Milestones 2022
At Argenta we like to look ahead. But that does not make us any less proud of some of our 2022 highlights.
1 February 2022 & 22 November 2022
First green bond for professional investors
Argenta issues a green senior non-preferred bond under its European Medium Term Note programme. It is Argenta’s first green issue aimed at professional investors.
The green bond is part of Argenta’s Green Bond Framework. This is the framework that supports Argenta’s sustainable strategy for transition to a low-carbon economy.
Argenta will use the proceeds of this green bond to finance or refinance green loans. And this in turn will ensure further growth in sustainable business activities.
25 March 2022
Welcome Chatbot Charlie
Chatbot Charlie has been part of our customer service team since 25 March 2022. He’s available day and night in the Argenta app to answer simple questions in the message service.
If he doesn’t know the answer, he refers to a human colleague
September 2022
Argenta Nederland is 25 years old
Argenta’s Dutch arm is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It started out as an Argenta Spaarbank branch office in Antwerp in 1997.
Argenta Nederland is a mortgage provider, operating not through its own branch network, but through independent advisers. The Dutch head office in Breda opened in 2008. Argenta Nederland stopped providing insurance in 2020. Today Argenta in the Netherlands is a successful mortgage provider and online savings bank, with 90 employees, 300,000 customers and a mortgage book of more than 20 billion euros.
In August 2022, Sander Blommaert took over as CEO of Argenta Netherlands.
Through 2022
Warm Argenta
Warm Argenta is the beating heart of all our employees. There are many people in society who could do with a bit of a helping hand and this is what we are committed to.
In 2022 Warm Argenta focused on good causes that combat inequalities in society. Altogether Warm Argenta raised 28,800 euros from a range of activities, such as a barbecue, a quiz, an Oktoberfest event, a Christmas market, a World Cup prediction game, the sale of home-made hats and goodie bags, a tennis tournament and a darts tournament.
Argenta is doubling those proceeds to 57,600 euros.
September 2022
Test Aankoop’s Best Bank Award
According to consumer organisation Test Aankoop, Argenta is the best bank if you take a current account, a savings account, pension savings, a mortgage loan and consumer credit together. Test Aankoop also considers customers’ general satisfaction with their bank and the number of complaints recorded on the banks’ own complaints platform.
September 2022
Test Aankoop’s Best Buy Award
Consumer organisation Test Aankoop chooses the free Green package as its Best Buy. Safe and easy banking with the Argenta app.
6 October 2022
Effie Award for ‘I don’t save, I invest’ campaign
Each year the Effie Awards reward the most successful marketing and communication campaigns for impact and effectiveness. In 2022 Argenta, along with its marketing partner LDV United, won the Golden Effie for the ‘I don’t save, I invest’ campaign.
October 2022
Test Aankoop’s Best Pension Savings Fund Award
Argenta comes out top of the pile in consumer organisation Test Aankoop’s review. Test Aankoop compared different pension savings funds on the basis of trends over the past five years (return, risk, regularity, comparison with the reference index and annual charges).
10 December 2022
Bank Award 2022 for Best Branch Network
For the second year in a row, readers of savings website Spaargids.be chose Argenta as the bank with the best branch network. They gave the Argenta branches a rating for many different characteristics, including distance from the customer, opening hours and ease of making an appointment. And in every area the results are excellent, not just in Flemish-speaking Belgium, but also in Brussels and French-speaking Belgium
31 December 2022
Farewell to a figurehead, CEO Marc Lauwers
After six years as CEO, Marc Lauwers is leaving Argenta. He guided Argenta through its transformation from savings bank to fully-fledged, firmly based banking and insurance services provider. And successfully so! Argenta is now the number two bank for individual and family customers in Flemish-speaking Belgium.
Argenta transformed, but remained true to its values: simple products and services, with personal service. Under the guidance of Marc Lauwers, Argenta achieved the highest profits ever, in conjunction with the highest customer and employee satisfaction ratings in Argenta’s 66-year history. These ratings are unique in the sector.
Marc Lauwers hands over to Peter Devlies, who has close to 20 years’ experience in the banking sector. He has more than earned his stripes in this sector and will use his experience to keep building on the bank’s chosen path.
