Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. is a big bank in Italy. It is the largest bank in Italy and one of the biggest in the world. The bank started in 1583 in Turin and grew over time. In 2007, two big banks, Banca Intesa in Milan and Sanpaolo IMI in Turin, joined together to form Intesa Sanpaolo.

The bank has two main offices, one in Milan and one in Turin. It helps millions of people with their money. By 2025, it had about 14 million customers in Italy and almost 7.5 million more in places like Central and Southeast Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. It works through many smaller banks like Alexbank, CIB Bank, PBZ, and VÚB Banka.

Intesa Sanpaolo is very important in the world of banking. Its total assets were worth about US$1.011 trillion in 2025, which put it at 40th place in the Fortune Global 500 list and 283rd overall. The bank is part of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Since 2014, it has been supervised directly by the European Central Bank because it is a very big and important bank. As of January 2025, the bank's value was about US$73 billion.

History

Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI merged in 2007 to form Intesa Sanpaolo. Banca Intesa came from the merger of Cariplo and Banco Ambrosiano Veneto in 1998. Cariplo began with a savings bank in Milan in 1823. Sanpaolo IMI started when Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino and Istituto Mobiliare Italiano joined in 1998.

In January 2007, Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI officially merged, becoming two of Italy’s largest banks. The merger grew because of rules set by the Italian Competition Authority. Later, Intesa Sanpaolo bought many smaller banks, such as Banca CR Firenze in 2008 and Banca Popolare di Vicenza in 2017. In 2020, Intesa Sanpaolo bought UBI Banca, making it bigger. By 2026, it had grown to become Italy’s largest bank and one of the biggest in Europe.

Divestment from Russia

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Intesa Sanpaolo began working to sell its banking unit in Russia. In September 2023, Vladimir Putin approved a plan for the sale of these operations. As of January 2025, the bank had not yet completed this process.

Snooping controversy

In August 2024, Intesa Sanpaolo let go of an employee, Vincenzo Coviello, after discovering he had done things against the rules. The legal team in Bari, Italy, says Coviello may have risked national safety by looking into the bank accounts of about 3,500 people without permission. These people included important leaders in Italy, such as the prime minister Giorgia Meloni and the Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, as well as officers from Italy's police forces. Some believe this was part of a bigger plan by certain groups to affect Italy's government.

Major shareholders

As of 2024

Corporate governance

Intesa Sanpaolo uses a single-tiered system where the Board of Directors handles important decisions and oversight. This system started in April 2016, replacing an older two-tiered setup. Before that, a supervisory board helped watch over things, but now the Board of Directors does most of that work.

Board of directors

The members of the Board of Directors were chosen on 29 April 2022 to serve through the years 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Financial information

This section shows how well Intesa Sanpaolo has done with its money over the past few years.

Business units

Intesa Sanpaolo has six main areas of work. The Banca dei Territori Division helps everyday people, small businesses, and non-profits with many services like loans and online banking.

The IMI-Corporate and Investment Banking Division works in 25 countries, helping big businesses and governments with their money needs.

The International Banks Division operates in 12 countries, focusing on commercial banking in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The Private Banking Division gives financial advice to wealthy individuals.

The Asset Management Division creates investment plans for customers and institutions, including Eurizon Capital, which manages a large amount of money for investors.

Finally, the Insurance Division provides insurance and pension services through several companies it owns.

Subsidiaries

Intesa Sanpaolo has branches and offices all over the world. It owns many banks directly, especially in Central and Eastern Europe. These banks have over 901 branches and serve around 7 million customers with everyday banking services.

Photo gallery

Intesa Sanpaolo has important buildings in different cities. One is the former headquarters in Turin, and another is in Milan. These buildings show the history and style of the bank.