Impact banking to promote social inclusion

For Intesa Sanpaolo, being an Impact Bank means making investments that are not only financially profitable but also socially responsible and that have a positive impact on societymore broadly.

Intesa Sanpaolo set the goal of becoming the world’s leading impact bank in its 2018 - 2021 Business Plan. The Group will accomplish this, in part, by extending credit to new categories of beneficiaries with a view to future growth. This is why the 250 million Fund for Impact was created, which will enable loans to be granted for a total of 1.25 billion to those individuals, families and businesses excluded from the economy.

University students

Italy ranks second to last in Europe in terms of university graduates: 27% of citizens aged 25 to 34 years versus an EU average of 38% and an OECD average of 44%. Nonetheless, Intesa Sanpaolo expressed its optimism for the future by initiating the activities of the Fund for Impact with a focus on the development of higher education for young people, the most valuable form of human capital. The per Merito (“for Merit”) loan is aimed at all students residing in Italy who attend Italian and foreign universities, or post-graduate studies such as AFAM (Alta Formazione Artistica, Musicale e Coreutica), master’s diplomas, Higher Technical Institutes, and other institutions providing high-school diplomas.

The loan does not require any personal or family guarantees and offers a line of credit of up to 5,000 per year for students living away from their hometown – 3,000 for those who study in their hometown – and up to 5 years’ coverage for tuition, travel, housing and study abroad.

Graduates can choose to start repaying the loan up to two years after completing their studies, thus giving them time to fi nd work. Loans can be repaid for a period of up to 30 years, with very low monthly instalments at a fi xed rate defi ned when the loan is taken out. Since February 2019, roughly 28 million has been granted to 3,240 students thanks to per Merito. The Fund for Impact will soon be used to extend credit to two other categories.

Women, working mothers and female entrepreneurs

Women often fi nd it diffi cult to combine motherhood and work due to inadequate support policies and, in many areas of the world, diffi cultly accessing credit.

It was decided to concentrate on two geographical areas:

• Italy, where women’s participation in the workforce is 49%, against a European average of 62% (second to last), with a gender gap of 20% (against a European average of 11%);
• Asia (India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), where women contribute significantly to the livelihoods of their families but have diffi culty accessing credit to start or strengthen micro-enterprises - despite very high loan repayment rates.

This is why Intesa Sanpaolo is launching L’Impatto è donna (“Impact is woman”), a project that places trust in women, near and far, providing them with new opportunities. Backed by the Fund for Impact, the project will be divided into two complementary activities:

• In Italy, an initiative led directly by Intesa Sanpaolo (with the support of bank volunteers from Vo.B.I.S.) aimed specifi cally at women who are forced to choose between work and motherhood. The project will deploy two tools: a loan for new working mothers to supplement their personal income so they can keep their jobs and, secondly, funding for startups founded by young mothers enabling them to become entrepreneurs; and
• In India, a micro-credit initiative dedicated to women and families, supported by Intesa Sanpaolo but managed locally by the Bank’s partner, CreditAccess, a company founded in 2007 by Paolo Brichetti that fi nances the start-up or development of women-led microenterprises.

People over 50 facing difficulties accessing their pensions

Due to the loss of employment, increasing numbers of people are having to accept more precarious contracts or take jobs that do not correspond to their professional experience. The Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) found that in the decade 2009-2019, the number of unemployed people over the age of 50 increased 207% (+260% for women and +184% for men). Among jobless Italians over 50, 61.4% do not fi nd a new job within a year; only 38.6% were unemployed for less than 12 months. ISTAT reports that in 2019, there were 559,000 unemployed people in this age group. They fi nd themselves in a position where they struggle to fi nd new jobs and see their pensions diminish due to a lack of contributions.

Intesa Sanpaolo has decided to create a loan aimed at three main targets:

• Unemployed people who have reached or are close to reaching retirement age, but whose contribution requirements have not been met;
• Unemployed people who voluntarily pay pension contributions but have suspended payments due to fi nancial diffi culties;
• Employees who have an early retirement agreement with their employer (with payment of contributions).

The collaboration between Intesa Sanpaolo, the network of Patronage Institutions, trade unions, employers’ associations and INPS (the national social welfare institution) will allow the applicant’s social security position and access requirements to be verified.

This initiative is fully in line with Intesa Sanpaolo’s Impact objectives, given that it allows disadvantaged groups to acquire a right, allowing workers to make decisions with peace of mind and move on from a period of instability and anxiety for the future.