Integration of UBI Banca: interview with CEO Carlo Messina

The integration of UBI Banca into Intesa Sanpaolo was completed on 12 April 2021.

To mark the occasion, Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina gave an interview to the Group's internal web TV in which, among the topics covered, he stressed that technology must be an enabler for retaining people at the Group since it is human capital that will be the basis for emerging as the winners in the European banking landscape.

Following is a summary of the main topics covered:

"When we defined what could be the growth options for our Group – particularly with a view to our positioning as a European leader and starting from the options in our home market – it was clear that choosing a bank with great talent and that also shared the values ​ of the Intesa Sanpaolo group would be the best choice for building a shared path of success and value creation. The people of Intesa Sanpaolo and those of UBI have always shared values that put sustainability, ethics and ESG issues at the heart of the groups' operations.

"On the other hand, from the very beginning of this operation, from day one, I spoke of UBI Banca as a group of successful people who could be the best possible combination for Intesa Sanpaolo. Once the operation was successfully completed, what I experienced first hand was the high quality of the people at UBI. And this has strengthened our belief that we made the right choice, enabling the Group to truly become a leader in Europe.

"We must not forget that as soon as the public exchange offer was launched, the pandemic emergency began. An factor that forced all of us to work via video calls, with masks, having to complete what is now considered the most significant operation carried out in Europe in recent years. Let’s all remember that we did this under truly incredible conditions. I am proud of all the people who work in this Group, they are truly among the best in Europe. No one has carried out an integration like this during a pandemic, with all its limitations.

"I want to reiterate to our 100,000 people that they have my personal commitment to ensure that new technologies will be used as an enabler for retaining people at the Group. We will invent new jobs, because it is human capital that allows us to be winners within the European banking landscape and the only way is to invest in people.

“Technology is very useful in an emergency, but our life is made up of relationships, talking to each other looking into each other's eyes, interacting with our customers. Video must be a tool, but not the basis on which we design our bank of the future.

"If I imagine where Intesa Sanpaolo will be in 2025, at the end of our next business plan, I think we will have completed a path as a leader in Europe: growing revenues, reducing costs and keeping them under control, ensuring that the credit quality of the Group is excellent and leads to a strong reduction in the cost of risk.

"All this makes it possible to increase net profit and therefore to position the Bank in a growth perspective. The business model is fundamental: the enhancement of our customers' assets. Wealth Management and Protection, Private Banking and Asset Management, Insurance and Banca dei Territori remain strategic points, alongside Corporate & Investment Banking which completes the solutions to strengthen the Group's results. Our Foreign Subsidiary Banks will increasingly have to be leaders in the countries in which they operate, particularly where we have significant market shares. All this represents the framework in which sustainability will remain a key point for our Group. Moreover, many aspects of fintech will have to be considered in the future design of our bank, something in which we will have to invest significantly along with digital, another enabling factor.

“In this context, Human Capital remains the key to success. We must continue to invest in our people, making sure that they are secure foremost, and proud to be part of a successful organization ".