FAQ

We realize that Locat brand recognition in Italy is quite high: the company started to operate on the Italian market in 1968. For the last 11 years it Locat has been a member of UniCredit Group, one of the leading financial institutions of Europe. And today our key target is to have a high UniCredit Leasing brand recognition on the international level, since the company is already number 1 in Europe. So our aim is to further improve capability to serve clients and to generate value in this region.
Rebranding of Locat to UniCredit Leasing is not only the name or logo change – it is a symbol of new perspectives for our company and those who trust us – the combination of local strength and global reach will open up increasing opportunities for you – our customers. The key focus of our activity will stay on product quality and client satisfaction: UniCredit Leasing will keep all the best that Locat has gained throughout 40 years of successful experience on the Italian market. This change will also gain a new and very strong impulse for our further development across UniCredit Leasing comprehensive European network, together with a more innovative approach in identifying new solutions to follow our clients’ needs.

Effective from 1st January 2009 Locat S.p.A. will be rebranded and start operating under the new name of UniCredit Leasing S.p.A.

We strive at increasing the sense of belonging to one global network – UniCredit Leasing reaching our client anywhere in the world under one unique brand and same high quality of products and services. After grouping the leasing operations of UniCredit Group in 2007, UniCredit Leasing operates in most markets of presence under the UniCredit Leasing brand, and for keeping in line with the Group’s strategy, this area has set the goal of achieving significant brand recognition at the international level. 

UniCredit Leasing was formed as a result of the merger of UniCredit Global Leasing (the leasing sub-holding of UniCredit Group) and Locat. However we are the first truly European leasing company with a comprehensive network and a fully fledged infrastructure, accompanying our clients into the biggest European markets such as Italy, Germany, Austria and the expanding markets of Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Baltics, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia&Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Croatia.

Immediately after the legal rebranding to UniCredit Leasing, effective from 1st of January 2009, a local PR and media campaign will be launched to present the new brand to general public in Italy.

The re-branding as a result of successful integration into the leading European leasing network within one of the major financial institutions of Europe, shouldn’t make you anxious. The leasing market is rather dynamic and in order to be among the leaders, to provide the top quality service for the clients, the best and most innovative products we have to leverage on financial and intellectual resources available. And it is not just an Italian or European, but a global trend.
In this particular moment we have decided to create a global network leveraging on local excellence and well recognized international talents. Thus in order to win the forthcoming tougher competition on the market at international level, it will be fundamental to be guided by the same strategy, as well as by a clear global business model able to apply at the same time to the specialities of each local market.
Inside the UniCredit Leasing perimeter, under one brand in 17 European countries we gain a unique opportunity not to stop on what is achieved, but to move forward with strong support and know-how of the powerful and successful network. We aim at being the undisputable leader on the European leasing market, and our performance was, is and will be on the highest level.

Yes, certainly. UniCredit Leasing will also stay member of the following associations: ABI (Associazione Bancaria Italiana); Assonime (Associazione fra le Società Italiane per Azioni); Assolombarda (Associazione delle Imprese Industriali dell’Area milanese).

UniCredit Leasing will continue to offer the best products and to deliver the best quality services on the Italian market. At the same time we will also further improve our capability to serve clients across 17 countries of our presence with single access point for global customers. Moreover, being part of UniCredit Group, ranking among the top financial groups in Europe with 10,000 bank branches in 22 countries, UniCredit Leasing will continue to be your strong and reliable financial partner, offering a full range of leasing products and value-adding services, providing you with further support and advantages of the expanded UniCredit banking network.

Practically, after the name change of Locat you will automatically become a client of UniCredit Leasing. You will not have to spend any time on signing new agreements or other documentation. Locat is the incorporating company, therefore it shall only change the name in the process.

The change will not affect the existing contracts with Locat. So, from this point of view, there will be no changes for you as a client. Next time you receive a communication by Locat or should you have to amend the previous agreements (for reasons not depending on the merger) the name of your counterpart shall be UniCredit Leasing instead of Locat. And there will be no need to resign any documentation because of the merger.

Not in regards to company data. Only the representatives may change their role in the organization depending on the structural changes within UniCredit Leasing. Starting from 1st of January, 2009 the company will operate under the name of UniCredit Leasing, and all the related documentation should contain the new name of the company.

Please see our details here:
 

The domain of our web-site will change to www.unicreditleasing.eu as well as our e-mail address to name.surname@unicreditleasing.eu (although in the coming months old e-mail addresses at locat.it domain will have the readdressing system, and so e-mails will be redirected to the new addresses automatically).
Of course the visual image of the company will change, new brand signs will appear and the design of the offices will be different. But our staff will remain friendly and professional. We hope you will make sure of that when you come again to the familiar address or call our offices.

Of course, not. Merging of Locat with UniCredit Leasing implies leveraging on both local and international experience together with obtaining a deeper understanding of customer needs. We will be further improving quality of our products and services as well as processes efficiency in terms of UniCredit Leasing unique European network, providing more benefits to our customers: more flexible and comprehensive offers due to increasing product innovation, cross border execution capability also supported by the bank network of UniCredit Group, stronger cooperation with key international vendors, faster delivery based on internal processes rationalization and many more. Our clients are still to discover all the advantages of this empowering change!

Our website will change its address, name and design according to the name change and with UniCredit corporate style guidelines: www.unicreditleasing.eu.
But its functionality and convenience will be only improved with the course of time and with the implication of the technologies used by the UniCredit Leasing network.
There will be a joint and improved reserved area for customers and agents on the new UniCredit Leasing website, serving, as before, as a unique entry point. You will be able to log in with your existing login and password, no new request for this service will be needed.
And our truly European network is always at your disposal at www.unicreditleasing.eu.
 

In terms of recent changes we are introducing a new organizational model in UniCredit Leasing. This new Operative sub-holding organizational model will be in place from the beginning of 2009 and it will be targeted at improving our capability to serve customers across all geographies and best practice sharing inside the network. The Operative sub-holding organizational structure will leverage on three main areas: strategy, business and operation. Further information on top management of UniCredit Leasing and organizational structure will be available on our website www.unicreditleasing.eu in the coming weeks.