Human factor

People

Bankinter, in line with its ambition to grow in resources and business volume, added 379 people to its staff in 2016. For another year, this is a trend that runs against the current, as the Spanish financial industry is still immersed in a process of consolidation and restructuring of its capacity, with the subsequent adverse impact on employment. According to Bank of Spain data, between 2008, the year of the sector's peak in headcount, and 2015, more than 75,000 jobs were lost: that is, 27% of the total. In contrast, Bankinter has generated quality jobs in the last four years, and it now has 5,486 employees, including 909 people in Portugal. The creation of jobs is a substantial part of Bankinter's contribution to the Spanish economy, one of whose weak spots happens to be the high unemployment levels. In addition, the bank adds stability to the labour market, as the vast majority of its employees (97.4%) have permanent contracts and work full time (99.4%).

Digital profiles

In the employment created in 2016, an outstanding role was played by digital profiles, in order to respond to the growing demand for specialists in new technologies and to satisfy the new needs of customers. In distribution by area, the areas of Regulatory Risks and of Compliance were reinforced with new members due to the increase in regulatory and supervisory requirements, as were other key areas for the Bank's strategy such as Bankinter Consumer Finance and Private Banking.

The increase in the bank's workforce is commensurate with the strong performance of the business, and it is also consistent with the projects for expansion of the business. But Bankinter's people management policy goes far beyond this purpose. The quest for excellence, due consideration of merit and the commitment to equality of opportunities are some of its hallmarks. The ultimate objective is to build a comprehensive framework for action based on the idea that employees are the bank's main asset. To preserve this asset, the bank implements professional recruitment programs, provides training and achieves improvements in the working environment, stimulates motivation and promotes professional development. The following is a summary of this series of activities.

Attracting talent

Bankinter's reputation as an innovative company that is concerned for its people is an attraction for sector professionals who wish to work in the bank, and it facilitates the bank's talent recruitment policy. This positive image has been built over time, and was validated in 2016 with new recognition. The talent recruitment strategy is carried out on two levels:

• Senior incorporations. These are professionals with prior experience in other banks or companies. Their addition to the bank provides different points of view that enrich the knowledge of staff and serve as a positive contrast to internal values.
• Identifying junior talent. Bankinter has an internship program for students that is reserved for recent graduates and those in the last year of studies, what might be called the bank's recruiting pool. In 2016, 223 young people participated in the program, of which about 2.7% ended up joining the bank's workforce, and the rest are taken into consideration for subsequent years. In addition, Bankinter makes arrangements with universities and business schools to continue graduates' education.

Training and development

The nucleus of training is the Bankinter Corporate University and in 2016 it was reinforced as a strategic initiative that not only supplements and develops skills and professional competencies of employees but also represents a tool for instilling Bankinter's corporate values. Its ultimate objective is to provide a space for development for a majority of the Group's professionals.

The Corporate University was created in 2013 as a strategic tool for value creation and knowledge exchange within the organisation. In its nearly four years of life, it has consolidated its role as a meeting place of ideas that fosters cooperation and provides mechanisms for sharing knowledge. At present, a significant share of learning does not come from conventional teaching, but rather from participation in collaborative environments such as that which the Corporate University Aims to be.

Its function operates in two areas: the physical campus, which is located in the town of Tres Cantos, Madrid, and which has facilities and rooms of different formats and capacities, and the virtual campus, which is ever more important due to the development of new technologies, which enables all employees access via the internal website.

The Corporate University is divided into schools:

• School of Commercial Excellence. It conveys the knowledge teams need to become more knowledgeable of their products and processes of interaction with customers. This was a priority in 2016. During the year, 50 professionals took the first edition of the advanced Sales programme, and a coaching programme was given for 18 branch office directors.

• Technical Schools. These ensure that bank professionals possess up-to-date technical knowledge relating to the sector and the function of each employee. In 2016, digital training was reinforced for executives and employees of areas related to the functions of new technologies.
• Talent School. The bank has different development programmes that aim to strengthen skills and support the professional career and growth of its employees. Some are targetted at young, high-potential employees who may occupy positions of great responsibility in the future (the 'Horizonte' programme, which is explained in talent promotion actions), and others that support functional mobility. The Talent School also provides the 'Gladiux' programme for sales directors, who receive a 360º evaluation and an individual development plan along with a coaching process. The programme helps them define development targets and design action plans as appropriate for each case.
• Summer School. Allows bank employees to voluntarily access any training in which they have an interest: language learning, team management, use of tools, sales and communication techniques, and other novel and current subjects that are not offered during the year. These are provided in Madrid and, in some subjects, online.

Talent promotion

The third edition of the 'Horizonte' programme was carried out in 2016, with the participation of 25 people. It is a cornerstone of the bank's policy of talent identification and promotion. It has two objectives:

• Identify people in the organisation with the best potential to stand out in the future due to their ability to develop the company's values and assume leadership.
• Provide them with the training tools and experience to help that potential develop as quickly as possible, especially to support improvement in their personal skills and leadership of teams.

Bankinter has another important lever in promoting talent: its rotation or internal mobility policy. New responsibilities were assigned to 18% of employees in 2016. It is a very encouraging percentage, as tackling new and different challenges is a stimulus for professional development. The Bank is also defining a new integral leadership model that will be completed over the course of 2017 to ensure that all team managers are aligned with the management style and connect with the Bank's culture and values.

The Bank is also defining a new integral leadership model that will be completed over the course of 2017 to ensure that all team managers are aligned with the management style and connect with the Bank's culture and values.

The talent management process is also supported by the new Bankinter employee website, a tool that is easy to use on a single digital platform that contains all information and procedures regarding hiring, training, talent, evaluation and performance and, in the next phase, remuneration. The new website brings efficiency improvements in control, enables the use of metrics and, in short, facilitates analysis of the organisation's human resource model.



Bkcrece

Bankinter's performance evaluation programme evolved in 2016 through the programme 'Bkcrece', the purpose of which is to foster a development and growth culture, talent management and continuous improvement. The objectives in 2016 were to ensure the quality of evaluations on the basis of a sound methodology, consolidate feedback as a development tool and boost the role of the employee in their own development.

First, each employee conducts a self-evaluation of their degree of attainment of targets and the level of development of competencies. Then, the manager evaluates the employee in terms of attainment of targets, level of development of competencies and commitment. In addition, people managers with teams of three or more people are evaluated by team members within the leadership framework sought by the bank, in a process that is confidential and anonymous. These processes culminate with a conversation of constructive feedback, after which each employee can design their own individual development plan with the help of the tools and supporting guidelines developed by the bank.

Remuneration and compensation

As the basis of its remuneration policy, Bankinter upholds the principles of non-discrimination on grounds of gender, race or any other factor, valuing competitiveness results obtained as its highest standards. Accordingly, taking as a reference the base salary and excluding additional pay for length of service, welfare or other benefits, the male/female pay ratio is 1.

The bank applies a remuneration structure composed of two levels:

• Fixed remuneration. This is influenced by factors such as the function performed, the responsibilities taken on, experience in the position and the ongoing individual performance in the position
• Variable remuneration. It is designed to be compatible with appropriate and effective risk management and aligned with the agreed business strategy. It is applied to the whole workforce, differentiating by functional areas. Groups of employees with a direct business relationship with the customer or with differential activities have specific bonuses. The rest of employees have variable incentives, which are granted individually based on the function performed and the responsibilities assumed, but, unlike the fixed portion, its purpose is to ensure an appropriate correlation between the remuneration levels and the results attained. The amount finally received by each employee, which is capped at a certain maximum amount, depends on attainment of the objectives established for each area. The performance of Earnings Before Tax (EBT) of banking activities has an impact on the variable incentives of all groups.

Corporate employee benefits

Bankinter offers social benefits that go beyond legal requirements and which apply to all employees.

These include:

• AAssistance in the education of employees' children.
• Medical insurance.
• Life insurance.
• Advances against monthly salary.
• Banking services and products with special conditions for employees.

Bankinter also offers its employees meal subsidies, depending on their working hours, which can be taken as an addition to salary or on the form of restaurant vouchers.

Employees also have right to the following benefits:

• Mortgage loans (including novation).
• Housing construction loans.
• Revision of mortgage interest rates.
• Housing loans.
• Loans for other purposes (no proof is required).
• Advances. Those included in the banking collective bargaining agreement and those for the purchase of a computer, to pay for language courses abroad, or postgraduate studies relating to the employee’s professional activity.
• Simulator of pensions.

There is also a flexible remuneration system, of a voluntary character, whereby the bank and the employee can agree to modify the composition (not the amount) of the remuneration package, partially substituting financial remuneration for non-financial remuneration, such as with nursery vouchers, shares, medical insurance, training, contributions to pension plans, transport card or restaurant vouchers). In this way, the employee maximises remuneration in two main ways: through the Bank’s bargaining power to optimise the price and through the tax advantages accruing to certain products or services contracted through this system Currently 48% of employees use this flexible compensation option.

As long-term remuneration designed to cover certain contingencies, the bank offers the following benefits:

• Certain supplementary cover is provided for all employees as regards the benefits paid by the Social Security system in the following circumstances: widowhood, orphanhood, permanent occupational disability, absolute permanent disability or severe disability.
• Employees in service since before 1 March 1980 have their pension commitments covered as established in the collective agreement for the sector.
• Annual contribution of 300 euros to the pension plan of all employees, pursuant to the provisions of the banking collective agreement, who have more than two years' service in the industry and whose pension commitments are not covered by any other scheme.

Furthermore, Bankinter forms part of the Plan Familia for Employees. Promoted by the Adecco Foundation, this programme provides any of the Bank's employees with a disability, and/or family members in a similar situation, with assistance of various kinds to help them achieve real employment and social integration, or to help them perform various activities, including those related to leisure.