Joint press release Intesa Sanpaolo - Edison

EDISON BEGINS A CLOSE COLLABORATION WITH INTESA SANPAOLO

The first initiative: electricity at a fixed rate for 24 months, and a bonus of 40 euro for Intesa Sanpaolo clients in the "Professional Account" programme

Milan, 23 October 2007 - Edison and Intesa Sanpaolo have launched a joint venture aimed at offering professionals and small businesses the resources and expertise they need to find the best opportunities available in the energy markets.

The first phase of this partnership was the creation of "Idea Professional", a product from Edison that offers particularly favourable terms for the purchase of electricity. It is available to clients who sign up for Intesa Sanpaolo's "Professional Account",  the new bank account currently featured in its inaugural advertising campaign. This current account is intended for professionals operating as freelancers or in partnership firms. "Professional Account" has been tailored to the specific needs of people who prefer to do their banking off-site, through means such as the internet, telephone, and automatic teller machines.

Under the "Idea Professional" programme, the electricity rate is fixed for 24 months. In the current environment of steadily rising prices (17% higher within the past year alone), this means that the client will not need to worry about cost fluctuations in the energy component. This offer also includes the distinctive and exclusive feature of a "welcome bonus" of 40 euro, which will be credited to the company's first electricity bill.

Thanks to this agreement, as of now firms can take advantage of the opportunities arising from the liberalisation of the energy markets, through their banking partner. The bank thus becomes the preferred means for identifying favourable opportunities for buying electricity.

The agreement permits Edison to connect with clients through an innovative marketing strategy based upon the ability to be present throughout the country through the more than 6,200 branches of Intesa Sanpaolo. For its part, Intesa Sanpaolo is reinforcing its role as a partner for professionals, offering solutions aimed at the needs of its clients.

"The challenge we are currently addressing in the energy market is how to make it easier and more convenient for businesses to choose a new supplier, through clear product offerings and a simple, intuitive purchasing process", said Alessandro Zunino, Edison's business manager. "We already have a grassroots presence through our extensive network of sales agencies and offices. This collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo gives us a competitive edge, providing us with the opportunity to promote our commercial products in the place where business people are often making decisions about the future of their organisation."

As for the bank, Andrea Crovetto, head of retail and SME banking of Intesa Sanpaolo's Banca dei Territori, explained, "By offering special arrangements for professionals, our bank is seeking to demonstrate that we can provide concrete and efficient solutions, aimed at building a relationship with our clients at all levels, satisfying both their professional and their personal needs. I believe that our choice of such an outstanding partner as Edison is an excellent indication of this desire."

Edison
Founded in 1883, Edison is Europe’s oldest energy company. At the end of 2007, it had an installed capacity of about 12,500 MW. During the last five years, Edison completed one of Europe’s most ambitious capital investment plans. Edison is the second-largest Italian company in the natural gas sector, active in all phases of development, from exploration to production, importation, distribution, and sale. In 2006, it had revenues of more than 8.5 billion euro and earned a net profit of 654 million euro. Its shares are traded on the Milan Stock Exchange and its market capitalisation is more than 10 billion euro.
A participant in the free market of electricity and gas since the beginning of the 1990's, Edison today provides approximately 17% of Italy's electricity needs, and 15.7% of its natural gas.

Intesa Sanpaolo
Intesa Sanpaolo is the leading banking group in Italy, with approximately 10.5 million clients, and also one of the largest in Europe. Intesa Sanpaolo was created by the merger, on 1 January 2007, of Sanpaolo IMI and Banca Intesa - two banks that played leading roles in the consolidation of the Italian banking system, becoming two of the largest banks at the national level. Intesa Sanpaolo is the undisputed leading provider of financial services for families and businesses in Italy, with a particular focus on pension funds (with a market share of 32%), asset management (30%), foreign trade (approximately 27% of the settlement of commercial transactions), factoring (23%), bancassurance (21%), and banking intermediation (20% of deposits and loans). As at 30 June 2007, Intesa Sanpaolo had total assets of 603,105 million euro, loans to customers of 332,519 million euro and direct customer deposits of 374,427 million euro.

For more information:                                   
               
 
Intesa Sanpaolo -  Rapporti con i Media                                                        
Costanza Esclapon                                                                                                             
02/87963010                                                                                                       
stampa@intesasanpaolo.com                   

Edison Spa - Ufficio Stampa
Ivan Dompè                                 
02/62227331                 
ufficiostampa@edison.it