"We have very strong human, financial and strategic foundations to fulfil our purpose and deliver greater value to clients, shareholders and our global ecosystem."
Dear shareholders,
In 2022, Euroclear has continued to play a central role at the heart of the global financial ecosystem. This position comes with great responsibilities in how we interact with and bring value to all our stakeholders, particularly for you - our shareholders - our people and our clients.
We can be proud of the achievements and strong performance of the Euroclear group in 2022, a truly exceptional year, which saw both equity and bond markets decline, and where Euroclear was not immune from the impacts of the changing geo-political and macroeconomic climate.
The brutal invasion of Ukraine was an unfortunate opportunity to demonstrate our ability to deal with a major crisis. In the early stages of the invasion, Euroclear management focused on the humanitarian efforts with an emphasis on our employees in the region and those displaced by this terrible event.
We have since navigated through the complex implementation and resulting consequences of the Russian sanctions, for which many of our teams must be congratulated.
DEFINING AN AMBITIOUS VISION
I would also like to highlight the work done by the Board to approve our renewed purpose, long-term vision, and five-year strategic plan.
Benefiting from the excellent work done by Lieve and her management team, we have set strategic ambitions for the company that will continue to create value for our clients, our ecosystem and our shareholders.
Being a trusted, safe, and reliable partner for all our stakeholders is the starting point. Given our systemically important role, it is our duty to further strengthen the connections with our ecosystem, accelerate the co-creation with our clients and strategic partners, as well as continuing to invest strategically to ensure business resilience and cyber security.
FURTHER EMBEDDING ESG
Today, ESG is no longer a nice to have. Euroclear’s ESG objectives act as the umbrella to our new corporate strategy, influencing all its components. All board committees take ESG considerations into account.
All of us have a responsibility to improve the communities in which we live and operate. Over the course of 2022, Euroclear made strong commitments to reduce its own environmental impact as well as placing an increased focus on the “S”, both in respect of our workplace as well as our engagement with our communities. For further details, see references on page 24.
Our human capital will be key in realising our vision, and our future successes depend on continued investment in people and leadership.
Euroclear’s ESG objectives act as the umbrella to our new corporate strategy, influencing all its components.
STRONG SHAREHOLDER FOUNDATIONS
Value creation is a key focus for the Board, and one of the factors in supporting our success is in having a stable, supportive, and well-informed shareholder base.
As such, during 2022, we were delighted to welcome the investments by Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) and Société Fédérale de Participations et d’Investissement (SFPI-FPIM). Their long-term investment vision and commitment complement Euroclear’s position as a neutral, open financial market infrastructure, bringing safety, efficiency, and connections to global financial markets.
It remains a clear priority for your Board to connect and deepen our dialogue with the entire shareholder community to bring additional stability and to support the delivery of the strategy.
CLEAR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND PRIORITIES
Over the past years, we have made good progress to simplify and strengthen the corporate governance of the Euroclear group. We have also taken steps towards further simplifying the corporate structure with the re-domiciliation of Euroclear Investments, the group’s issuing entity, from Luxembourg to Belgium.
With strong foundations in place, the Board has clear priorities to enable the company to seize its opportunities. We will continue to build on the work done to define our company’s purpose in order to take Board-level decisions that are fully aligned with our stated strategy and ambitions, setting the tone at the top in terms of culture and values.
Additionally, and in line with best practice, in 2022 we conducted a regular review of the Board’s effectiveness, and are now focused on implementing its recommendations.
THANK YOU
Before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to thank and recognise the important contributions of the directors who left the company last year: Mrs. Sophie Javary, Mr. Paul Swann and Mr. Francis (Frank) La Salla. I would also like to welcome Mr. Eric Lombard and Mr. Tom Feys who were appointed as non-executive directors bringing strong experiences and new perspectives to the Board.
I would like to thank our global client base and our shareholders for the continued trust and confidence you place in us. I would also like to thank the management team and all our employees, my Board colleagues, as well as our suppliers and partners for their co-operation throughout 2022.
We have very strong human, financial and strategic foundations to fulfil our purpose and deliver greater value to clients, shareholders and our global ecosystem. And I look forward to working with you all to deliver on this promise.
Yours,
Francesco Vanni d’Archirafi
Chairman, Euroclear group
