of Rafał Bujnowski’s painting composition are linked to 440 Unique payment cards introduced jointly with MasterCard. Each card will have a fragment of the “Studio Wall” painting printed on the front, with a non-exchangeable token associated with it. In the same year, Pekao unveiled the NFT project in the metaverse. Tokens with works by Kai Renkas, made for the 25th anniversary of Pekao S.A. Private Banking, will be on display in the PeoPay Gallery – a virtual space located in ESKA World – Poland’s first metaverse environment. In addition to NFT, there will be animations and an interactive game there.
CYBERczujni (CYBERalert together)
Pekao S.A. also decided to show the dangers that exist online in an unconventional way and make customers aware of what to do to safeguard themselves from them and not lose money. As a result of these assumptions, the educational campaign “What’s on the Net” was launched, which interestingly and creatively shows the methods of Internet thieves and teaches recipients safe behavior on the Internet. Shot out of the box, the informative material shows the real dangers of the following illegal procedures: fraud, phishing, scam, vishing, fake investments, “cop” scams and malware. Each description includes characteristics of criminal activity and practical tips on how to protect oneself against it*.