Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi ‐ Euroclear group Chairman

"Our company continues to perform well as a resilient and open infrastructure at the heart of the global capital markets."

A message from our group Chairman

Dear shareholders,

As I write my first annual letter as Chairman of the Euroclear group, I am delighted to report that our company continues to perform well as a resilient and open infrastructure at the heart of the global capital markets. 

Since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and the frequent emergence of new variants not only had a profound impact on our daily lives, but brought volatility to the financial markets and unprecedented issuance of securities by companies and governments alike. 

As we enter 2022, we are faced with a war very close to home with the invasion of Ukraine. The resulting humanitarian crisis, inside and outside Ukraine, is truly distressing. Your Board, along with the management team, is intensely focused on ensuring that Euroclear responds appropriately to the new environment, both as a financial market infrastructure and as an employer.


CREATING SHAREHOLDER VALUE IN 2021

2021 was another year of significant progress for our company. Euroclear performed robustly throughout the year, yielding record top-line and bottom-line results. We exceeded the key financial targets set out in our previous five-year business strategy, two years ahead of schedule.

Business income growth was the key driver of our company’s record financial results, reflecting the strength of Euroclear’s diversified business model, its attractiveness and value to clients, and the delivery of its strategic initiatives. Our growing business income more than compensated for the effect of lower interest rates. 

Both the quantum and quality of our company’s earnings continues to improve as we balance cost management with investment in business resilience, efficiency and new services. Group net profit reached €463 million, up 7% versus 2020.

In light of this continued strong performance, and Euroclear’s capital position, we announced our intention to pay a dividend of €88.5 per share, reflecting a pay-out ratio of 60% in line with the prior year.

As I write to you, there is great uncertainty on how the war in Ukraine will unfold and the implications arising from the execution of the related sanctions. Therefore, we consider it prudent to wait until the second half of 2022 to formally confirm the dividend payment announced in our full year results publication.

 

CONSISTENT STRATEGIC PROGRESS

Under the stewardship of management, the continued implementation of the group’s strategy has served to strengthen, grow and reshape the Euroclear network. Consequently, our company is well positioned to benefit from strong demand across asset classes from clients throughout its global ecosystem.  

We are continuously investing in an evolving client proposition, as well as the robustness of our systems and platforms, with focus on opportunities in funds, collateral management, international expansion and in digital, data and ESG services. In 2021, we completed Euroclear’s most significant acquisition since 2008 by acquiring MFEX, a leading, global digital fund distribution platform to make our funds proposition even more compelling.

Our clients are increasingly embracing a more data-driven and digital offering. To meet this demand, we have launched several new data-enabled services in 2021 as well as exploring opportunities in new digital asset classes and new technologies.

Over the past two quarters, management and the Board have been working together to define the strategic ambition and our vision for the future. With this work now completed and approved by the Board, we look forward to sharing our new strategic direction with you during the second quarter of 2022. 

 

EMBRACING ESG FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS

I am a strong believer in the importance of doing business responsibly. It is imperative that our business makes a positive impact on communities and society alike, while we continue to deliver shareholder value.

I am proud of Euroclear’s efforts to make a positive social impact, starting in our workplace. Euroclear strives to be the employer of choice in our industry by fostering an inclusive culture and attracting, developing and upskilling diverse talent to meet the needs of our clients. 

We continue to be involved in many community initiatives, both locally and globally. One of the global NGOs we support is Junior Achievement, an organisation that is close to my heart. I would like to congratulate everyone involved on its nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Among the many volunteering initiatives in all countries where we operate, most recently many employees have mobilised to support the Ukraine relief efforts. All our volunteers deserve our recognition and admiration.

Looking forward, we all must take steps to prevent the next major crisis on our horizon: climate change. I firmly believe that Euroclear has an important role to play, and financial market infrastructure could be the enabler to unlock as much as $25 trillion in capital for ESG-related investments. Supporting the green transition is going to be a very important initiative for Euroclear. 

We are now committing to further our own efforts to reduce Euroclear’s environmental impact. Having been carbon-neutral since 2012, we have set a target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest. This is in line with the SBTi Net-Zero Standard.   

 

GOVERNANCE REFORMS COMPLETED

I am a strong believer in the importance of doing business responsibly. It is imperative that our business makes a positive impact on communities and society alike, while we continue to deliver shareholder value.

I am proud of Euroclear’s efforts to make a positive social impact, starting in our workplace. Euroclear strives to be the employer of choice in our industry by fostering an inclusive culture and attracting, developing and upskilling diverse talent to meet the needs of our clients. 

We continue to be involved in many community initiatives, both locally and globally. One of the global NGOs we support is Junior Achievement, an organisation that is close to my heart. I would like to congratulate everyone involved on its nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Among the many volunteering initiatives in all countries where we operate, most recently many employees have mobilised to support the Ukraine relief efforts. All our volunteers deserve our recognition and admiration.

Looking forward, we all must take steps to prevent the next major crisis on our horizon: climate change. I firmly believe that Euroclear has an important role to play, and financial market infrastructure could be the enabler to unlock as much as $25 trillion in capital for ESG-related investments. Supporting the green transition is going to be a very important initiative for Euroclear. 

We are now committing to further our own efforts to reduce Euroclear’s environmental impact. Having been carbon-neutral since 2012, we have set a target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest. This is in line with the SBTi Net-Zero Standard.   

 

THANK YOU

It is a great honour to be asked to lead the Board of the Euroclear group. In these unprecedented times, the role of providing efficient, resilient and reliable financial market infrastructure services has never been more important for the functioning of the capital markets and the growth of the global economy. 

The last few months working with shareholders, Board members, Lieve Mostrey and the management team, have only increased my belief in the opportunity for our company to continue to create value for our clients, our shareholders, our ecosystem and society at large.   

I would like to thank the Euroclear shareholders and our client community for the continued trust and confidence you place in us. I would also like to thank the management team and all our employees, my colleagues on the Board as well as our clients, suppliers and partners for their excellent collaboration throughout 2021. 

Together, we are well placed to continue delivering value to all our stakeholders as an independent, open financial market infrastructure.  

Thank you,

Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi
Chairman, Euroclear group