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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Before I hand over to Ms. Magda Palczynska, Head of Investor Relations, a reminder that today's call is being recorded.

Madam, you may begin. Good morning and welcome to Unicredit's first quarter 2026 results conference call. Andrea Orchel, our CEO, will take you through the presentation. This will be followed by a Q&A session with Andrea and Stefano Porro, our CFO. As always, please limit yourself to two questions. With that, I'll hand over to Andrea.

Thank you, Magda, and good morning. and thank you all for joining. I would like to begin today with a shout out for our people. Our performance and progress are driven by their execution every day. Unicredit has consistently demonstrated the ability to adapt throughout its transformation, initially primarily focused on efficiency and profitability through Unlocked. The results speak for themselves. 20 consecutive quarters of outperformance, with net profit growing from 1.5 billion to 10.6 billion throughout the rate cycle, while dedicating on average 1 billion per year in transformation investments. With Unlimited, we entered a new phase, more ambitious, more demanding, requiring us to push the boundaries of both efficiency and growth, sustainably gaining market share in our core market, in the right segment, and on the right terms. Unlimited is raising the bar further. It builds on our strengths while demanding from all of us a step change in mindset, execution, and ambitions. We are off to a strong start with another record quarter, with net profit 16% ahead of last year, fueled by strong core revenues, complemented by equity investments and continued cost reduction. Our focus is clear, quality and consistency in our core business while transforming to be future ready. Inorganic opportunities will remain add-ons, never a substitute for or destruction from our base performance. Any view that external noise will disrupt our delivery, underestimate our discipline, our focus, and above all, our people. Turning to slide one. Today, I am proud to present our first quarter result, the first quarter of Unicredit Unlimited, the 21st sequential record quarter and best quarter in Unicredit's history. Unlimited is off to a flying start. We are executing at speed across both dimensions of our strategy, acceleration and transformation. We continue to drive quality growth across our business while further improving efficiency and investing in our people, technology and AI as key enablers of future change. This is what makes our trajectory distinctive. We are not choosing between short-term results and transformation to become future ready. We deliver both. Strong core revenues propelled by robust commercial dynamics and complemented by equity investment more than offset the decline in rates, proactive Russia compression, and a more even quarterly distribution of loan loss provisions. Continued transformation supported yet another sequential quarter of cost reduction. Combined, they translated into record gross operating profit, record net operating profit, record net profit, and record return on tangible equity. This is not momentum by chance. It is momentum by execution. Because of this strong start, the strengths of our business, our lines of defense, and the ability of our people to perform across different macro scenarios, today we're not only confirming our ambition, we're upgrading it. We expect net profit to reach at least 11 billion in 2026, and we recommit to our 28-2030 net profit ambition. we have taken into consideration the currently expected impact of a more challenging geopolitical and macro environment. Our story remains unlimited. Anything inorganic will be managed with the same discipline we have always applied and only in a way that can further improve our standalone baseline. Slide two. From the outset, we said that Unlimited would build on the momentum of Unlocked by pushing further, moving faster, and raising our ambition again. To go beyond the boundaries of legacy banking, to be able to compete and win against fintechs, hyperscalers, and any new entrant. Unlimited is about rewriting the rules of the game. It is about reimagining what a bank must look like, challenging our data models and artificial limits, and recognizing that the greatest risk is not change, but standing still. That is why Unlimited is a new blueprint for the future, combining the strengths of a traditional bank, the agility of a fintech, and the dynamism of a technology company. And this is exactly what we're doing now. Slide three. Unlimited acceleration. Our franchise is accelerating decisively. We deliver 7% revenue growth, excluding Russia, which we are compressing, absorbing rate decline, and 5% including Russia. We continue to invest in our people, the true engine of our success, hiring around 1,400 colleagues, around 90% of them in the business. We are growing the balance sheet in a disciplined way, with customer loans up 6%. We are acquiring targeted clients with SME, private and wealth up 2%, while total financial asset excluding deposits are up 3%. And we are improving the quality of our revenues, maintaining the profitability of our capital deployed, while further strengthening our fee base, with one market's funds increasing 9% in the quarter. Slide four. Unlimited transformation. We continue to further reset the efficiency frontier, starting from a position of strengths. Best-in-class capital and operational efficiency. Unlimited is allowing us to shift gears again. Our operational efficiency is further improving from an already unmatched position. Costs are down 2%, excluding new perimeters, 1% including them. Our capital efficiency remains top tier despite headwinds. The result is a bank that is leaner, faster, closer to clients, and more efficient. Unicredit Unlimited is not about incremental improvement. It is about rethinking the operating model at its core, with new technologies and AI as key enablers of that shift. We're deploying AI at speed. with multiple AI-driven solutions already in place across all our regions, each one of them leading change in an area, together underpinning tangible improvement in client experience and productivity. Our Group AI platform already ensures approximately 35% lower time to delivery and 30% lower IT cost. This platform is the key enabler of our bottom-up approach. Countries lead innovation close to clients, and once value is proven, the most successful use cases are scaled across the group. We're decisively progressing across AI-powered survey channels, next-generation virtual assistants, predictive analytics for tailored solutions, smart recommendations for advisors, upgraded tools, further empowering our people. Somewhat similarly to AI, digital asset and the required transformation that goes with them will dramatically change the way we do business. With the creation of our digital asset hub, the objective is clear. Move beyond pilots and make digital assets scalable. That is why we invested in Blockinvest and continue to explore on-chain settlement solutions, including Kivalis, which is continuing to get more traction in the industry. Slide six, first quarter performance mark, yet another record in Unicredit history. Our strong core revenue performance, complemented by equity stakes, more than offsets Russia and LLP's headwinds. On a comparable basis, excluding these effects, gross and net revenue grew by 7%, core net revenues by two. Costs continued their gradual decline, further improving our already best-in-class operating leverage. As a result, gross operating profits and net operating profit both increased 12%. Net profit increased 16% to 3.2 billion, 22% excluding Russia compression, at a best-in-class return on tangible equity of circa 26%, two percentage points better, despite our significant excess capital. Our EPS grew 20%, EPS 12, tangible book value per share 17. This confirmed the strengths of our underlying business, our continued transformation, and the quality of our execution. Slide seven. Revenues are up 5%, driven by an acceleration of our core business, up three, excluding Russia, and the returns from our equity investments. NII remains resilient, down 2% year over year, and flat sequentially, adjusting for the day count. Our core lending and deposit business absorbed around 100 million of rate headwinds and 30 million from Russia compression. This is the result of strong commercial dynamic with loans up 6%, deposits up 5%, 6% excluding Russia, and path through further improving. NII ROAC remains above 20%, underscoring our ability to grow while maintaining our discipline. Fees and net insurance continue to benefit from our highly diversified product factories and grew 8%, 9% excluding Russia, increasing their shares of net revenue by 2% to 38%. Our equity investment complemented well our strong core business dynamic. Overall, our revenue base is higher quality, more diversified, and better balanced. Slide 8. Net revenues grew 3%, 6% excluding Russia, absorbing what we expect to be a more evenly distributed cost of risk in the year. Costs of risk remain low and in line with our ambition. Our overlays are unchanged at 1.7 billion, preserving a significant buffer to mitigate future pressure on cost of risk or further support profitability. Asset quality is strong and improved in the quarter. Net NPE at 1.4% is down 0.1%. Coverage ratio at circa 46% is up 2%. Default rate at 0.7% is down 0.6%. The consistent quality across portfolio demonstrate prudent origination, robust underwriting discipline, and tight monitoring. Slide down. Efficiency continues to be a defining strength, and Unlimited intends to push it further. Costs were down 2%, excluding new perimeters, 1% stated despite inflation, and continued investment in people, technology, and AI. Our cost-income ratio improved to 33%, remaining best-in-class. Our gross operating profit reached a record, combining the highest revenues with the lowest cost in our history. This is exactly what resetting the efficiency frontier looks like. Slide 10. Capital efficiency remains top tier despite headwinds. Organic capital generation in the quarter amounted to 2.9 billion, 98 basis points, more than covering distribution accruals and regulatory and other impacts. The higher-than-expected consumption from equity investment is due to a temporary impact from the increase of Alpha and Commerce Bank equity value, triggered by their 2025 net profit, which will be reversed once the 2025 share-by-back and dividends are executed in 2026. Once the accrued distributions are executed, we expect a 19 basis point CT1 benefit, leading to a 10 basis point CT1 beat versus expectations. Pro forma for Danish compromise, our CT1 would stand at around 14.8% and at circa 15% considering the 19 basis points equity investment capital absorption reversal. Slide 11. Italy confirmed its role as a quality earnings powerhouse, delivering 44% of gross net profit while executing Unicredit Unlimited at speed. Italy showed clear signs of acceleration with loans up 5% and deposits 6%, reflecting continued acquisition of quality clients and strong transactional activity in the right places and at the right time. These commercial strengths supported a resilient and increasingly high-quality top line. Core revenue increased 1% while trading decreased 1% largely to balances affecting one-off. Net interest income declined 4% year over year due to rates, but grew 1% sequentially. NII ROAC stood at 23%, confirming disciplined pricing and capital-efficient balance sheet usage, notwithstanding strong growth. Cost of risk remained stable and structurally low at 25 basis points. Fees and net insurance grew 9%, reaching 48% of net revenue, up 4 percentage points. Investment and insurance were up 5%, financing 6%, payments 3%, and client hedging in this environment 36%, highlighting deepening client relationship in this challenging environment. Italy is gaining market share in most targeted segments with 2,500 new SME clients. Costs were down 1%, driven by non-HR down 2%, while continuing to invest in growth and transformation. Cost to income remains record at 33%. ROAC was circa 31%, best in the country. AI impact is becoming visible. Beyond efficiency gains, two initiatives are worth mentioning. GenAI use cases in BUDDY support advisors, improving speed, consistency, and quality of service. Virtual corporate branch launched, expanding digital capability while reducing operational workload for our people. Slide 12. Germany confirmed its role as a resilient anchor for the group, delivering 23% of the group net profit while executing Unicredit Unlimited at speed. It is delivering today, focusing on its core business, while at the same time transforming to be future ready and win tomorrow. Germany showed clear sign of acceleration with loans up 3% and deposit five, supported by targeted client acquisition and growing penetration in priority segments. Commercial momentum supported a resilient top line despite rates decline. Revenue grew 2% driven by core revenue up 10. Net interest income increased 8% with NII ROAC up one percentage point at 19%, confirming a structurally sound and capital efficient lending model. Cost of risk at 23 basis points reflect an expected more uniform provisioning throughout the year and a prudent approach with all asset quality metrics improving. Fees and net insurance grew 13% and now represent 37% of net revenue, up 4 percentage points. Financing was up 24%, investment 12%, payment 9%, and client hedging 2% of a very strong base, highlighting strong client activity and franchise momentum in more challenging times, with Mittelstand benefiting from close client proximity to deliver tailored financing and hedging precisely when market conditions demanded. Cost decreased 5%, driven by non-HR costs down 11%, while continuing to invest decisively in transformation. Cost income declined 3 percentage points to below 35%, confirming best-in-class operational efficiency. ROAC above 24% remains the best in the country. Germany aims to sustain this trajectory with continued transformation, leveraging significant past and future investment and 100 plus AI use cases. Slide 13. Austria confirmed its role as a resilient anchor, delivering 14% of group net profit while executing Unicredit Unlimited at pace. It showed renewed commercial momentum with loans up 5% and deposits up 2%, driven by profitable market share gains, particularly in corporate lending. Revenues decreased 2%, mainly driven by decline in equity investment contribution, while core revenue increased 4%. Net interest income increased 1%, supported by volume growth and disciplined pricing. NII ROAC increased 1 percentage point to 16%, confirming sound focus on quality. Cost of risk remained negative at 16 basis points, thanks to continued write-backs. Fees and net insurance grew 7%, reaching 32% of net revenue, up 3 percentage points. Investment were up 12, client hedging 17, and payments 3. Cost decreased 4%, driven by non-HR down 6, while continuing to invest in AI and people training. Cost income declined 0.5% to below 38%, confirming best-in-class operational efficiency in the country. ROAC reached circa 27%, reaffirming Austria's position among the most profitable bank in the market. Austria remains at the forefront of Group's innovation. As an example, this quarter, it developed several AI agents in credit analysis, generating a 50% productivity uplift, and rolled out AI-enabled sales training for relationship managers, supporting scalable capability building. Slide 14, CE confirmed its role as a group's gross engine, delivering 18% of group net profit while executing Unicredit Unlimited at speed. CE showed a strong acceleration with loans up 12% and deposit eight, driven by robust client acquisition and SME growth. Revenues increased 4%, driven by core revenue up six, Net interest income grew 3%, supported by strong volume and pricing discipline, with NII ROAC at 23%. Cost of risk increased to 16 basis points, as writebacks are normalizing, with asset quality remaining resilient. Fees and net insurance grew 12%, reaching 31% of net revenue, up 3 percentage points. Investments are up 25%, financing 17%, payments 9%, confirming strong client engagement across the region. Cost decreased 1%, driven by non-HR down 4%, while absorbing inflation and investments. Cost to income reached 33%, down 2 percentage point, confirming operational excellence. ROC over 23% confirmed CE structural superior, profitable gross profile. CEE continues to invest to transcend transformation boundaries through scaling AI-driven digital sales journey and further simplification of processes end-to-end across payments, lending, account services, and KYC automation. Slide 15. Client solution continued to be a core pillar of Group's capital-light growth, powering the quality and resilience of our top line. Client solution generated 3.3 billion of revenue, up 3%, and 2.4 billion of fees and net insurance, up 11%. Performance was broad-based across all product factories. Corporate solution delivered resilient revenues with strong momentum in advisory and financing, confirming our leadership in corporate bonds and financing activity across core European markets. We maintain top-tier position in trade and correspondent banking in every country we operate. We continued innovating client risk management with visible results. Individual solution delivered strong growth. Investment increased 6% supported by continued expansion of our offering led by one market. Insurance revenue grew 18% as we further internalized the value chain and deepened client engagement. Payment solution remained solid while driving innovation with enhanced transaction service across geographies. Revenues were up 2% and related fees 5. Slide 16. When you step back and look at these results on a relative basis, the message is clear. Our leadership is confirmed with our relative gap further widening across most key dimensions. And we are aiming to go further, transcending boundaries. Slide 17. Our equity story is compelling. We're showing visible progress on both revenue acceleration and transformation, offering a superior combination of growth at high return on tangible equity and distributions. Because of this strong start, the strengths of our business, our lines of defense stand touched, and the ability of our people to perform across different macro scenarios, today we're not only confirming our ambition, we're upgrading it. We expect net profit to reach at least 11 billion in 26, and we recommit to our net profit 2830 ambitions. Putting noise aside, Commerce Bank offer outcomes can only further improve the story. Slide it in. After 20 consecutive quarters of quality profitable growth under Unlocked, we entered Unlimited at pace with another record quarter. We have strengthened our leadership across the metrics that matter the most, and we continue to offer the best combination of growth at high ROTE and distribution in the sector. Our 2528 EPS CAGR is 16%, dividend per share 15%, and our 2026 cash yield almost 6%. All achieved despite strong investment in transformation and protected by the highest lines of defense in the sector. And yet, we continue to offer an attractive entry point. We are operating in an increasingly volatile environment with emerging macro concerns around growth, inflation and the credit cycle. We are well prepared to deliver unlimited and continue to outperform thanks to our continued transformation, idiosyncratic strengths and well-established lines of defence. Our top line is resilient. NII will benefit from any rates increase, which together with a keen focus on margin will help mitigate any slowdown in loan growth. For Unicredit specifically, our loan focus is on gaining share in targeted areas, and that also helps mitigate possible headwinds. Our diversified fee engines are more resilient in a volatile environment. Our cost dynamic will benefit from our starting best-in-class position, and transformation levels already expand, which will help us even in a more inflationary environment. Asset quality remains robust, coverage solid and increased, and our leading overlays remain untouched at 1.7 billion. We are closely monitoring our portfolio exposed to spillover risk in prolonged war scenarios and do not observe signs of deterioration while our exposure to private credit is very limited and largely within the European Union. Both profitability and distributions are protected, supported by all levers above, as well as our excess capital. We believe AI gives us additional upside, at least in the short to medium term, with potential to improve both revenues and costs, widening the gap versus laggards. Slide 20. Let me close with a clarification on the potential outcome of Commerzbank. That is an offer that is officially starting today and will remain open for six weeks. As a regulatory matter, the offer is for 100%. It is a sensible and pragmatic mechanism to overcome the provision on the German takeover law, but would require us to make a mandatory offer where we to go above a 30% shareholding. This is particularly important in an environment in which commerce bank share by back scheme is creating instability and uncertainty. Our approach remains disciplined and fully focused on value creation, above and beyond unlimited, which is a high bar. If we do not acquire control as a result of the offer, the expected scenario to date, the status quo works well from our point of view. We expect return to remain well above 20%. We think Commerce Bank is encouraged to improve its performance initially with momentum and now with momentum 2.0 that we will witness on Friday. We feel well protected on the downside given our put option and we preserve full strategic flexibility. If we were to acquire control, our intention is to implement this only, and I underline that, only if returns are superior to our cost of equity and hence add to unlimited trajectory. We consider both scenarios a clear win for Unicredit shareholders as they can only improve our best-in-class equity story. Before opening to question, let me leave you with five key messages from today's presentation. First, Unicredit Unlimited is already delivering at pace, both on acceleration and transformation. Second, Q1 is the 21st record quarter sequentially and a strong beat across the board, driven by our core business, complemented by equity stakes. Third, our transformation to future ready is accelerating. is accelerated by AI. Fourth, we are upgrading 2026 net profit ambition and recommitting to 2830 net profit ambitions. And finally, we offer the best in class combination of gross at high return on tangible equity and distribution with Commerce Bank, a positive add-on across all outcome. Before I open to questions, as I may not have the opportunity to do that later, I would like to announce that Magda, the person who has kept us on track, on time, and occasionally slightly nervous about both, is going to be stepping down from her role. Over the past five years, her hard work and dedication to explaining and championing Unicred Unlocked have been incredible. And now, having settled us into our first quota of unlimited, so comfortably, she's heading back to her roots in Canada. We wish you the best with your new coffee venture, bringing Canadians to the world. She lives IR. to eat good heads, and Jacopo Dalu, whom all of you know will be stepping up to be an interim head of IR. Magda, thank you for everything, and Jacopo, good luck.