News

• Banca March has launched Avantio, the most comprehensive investment platform on the market, to digitalise its Private Banking model for the next generation of customers, who want high-tech investment management services with greater autonomy.
• This new service positions Banca March at the forefront of online banking, offering the strongest omnichannel provision in the sector whilst remaining fully committed to its trademark approach of delivering tailored, expert advice.
• Avantio boasts the most advanced tools in the sector and features over 30,000 investment products by the world's largest asset managers. Its core features include a new, advanced search function for specific securities, funds and pension plans, instant access to Banca March's market strategy recommendations, real-time reporting on trading prices and an online reporting service offering a unique, intuitive overview of portfolio performance and positions at any given time.
• The investment platform also offers an online broker service to allow customers seeking greater autonomy and efficiency to implement their own investment decisions, always under the expert advice of Banca March.
• To galvanise the launch of Avantio, Banca March has created an exclusive offer for new online customers, savers and investors, offering 100% online access through a Digital Account with a series of advantages, which then allows them to access the exclusive conditions offered through the online broker and the investment and savings options available.

Banca March has launched Avantio, the most comprehensive investment platform on the market, to digitalise its Private Banking model and meet the needs of the future generations of customers. This new service positions the bank at the forefront of online banking, offering the strongest omnichannel provision whilst remaining fully committed to delivering the tailored, expert advice that is, and will continue to be, the hallmark of Banca March.

Banca March CEO José Luis Acea said: "The Avantio investment platform has made Banca March the first Spanish bank to put private banking services at its customers' fingertips. A digital revolution of our private banking model which complements our renowned tailored, exclusive advisory services and will allow us to offer our customers new digital services with greater flexibility, autonomy and efficiency. There is a new generation of customers, many of them digital natives, who want their services delivered faster, almost immediately. Private banking must also anticipate the needs of higher-tech, more demanding customers, who want digital investment management services with greater autonomy."

Avantio special offer for new savers and investors with a digital profile

To galvanise the launch of Avantio, Banca March has created a special offer for new customers, savers and investors with a digital profile, who can sign up 100% online through a Digital Account offering a series of advantages, which then allows them to access the exclusive conditions delivered through the online broker and the investment and savings options available.

• The Cuenta Digital or Digital Account carries no fees for customers who invest €10,000 in funds, securities or pension plans and run their accounts through digital channels, with free transfers and a free debit card which donates 10% of revenues to sustainable projects.
• Avantio Broker offers zero fees on transactions until 2023 and a refund on transfer costs up to €500, with free access to real time trading prices until 2023.
• Avantio Funds offer a bonus of 1% (up to €2,000) on fund transfers to Banca March's risk-profiled funds, products based on growth, sustainability and impact investing themes, alternative investment, institutional SICAVs and other funds overseen by the bank's experts.
• Solución Ahorro-Inversión Avantio, the Avantio Savings-Investment Solution, an exclusive blended product offering an AER of 2% in the first 12 months on a savings account (March Vida Ahorro), provided the customer invests the same amount in a selection of investment funds managed by top domestic and global asset managers and distributed by Banca March.
• Access to all reports and recommendations by Banca March's Market Strategy experts, including daily and monthly market commentaries and more.
• New customers taking out a Cuenta Digital Avantio will enjoy the full support of their own personal remote manager.

Líderes en tecnología de asesoramiento

This is the latest milestone in the ambitious digital transformation process underway at Banca March, which is being directly overseen by the Executive Deputy Chairman of Banca March, Rita Rodríguez Arrojo. Thanks to an intense digital transformation plan featuring total investments of nearly €220 million between 2018 and 2022, Banca March has positioned itself as a leader in advisory technology, developing tools for customers and relationship managers to guarantee a state-of-the-art omnichannel advisory experience.

In 2021, as part of its digital transformation plan, Banca March brought in new functions at an intense pace to ensure it offers its customers and managers complete satisfaction with the digital experience. These include:

• Voice biometrics. Banca March was the first Spanish bank to offer its customers a voice biometrics service to authorise their transfers. To develop this new solution, the bank deployed technology by Nuance Communications, a leading provider of Artificial Intelligence, Security and Biometrics solutions with over 650 million users worldwide. This procedure, which is available for all customer transfers, has enhanced authentication security for digital banking transactions, as customers register and use their voice from their own trusted device only.
• Online Reporting. Banca March customers have access to the most comprehensive online reporting service on the market, offered by a very limited number of financial institutions. This new online reporting service affords Banca March customers easy access to clear, detailed information on the real time performance of their savings and investments, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The reporting provided covers returns, yields, performance, composition, movements and management fees.
• The new tax simulator. In 2021, Banca March offered its customers one of the most comprehensive tax simulators in the financial sector. This is the first tool in the sector to include a customer's complete investment portfolio, including any financial positions held with other financial institutions, to allow for a comprehensive overview of each customer's overall financial situation. The application, which was developed in partnership with Analistas Financieros Internacionales (Afi) and Inversis, allows Banca March customers to calculate the annual tax liability generated through security sales and returns on all investment positions. It is also possible to include data pertaining to property transactions and other assets eligible for inclusion in the savings tax base.
• Mortgage process. Banca March has integrated digital submission into its mortgage process, a pioneering initiative which will cut registration times by 50% and remove the need for hard copies. Fully digital submission of mortgage deeds to the Registry will reduce effective registration periods by between 25 and 28 days, to just half of the time required for the usual physical procedure. It will also eliminate the cost of issuing basic and certified copies, allowing significant savings in paper as well as notary and registry costs, which amount to around 120 euros per transaction.

Currently, the adoption rate of Banca March's digital channels by Private Banking and Wealth Management customers stands at 73%, up 8.6% versus this time last year. In other words, seven out of every ten customers in these banking areas use remote banking channels on a regular basis to perform the majority of their transactions. The bank's other specialist areas have also reported a significant increase in remote transactions over the last year, particularly the Corporate Banking division, which has a user rate of over 93%.