Intesa Sanpaolo talks about itself. To be precise, he tells his story business related to the wealth management and protection area, increasingly a pillar of the plan to 2024 and whose activity is carried out by as many as 3 entities of the group: Fideuram - Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking, the Insurance Division and Eurizon. The CEO Carlo Messina also spoke at the presentation event which was held in the presence of the headquarters in piazza Belgiojoso in Milan, recalling that "since the Business Plan presented in 2014, our group has repositioned itself in decisively, focusing strongly on asset management, private banking and insurance activities. Today we are a bancassurance”, the manager reiterated, then rattling off some data and alluding to the benefits deriving from the acquisition of Ubi Banca in this area as well.
“Having sensed the progressive fall in interest rates and the difficulties in achieving significant revenues from traditional lending - said Messina -, we have able to grow through savings management, financial and patrimonial consultancy and the insurance business, so much so that today we can place ourselves at the top in Europe for solidity, efficiency and profitability. In fact, the data as at 30 June 2021 showed that Intesa Sanpaolo is the group best equipped to face future challenges, thanks to an excellent risk profile with a leverage ratio of 6,9%, an NPL ratio at the lowest levels since 2007 and the objective of the 2018-2021 Business Plan to reduce non-performing loans exceeded one year in advance. Thanks also to a solid capital base, higher than the regulatory requirements (+200bp compared to other institutions), which has allowed us to brilliantly pass even the latest EBA/ECB stress tests and high operational efficiency, with a Cost Income ratio between the best in Europe at 49,2%”.
"Furthermore, the last half-year - concluded the CEO of the leading Italian banking group - recorded 1.200 billion euros in customer financial assets (almost 100 billion euros more than at 30 June 2020), with Commissions and Insurance Activities representing 52% of operating income, while 58% of gross current income comes from Wealth Management & Protection activities. Finally, despite the impact of the pandemic, we closed the best 1H ever in terms of Commissions, with almost 4,7 billion euros representing 13,2% more than in 1H 2020 and achieving a net income of 3 billion perfectly in line with an annual profit target of at least 4 billion, also focusing on the nonmotor insurance business”.
Then it was the turn of speeches by Rossella Locatelli (Professor of Economics of Financial Intermediaries at the University of Insubria, Board Member and Chairman of the Intesa Sanpaolo Risk Committee), Tommaso Corcos (Chief Executive Officer of Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking and Private Banking Division), Nicola Maria Fioravanti (Chief Executive Officer of Intesa Sanpaolo Vita and Head of the Insurance Division) and Saverio Perissinotto (Chief Executive Officer of Eurizon and Head of the Asset Management Division).
“Over the last two years – said Rossella Locatelli opening the works – we have witnessed a strong accumulation of savings, due to the drop in consumption and the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, concentrated above all on the highest income brackets. Much of the increase in savings is held in liquid assets and the change in current account deposits of households in the first 8 months of 2021 was greater than that of the same period of 2020; it is estimated that the propensity to save could return to pre-Covid levels in 2023. The business opportunities for the various components of Wealth Management, therefore, are numerous and must take into account the digitization processes in progress and the evolution of demand, increasingly attentive to ESG, climate, protection and health issues”.
“Today Fideuram – Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking – continued Thomas Corcos - and the first private bank in Italy, where he manages €327bn of assets belonging to over 986.000 clients. The integration of UBI Top Private and IWBank has further strengthened our leadership in the country, thanks to the professionalism of over 6.600 private bankers, who offer our customers balanced and differentiated management of their assets. We are also protagonists on international markets: second operator in the Euro Area for assets under management, sixth if we also consider our competitors in Switzerland. Sustainability, management of large estates, support for the real economy, digitization and internationalization are the pillars on which the future growth strategies of our Division will be based".
“The Insurance Division – he added Nicholas Fioravanti of the Insurance Division – since 2014, it has recorded positive growth rates in the main economic indicators and premium income volumes, which have allowed us to place ourselves at the top of the life, non-life and health sectors in Italy. We provide customers of the Group's network banks with valuable solutions for transforming savings into investments and risk into protection. Thanks to the Banca Assicurazione model, we identify the best investment opportunities for customers and build together the ideal protection solution with modular products that can adapt over time, based on the actual insurance needs in the various stages of life, both personal and corporate. Digital transformation and the promotion of an insurance culture in Italy are two of the various ongoing projects that distinguish our ability to innovate.”
“We are pursuing an important growth path – he concluded Saverio Perissinotto – both in Italy, where we have a leadership position, and abroad, where we are obtaining satisfactory results from the principals of the various European countries and in Asia. In a context characterized by abundant liquidity and low interest rates, it is essential to direct available savings towards diversified and professionally managed investment solutions, which can also channel resources to support the real economy. We at Eurizon are constantly committed to creating new solutions aimed at responding to the needs of our customers to enhance the long-term growth of their investments, in compliance with environmental, social and governance sustainability criteria.”
