Intesa Sanpaolo
Encyclopedia
Intesa Sanpaolo is a banking group resulting from the merger between Banca Intesa
Banca Intesa
Banca Intesa S.p.A. was formed in 1998 from the merger of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde and Banco Ambroveneto...

 and Sanpaolo IMI
Sanpaolo IMI
The Gruppo Sanpaolo IMI was one of Italy's major banking and insurance groups, based in Turin. It employed about 44,000 people and had about 7 million customers....

 based in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. It has clear leadership in the Italian market
Banking in Italy
Banking in Italy has, as of 11 October 2008, an average leverage ratio of 12 to 1, while the banks's short-term liabilities are equal to 86% of the Italian GDP or 43% of the Italian national debt....

 and a minor but growing international presence focused on Central-Eastern Europe, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

 (77% of the bank's revenue (96.3% from Europe) and 86% of all loans to customers come from business in Italy). When it was formed in 2007 it overtook Unicredit Group as the largest bank in Italy with 13 million customers and $690 billion worth of assets. By 2010 its assets had grown to $877.66 billion 26th highest among all of the world's companies.

In 2009 group acquisitions included a 30% interest in business info company MF Honyvem, and an increased stake in Alitalia
Alitalia
Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. , in its later stages known as Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. in Extraordinary Administration, was the former Italian flag carrier...

 up to 33.3% 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%.

History

The oldest part of the banking group is Cariplo spa which traces its roots to Austrian household savings bank Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde which was established in 1823. Cassa di Risparmio was started by an Italian philanthropic
Philanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

 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
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...

 obtain capital during and after World War 1 and 2. Banking reforms in 1990 started by Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato
Giuliano Amato is an Italian politician. He was Prime Minister of Italy twice, first from 1992 to 1993 and then from 2000 to 2001. He was more recently Vice President of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the new European Constitution and headed the Amato Group. He is commonly...

 (Amato Law) 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 focussed less on social programs/social causes were abandoned).

Cariplo spa was formed in 1991 when Cassa di Risparmio (sold by Ente Cassa Di Risparmio) merged with IBI. Banco Ambrosiano
Banco Ambrosiano
Banco Ambrosiano was an Italian bank which collapsed in 1982. At the centre of the bank's failure was its chairman, Roberto Calvi and his membership in the illegal Masonic Lodge Propaganda Due...

 originated with Nuovo Banco Ambrosiano and Banca Cattolica del Veneto which merged in 1989. The bank increased in size during the 1990's due to numerous acquisitions (Citibank Italia, Banca Vallone di Galatina and European securities dealer Caboto among others).

Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) started in 1894 as a corporate loans lender operating in the commercial
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...

 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). 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. In 1999 Italy's largest bank Unicredit Group 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)
BCI merged with the former Banca Ambrosiano and Cariplo in 1998 to form a financial institution renamed Banca Intesa in 2003.

In January 2007 all of these banking entities came together when 2 of Italy's 3 largest banks officially merged (was announced in 2006). Banca Intesa (the result of a 1997 merger of Cariplo and Banco Ambrosiano) acquired Sanpaolo IMI (Sanpaolo was formed in 1998 when Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino and Istituto Mobiliare Italiano (IMI) merged, IMI was established in 1931) in a US 37.8 billion dollar deal.

Business Units

The group's operations are segmented into 6 parts
  • Banca dei Territori - By far the largest division (60% of total revenue, 53% of direct customer deposits
    Automated Clearing House
    Automated Clearing House is an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. ACH credit transfers include direct deposit payroll and vendor payments. ACH direct debit transfers include consumer payments...

     and about half of all customers in 2009) it is the company's domestic commercial bank in Italy. Subsidiaries include Mediocredito Italiano, Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, Banca Prossima, and insurance companies EurizonVita, EurizonTutela, Intesa Vita, Sud Polo Vita and Centrovita Assicurazioni.
  • Corporate and Investment Banking - Present in 39 countries this division contributes 20% of the group's revenue.
  • International Subsidiary Banks - Present in 13 countries spanning central eastern Europe, the Middle East
    Middle East
    The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

    , and North Africa
    North Africa
    North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

    . About a quarter the size of its Italian counterpart.
  • Public Finance - 18 branches in Italy and 3 representative offices abroad (Istanbul, London and Paris).
  • Eurizon Capital - Has been involved in both asset management
    Investment management
    Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...

     and insurance (Eurizon Vita).
    • One of Italy's 3 leading asset managers that invests in such things as bonds (including government), publicly traded companies and also engages in short term borrowing and lending. In 2010 another leading European asset manager Pioneer was rumoured to have been interested in joining forces with Eurizon Capital.
  • Banca Fideuram - Offers financial advice services
    • Banca Fideuram was created in 1968 as a subsidiary of IMI (later merged with Sanpaolo and then Banca Intesa to form the current company) with the purpose of managing IMI's Luxemberg mutual fund business. In 1992 it was merged with another subsidiary Manusardi, that is when it officially became Banca Fideuram. In 1997 it entered the private banking industry, 2000 it became a broker after acquiring French Company Groupe Wargny (was established in 1806, some of the Wargny business was sold in 2007) then in 2004 its parent company IMI took over its life insurance business. Its association with US company Frank Russell group gave it a foothold in the personal financial planning market.

Banca Intesa

Banca Intesa
Banca Intesa
Banca Intesa S.p.A. was formed in 1998 from the merger of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde and Banco Ambroveneto...

 S.p.A. is a major Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...

 based in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

. It was formed in 1998 from the merger of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde and Banco Ambroveneto. In 1999 Banca Commerciale Italiana
Banca Commerciale Italiana
Banca Commerciale Italiana, founded in 1894, was once one of the largest banks in Italy. In 1999 it merged with a banking group consisting of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde and Banco Ambroveneto, the former Banco Ambrosiano, which had merged in 1998. On 1 January 2003, the group's...

 entered the group, which pursuant to the merger in 2001 changed its name in IntesaBci; on 1 January 2003, the group's name changed to Banca Intesa.

Retail Division

The Retail Division serves individuals, small businesses, small and medium enterprises and non-profit organizations; its main activities include retail banking, wealth management, private banking and industrial credit.

Corporate Division

The Corporate Division serves mid and large corporates, financial institutions and public administrations; its main activities include mergers and acquisitions and structured finance services, merchant banking, capital market, global custody and the specialized international network.

Italian Subsidiary Banks Division

The Italian Subsidiary Banks Division includes banking subsidiaries rooted in regional markets.

International Subsidiary Banks Division

The International Subsidiary Banks Division involves subsidiaries abroad, providing retail and commercial banking services mainly in Central-Eastern Europe. Banca Intesa
Banca Intesa
Banca Intesa S.p.A. was formed in 1998 from the merger of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde and Banco Ambroveneto...

 has branches and representative offices in Europe, Asia, Latin and North America, and Africa.

Sanpaolo IMI

The Gruppo Sanpaolo IMI
Sanpaolo IMI
The Gruppo Sanpaolo IMI was one of Italy's major banking and insurance groups, based in Turin. It employed about 44,000 people and had about 7 million customers....

is one of Italy's major banking and insurance groups and it is based in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

. It employs about 44,000 people and it has about seven million customers.

It has about 3,200 local offices where private, business and retail banking activities take place. It also cares about savings and retirement funds.

Subsidiaries

  • Privredna banka Zagreb
    Privredna banka Zagreb
    Privredna banka Zagreb or PBZ is the second largest bank in Croatia , owned by Intesa Sanpaolo group of Italy. It is listed on the Zagreb Stock Exchange and is one of 24 companies included in the CROBEX share index....

    , Croatia
  • Banca Fideuram, Italy
  • Banca Intesa Beograd
    Banca Intesa Beograd
    Banca Intesa Beograd is a bank operating in Serbia, majority owned by Italian Intesa Sanpaolo and other 7% by International Financial Corporation, World Bank....

    , Serbia
  • Banka Koper, Slovenia
  • CIB Bank
    CIB Bank
    CIB Bank is the second-biggest commercial bank in Hungary, after the January 1, 2008 merger with Inter-Európa Bank. This follows the 2007 merger of their respective Italian parent companies, Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI to form Intesa Sanpaolo....

    , Hungary has merged with Inter-Európa Bank Hungary following the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI.
  • Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania, Albania
  • Bank of Alexandria
    Bank of Alexandria
    The Bank of Alexandria is one of the largest banks in Egypt. It has a market share of almost 7% and had assets of 5.2 billion euros as of June 30, 2006. Intesa Sanpaolo is the major shareholder in the bank. It holds 70.25% of the bank shares, IFC holds 9.75% and the Egyptian Government holds 20%...

    , Egypt
  • Pravex Bank
    Pravex Bank
    Pravex Bank is a private commercial bank based in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Founded by Leonid Chernovetsky, it was licensed by the National Bank of Ukraine in 1992....

    , Ukraine
  • Bank Intesa, Russia
  • VÚB Banka, Slovakia
  • Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Romania, Romania
  • Intesa Sanpaolo Life, Ireland

External links

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