31 THE ENERGY TRANSITION TOWARDS A LOWERCARBON ECONOMY IS NOW WELL UNDERWAY, AND WE AIM TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENTAL ROLE IN THIS. Frank Bervillé, Head of Coverage This transition will undoubtedly lead to the emergence of new routes and new supply flows as well as the extinction of others. No one knows the speed of this movement today, but it seems obvious that it will not be linear and gradual, but, on the contrary, most certainly abrupt and chaotic. We have therefore entered a long historical phase characterised by significant volatility, where the price equilibrium of each commodity, and more globally the equilibrium of international trade itself, will be more uncertain than ever before. Our clients, thanks to their ability to adapt, their organisation, their networks and their know-how, will undoubtedly be the first link and will be one of the key players in this transition. Our ambition and challenge in 2023 and in the years to come is therefore to continue to support them by offering them the most relevant and innovative financing solutions and products possible, especially in terms of ESG. We also need to continue our efforts in terms of deployment and technological investments, whether direct or indirect, in partnership with FinTech's, and we highlight our partnership with Komgo. I would like to thank our teammates for the tremendous work done in 2022, as well as our Management and our shareholder. COVERAGE OF LARGE CORPORATES The year 2022 saw a slight increase in activity with Swiss and international corporates (excluding commodity traders) compared to 2021. In a context of increased volatility and a rapid rise in interest rates, we supported our corporate clients in their projects in 2022 through significant syndicated financing transactions (with a growing share of transactions including ESG criteria), Trade Finance and working Capital Financing solutions (supply chain finance, securitisation). Conversely, the volume of bond issues decreased in 2022 given the higher cost of this type of financing, which led several companies to favour syndicated bank loans. Our Bank remained active across all sectors (TMT, Pharma, Chemicals, Capital Goods, Agrifood, etc.) and notably supported the electricity generation sector in Switzerland. Furthermore, our activity was buoyant with our clients in interest rate, currency and equity derivatives as they chose to strengthen their hedging strategies in a more volatile and uncertain market. In 2023, our bank hopes to work with its clients on new decarbonisation projects for industrial assets and on the structuring of bond issues or financing with ESG criteria. We will also be able to offer our clients a more comprehensive range of cash management and working capital optimisation solutions in 2023.
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