Credit is measured through lending, collections and solidity indicators. But for the Popular Banks Its role in the Italian economic system also depends on its ability to maintain direct relationships with local communities, support businesses, and assist families and local communities.
This is the picture that emerges from the Social Report 2025 ofNational Association of Popular Banks, which analyzes Credito Popolare's contribution to the real economy through key activity data and the value generated in the territories in which it operates. A model that, according to Giuseppe DeLucia Lumeno, Secretary General of the National Association of Popular Banks, does not limit its role to the lending function: “Popular Banks do not just provide credit: they build communities, strengthen networks of trust and transform the strength of many into opportunities for everyone”.
The publication comes in a particularly significant year for the category. In 2026, the National Association of Popular Banks celebrates 150 years of institutional life, an anniversary that is ideally intertwined with the 162 years since the birth of the first Italian Popular Bank, founded in Lodi in 1864, and with the historical path linked to Louis Luzzatti, the centenary of whose death will occur in 2027.
Businesses and families at the heart of popular credit
The first element that emerges from the Social Balance Sheet concerns the role of Popular Credit in financing the real economy. In 2025, total employment has exceeded 183 billion of euros, with a strong concentration in the country's most widespread productive sector. Almost half of the loans, 49,2%, in fact it concerns financing up to 500 thousand euros, This segment includes a significant portion of small businesses and local economic activities. This is particularly significant in a manufacturing system like Italy's, which is comprised of approximately 99% SMEs, which account for nearly 70% of national employment and require partners capable of supporting them even through the most complex phases of the economic cycle.
The closeness to the productive world also emerges from the new disbursements: in 2025 the share of financing allocated to SMEs was more than di about five percentage points compared to the rest of the banking system.
Alongside businesses, the relationship with the families represents another distinctive element. The uses intended for consumer families reach the 26,4% of the total loans of the Popular Banks, compared to the 16,5% recorded by the rest of the banking system.
The network on the territory remains a distinctive element
The local dimension is one of the defining elements of the popular model. According to the Social Report, 67,4% of Credito Popolare branches are located in municipalities with fewer than 50 inhabitants, a presence that is particularly important at a time when the banking sector is experiencing a progressive concentration of its physical network.
In small towns and peripheral areas, in fact, the presence of a bank represents not only an access point to financial services, but also a focal point for relationships with the local area and its economic activities.
The connection with local economies is also evident in the distribution of activity: over 65% of the loans and deposits of the Popular Banks are concentrated in Local Labor Systems characterized by the prevalence of SMEs, while in the rest of the banking system the share remains less than 50%, with a greater presence in urban systems.
Sustainability and cooperation: the social dimension of credit
The Social Report also analyses interventions that go beyond traditional credit activities. The Popular Banks have supported projects related toenergy efficiency, renewables, crop, Health andsocial inclusion, areas that in recent years have assumed an increasing weight in the institutions' strategies. The theme is part of the broader international cooperation scenario: 2025 has in fact been proclaimed by theUnited Nations General Assembly International Year of Cooperatives, with the message “Cooperatives build a better world”.
Within this scenario, Credito Popolare Italiano is part of a global cooperative banking network: the National Association maintains relationships with 256 correspondent banks spread across all continents, confirming the international presence of a model based on collaboration, mutuality and long-term relationships.
From the Association's 150th anniversary to future challenges
The two-year period 2026-2027, with the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the National Association of Popular Banks and the centenary of Luigi Luzzatti's death, will therefore represent an opportunity to revisit the relevance of a model born in the 19th century but still central to the relationship between credit, businesses, and the community.
The 2025 Social Report data shows how the value of Credito Popolare is linked not only to its ability to support the economy through financing, but also to its local presence, understanding of local needs, and building lasting relationships with families and businesses.
It is precisely on this combination of proximity and innovation that the game will be played out. challenge in the coming years: supporting the transformation of the banking sector while maintaining the connection with communities that, for over 160 years, has been one of the distinctive elements of the People's Banks.
