Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. is an Italian international banking group. It is Italy's largest bank by total assets and the world's 27th largest.[7] It was formed through the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI in 2007, but has a corporate identity stretching back to its first foundation as Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino in 1583.
In 2020, the bank served approximately 14.6 million customers in Italy and 7.2 million customers in Central and Southeast Europe, Ukraine and Egypt through several subsidiaries such as Bank of Alexandria, CIB Bank, PBZ and VÚB Banka.[8]
On 18 May 2024, Intesa Sanpaolo had a market cap of $74.83 Billion.[14]
History
Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI, the two banks that merged in 2007 to create Intesa Sanpaolo, were themselves the product of many mergers.[15] Cariplo and Banco Ambrosiano Veneto merged in 1998 to form Banca Intesa. The following year Banca Commerciale Italiana joined the group. 1998, Sanpaolo IMI emerged from the merger of Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino, which specialized in retail banking, and IMI (Istituto Mobiliare Italiano), an investment bank.[15]
Banca Intesa
The oldest part of the banking group is Cariplo S.p.A. which traces its roots to the Austrian Empire household savings bank Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde which was established in 1823 in Milan. The cassa di risparmio was started by an Italian philanthropic group, the Central Committee of Charity; a response by the government to the hard economic times of the early 19th century. In the early 20th century the bank helped Italian companies in the North obtain capital during and after World Wars 1 and 2, chiefly under the guidance of Giordano Dell'Amore. Banking reforms in 1990 started by Giuliano Amato (Amato Law; Legge Amato[it]) led to the restructuring/reorganization of banks by forcing the government to relinquish control of them (the result was a more market-driven bank that focused less on social programs/social causes were abandoned).[16]
Intesa Sanpaolo secondary headquarters. Ca' de Sass building in Milan
Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) started in 1894 as a corporate loans lender operating in the commercial industry of Northern Italy. In 1994 Mediobanca purchased an interest in BCI (ironically BCI was one of the 3 banks that formed Mediobanca almost 50 years earlier).[21] BCI tried to acquire Banco Ambrosiano Veneto the same year but was spurned by shareholders who wouldn't accept the US$1.13 billion offer.[22] In 1999 Italy's largest bank Unicredit Group at the time, attempted a hostile takeover of BCI but failed due to Mediobanca's interest in the company (Mediobanca wanted to merge Banca di Roma with BCI).[23] BCI merged with the former Banco Ambrosiano and Cariplo in 1998 to form a financial institution renamed Banca Intesa in 2003.[24]
The French banking group Crédit Agricole started to spin off from Intesa Sanpaolo, by acquiring Cariparma, FriulAdria in 2007 and Carispezia in 2011, as well as branches from Intesa Sanpaolo.[28] In 2012, Crédit Agricole sold all the shares of Intesa Sanpaolo.[29]
In 2009, group acquisitions included a 30% interest in business info company MF Honyvem, and an increased stake in Alitalia – Compagnia Aerea Italiana up to 33.3%[33] Even though the bank was rumoured to have been working with the government to keep Air France from acquiring a stake in Alitalia, Air France eventually acquired 25%.[34][35] Alitalia – Compagnia Aerea Italiana sold part of its stake in the airline to Etihad Airways in 2015.
From 2012 to 2013, Intesa Sanpaolo wrote down the value of the investment in Banca delle Marche (a minority interest of 5.84% share capital) for a total of €90 million (€18 + 72 million), as well as €26 million for a minority stake in Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Chieti in 2014. The shareholders of the banks were bail-in in the rescue plan in 2015.[citation needed]
On 26 June 2017,[46] as part of a government-funded bailout of the depositors (and the bail-in of the investors of the failed banks), Intesa Sanpaolo acquired the good assets of Banca Popolare di Vicenza (BPVi) and Veneto Banca, including some of the subsidiaries such as Banca Apulia and Banca Nuova. The branches of BPVi and Veneto Banca would at first become branches of Intesa Sanpaolo, but some of them would be closed down in the near future for efficiency, as Intesa Sanpaolo was also one of the major banks in the Veneto region which the failed banks based. In October 2017, the plan to absorb Banca Nuova into Intesa Sanpaolo was also announced. In December 2017, the plan to absorb Cassa di Risparmio del Friuli Venezia Giulia was announced.[47]
On 17 February 2020, Carlo Messina unexpectedly announced the launch of a voluntary OPS (public exchange offer) for 4.9 billion euro towards UBI Banca which provided for the delivery of 17 Intesa Sanpaolo shares for every 10 UBI Banca shares newly issued with a premium of 27.6% compared to the stock market listing on Friday 14 February.[49] In addition, on 27 April 2020 Intesa, which has access to three million UBI customers, obtained from the extraordinary shareholders' meeting the approval of a capital increase in support of the takeover bid.
The operation is complex as, to prevent possible problems with the Antitrust Authority, it involves other companies. UnipolSai has already reached an agreement to take over the business branches of the insurance companies Banca Assurance Popolari, Lombardia Vita and Aviva Italia, owned by UBI. The Bolognese insurance group supported the share capital increase of 802.26 million euros of BPER Banca, the Emilian bank of which it is the first shareholder with 19.9%. In turn, BPER has already signed a contract with Intesa which provided for the purchase of 532 UBI branches with approximately 1.2 million customers, of which approximately half in Lombardy. In July 2020, the antitrust authority ordered Intesa to sell as many of its own branches, in the event that the public subscription offer does not reach 67% of the shares.[50] The transaction, which obtained the approval of the various Italian and European authorities, led to the delisting of UBI and provides for the merger between the two banks.
The sale is scheduled for the end of 2020, with the aim of closing the financial statements in April 2021, presenting a credit institution in seventh place in Europe in terms of size, with a value of assets under management of 1.1 trillion, loans for 460 billion and profits for five.[51] The offer ends on 30 July 2020 with the achievement of 91.0149% of the capital of UBI. Therefore, having exceeded 90% of the share capital, the delisting procedures have begun which have led Intesa Sanpaolo to become the sole shareholder of UBI Banca. Intesa is required to complete the sale of 500 agencies within six months of the completion of the merger.[52]
On 5 October 2020 was announced Intesa Sanpaolo's private bank arm has reached an agreement to buy a 69% stake in Swiss-based bank REYL & Cie.[53]
In August 2022, ISP completed the 100 percent acquisition of the Luxembourg private bank CBP Quilvest. The transaction is intended to create a second private banking hub to complement the Swiss one.[54]
Divestment from Russia
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ISP announced that it would start working to divest its unit in Russia.[55] In September 2023, Vladimir Putin approved a plan allowing for the sale of the banking group’s Russian operations.[56] As of May 2024, ISP has yet to finalise its exit.[57]
Snooping controversy
In August 2024, Intesa Sanpaolo fired one of its clerks, Vincenzo Coviello, after an internal investigation unearthed evidence of illicit activity.[58] The public prosecutor's office of Bari, Italy, has since accused Coviello of compromising national security by repeatedly gaining unauthorised access to the bank accounts of about 3,500 individuals, including the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, the prosecutor of the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate, and several officers of the Carabinieri and Italy's financial police, Guardia di Finanza.[59] Meloni has suggested that Coviello's actions were part of a wider attempt by "pressure groups" to undermine Italian democracy.[60]
Intesa Sanpaolo has a single-tiered corporate governance system in which the Board of Directors alone are in charge of strategic supervision and control. The latter duty is carried out by the Management Control Committee instead of the Board of Directors itself. The bank adopted this single-tiered system in April 2016, replacing the former two-tiered structure. Previously, the supervisory board exercised control and strategic management functions, whereas the management board oversaw the management of the company's business. The supervisory board was appointed by shareholders in their annual meeting. It supervised the activities carried out by the management board and, in particular, approved the main strategic initiatives proposed by the management board. The management board appointed one of its members to be the CEO.[62][63]
Board of directors
Members were appointed on 29 April 2022 for the following financial years: 2022, 2023 and 2024.[64][65]
7,316 (with 3.500billion one-off revenue from Italian government)
796,861
56,205
2016
3,111
725,100
48,911
2015
2,739
676,496
47,776
2014
1,251
646,427
44,683
2013
-4,550
626,283
44,515
2012
1,605
673,472
49,613
2011
-8,190
639,221
47,040
2010
2,705
658,757
53,533
2009
2,805
624,844
52,681
2008
2,533
636,133
48,954
Business units
The Group's activities are divided into six divisions:[5]
Banca dei Territori Division: caters to individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profit entities. It offers an array of services including industrial credit, leasing, factoring, and even includes the digital bank Isybank and instant banking Mooney. The latter offers proximity banking services and is controlled through a partnership by Intesa Sanpaolo and Enel.[67]
IMI- Corporate and Investment Banking Division: present in 25 countries with a network of branches, representative offices, and subsidiaries carrying out corporate banking activities. The division has partnerships with several companies, financial institutions, and public administration, all at both national and international level.
International Subsidiary Banks Division: present in 12 countries and carries out commercial banking activities in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Private Banking Division: offers financial consulting to private individuals. Included in this is Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, which has 6,648 private bankers.
Asset Management Division: develops asset management solutions for customers, external commercial networks and institutional clients. It also includes Eurizon, an asset management company with 304 billion euros in assets under management.
Insurance Division: offers insurance and pension products as well as including Intesa Sanpaolo Vita- which controls Intesa Sanpaolo Assicura, Intesa Sanpaolo Life, Intesa Sanpaolo RBM Salute and Intesa Sanpaolo Insurance Agency - and Fideuram Vita.
Subsidiaries
In addition to its strong presence in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo has branches and representative offices around the world. The Group also directly controls many foreign banks especially in Central and Eastern Europe, with more than 901 branches and about 7 million clients operating in retail and commercial banking.[5]
Banca Intesa S.p.A. was an Italian banking group, formed in 1998 by merger of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde (Cariplo) and Banco Ambrosiano Veneto. The next year, the banking group merged with Banca Commerciale Italiana to become IntesaBCi, but the name of the group was reverted to Banca Intesa in 2003.
Unione di Banche Italiane S.p.A., commonly known for its trading name UBI Banca, was an Italian banking group, the fifth largest in Italy by number of branches. It was formed on 1 April 2007 from the merger of the Banche Popolari Unite and Banca Lombarda e Piemontese banking groups.
Giovanni Bazoli is an Italian banker. He is honorary chairman of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo
Crédit Agricole Italia S.p.A., formerly Crédit Agricole Cariparma S.p.A., is an Italian banking group, a subsidiary of French banking group Crédit Agricole. Crédit Agricole Italia was ranked as the 11th largest bank in Italy by total assets at 31 December 2015. The group serving Emilia-Romagna, Liguria and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, where the predecessors originated, as well as Campania, Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto, or half of Italian regions.
Crédit Agricole FriulAdria S.p.A. formerly known as Banca Popolare FriulAdria S.p.A., or known as FriulAdria in short, is an Italian bank, which is part of Crédit Agricole Italia, the Italian arm of French banking group Crédit Agricole.
Fondazione Cariplo is a charitable foundation in Milan, Italy. It was created in December 1991 when the Amato law, Law no. 218 of 30 July 1990, came into force. Under this law, saving banks were required to separate into a not-for-profit foundation and a commercial banking arm. The Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, commonly known as Cariplo, was divided into the Fondazione Cariplo and Cariplo SpA, the bank, which merged with Ambroveneto in 1998.
Banco Ambrosiano Veneto, also known as Banco Ambroveneto for short, was an Italian bank formed in 1989 by the merger of Nuovo Banco Ambrosiano with Banca Cattolica del Veneto.
Banca Adriatica S.p.A. trading as UBI Banca Adriatica and formerly known as Nuova Banca delle Marche S.p.A. was an Italian bank based in Jesi, Marche region. It has operations in several regions in central Italy, but concentrated in Marche region, which 73% of the branches were located in that region as of 2016. The bank was formed on 22 November 2015 by the spin off of the good assets of the original Banca delle Marche S.p.A..
Crédit Agricole Carispezia S.p.A. formerly known as Cassa di Risparmio della Spezia S.p.A., or Carispezia in short, is an Italian savings bank, which is part of Crédit Agricole Italia, the Italian arm of French banking group Crédit Agricole.
Cassa di Risparmio is the Italian word for savings bank, and may refer to:
Cassa di Risparmio delle Province Lombarde, known in shorthand as Cariplo SpA, was an Italian bank founded in 1823. On 2 January 1998, it merged with Banco Ambrosiano Veneto to form Banca Intesa. Cariplo SpA became a short-lived sub-holding company of Intesa in late 1990s, and was fully absorbed circa 2000.
Banca Carime S.p.A. was an Italian bank based in Cosenza, Calabria. The bank was a subsidiary of UBI Banca. As of 31 December 2015, the bank had 216 branches, serving Calabria, Apulia, Campania and Basilicata.
Cassa di Risparmio di Ascoli Piceno known as Carisap, is a former Italian regional bank based in Ascoli Piceno, Marche. A subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo, the bank merged with another subsidiary of the group, Banca dell'Adriatico in 2013.
Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia S.p.A. known as Carive or CR Venezia in short, is a former Italian savings bank, based in Venice, Veneto. It was a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo. The former owner of the bank, Fondazione di Venezia, still acts as a charity organization.
Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Viterbo (Carivit) was an Italian bank and charity organization. The banking business was acquired by Cariplo in 1990s. In 2015 Intesa Sanpaolo completely absorbed the bank.
Cassa di Risparmio di Fermo S.p.A. (Carifermo) is an Italian savings bank based in Fermo, Marche region.
Associazione di Fondazioni e di Casse di Risparmio Spa is an Italian banking association. The members were the savings banks of Italy, or the foundation that originate from the reform trigger by Legge Amato.
Atlante is an Italian banking sector owned bail-out equity fund that is dedicated to recapitalize some Italian banks, as well as purchase the securities of the junior tranches of non-performing loans. It was established in 2015 in response to the Italian bad debt crisis of that year. The fund was under regulation by the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.
Banco BPM S.p.A. is an Italian bank that started to operate on 1 January 2017, by the merger of Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM). The bank is the third largest retail and corporate banking conglomerate in Italy, behind Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit. The bank had dual headquarters in Verona and Milan respectively.
Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona, also known by the shorthand Cariverona, was an Italian savings bank headquartered in Verona. It was formed in 1825 from a division of the Monte di Pietà di Verona, itself founded in 1490.
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€21.47 billion (2022)
95574 (2022)
