PRESS RELEASE

UKRAINE: INTESA SANPAOLO LAUNCHES PROJECTS FOR THE HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY

UNHCR AND CARITAS THE FIRST RECIPIENTS

Fundraising on Forfunding.it begins

For every euro donated, one euro is matched by the Bank

Volunteering for Ukraine: labour union agreement for paid leave for Intesa Sanpaolo people involved in non-profit associations and hospitality 

Turin/Milan, March 25, 2022 – Intesa Sanpaolo has signed collaboration agreements with UNHCR – UN Refugee Agency and Caritas Italiana for aid to the Ukrainian population, on site and in Italy. The two institutions are therefore the first recipients of the 10 million euro donation recently announced by Managing Director and CEO Carlo Messina.

"We have allocated a significant portion of our donation to two leading partners with which we are undertaking this new project of solidarity. One, the UNHCR, is a United Nations agency with a recognised history and reputation of a supranational, multicultural nature, and two-time Nobel Prize winner. The other, Caritas Italiana, is profoundly Italian, an expression of the Italian Episcopal Conference, with deep roots in the community and a network of aid that focuses on the vulnerable and social justice needs. Through the fundraising campaign launched on our For Funding platform for UNHCR, we invite companies and families to join us in this great humanitarian project," commented Carlo Messina, Managing Director and CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo.

"A senseless war that is causing untold suffering. More than million refugees have crossed Ukraine's borders and more than 6 million are internally displaced," said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Behind these numbers are women, children and elderly people. They terrified by the violence they have witnessed, which affects them indiscriminately: refugees and displaced persons who have left everything behind, scarred by the trauma of what they have seen, by fatigue, cold, and concern for family members left behind in Ukraine. Faced with this crisis, concluded Grandi, "the private sector's response has been extraordinary, and Intesa Sanpaolo's support is crucial because being able to count on immediate financial support without constraints is essential to allow us to continue to save lives. For this I thank Intesa Sanpaolo and Carlo Messina, its Managing Director and CEO."

"This," underscores Don Marco Pagniello, director of Caritas Italiana "is a synergistic action that will allow even more support for Caritas' commitment to hospitality. All this while being able to count on a network that allows a grass-roots approach and responses constantly adapted to needs, not only from an emergency perspective, but also a medium-/long -term point of view. Specific attention is dedicated to the most vulnerable, and in particular minors, with the involvement of local communities to begin processes of support and inclusion."

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, protects people forced to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution. It saves lives, protects rights, and helps build a better future for them. The funds raised will be used to address the ongoing humanitarian emergency in Ukraine by supporting the work of UNCHR in all regions of the country and neighbouring countries. Intesa Sanpaolo has a strong presence in that area of Europe with subsidiary banks and branches in Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

UNHCR is on the front line in providing essential survival goods, including food, emergency shelter, blankets, jerry cans, hygiene products and plastic sheeting for bomb-damaged homes. It provides the most vulnerable families with direct economic assistance to meet basic expenses. It supports Ukrainian authorities in setting up reception centres and registering those in vulnerable conditions. UNHCR also conducts protection activities against sexual exploitation and abuse.

The project "A.P.R.I. Accogliere Promuovere Proteggere Integrare i Profughi Ukraini in Italia" (Welcome, Promote, Protect and Integrate Ukrainian Refugees in Italy) with Caritas Italiana, with which the Bank has an established partnership, aims to support the Caritas diocese network in the emergency hospitality of Ukrainian refugees throughout Italy by offering a complete series of integrated services ranging from initial hospitality to the coordination of dioceses in integration activities to strengthen the socio-economic inclusion of beneficiaries.

The initiative is part of the commitment to solidarity by Intesa Sanpaolo, which for some time now has been implementing a major project to restore balance to situations of difficulty in partnership with accredited non-profit organisations, public administrations and the Bank's corporate clients, as also reiterated in the 2022-2025 Business Plan. In addition, there are extraordinary projects in response to exceptional emergencies, such as the support for the country in the form of one of the most important donations for structurally strengthening Italian healthcare.

Intesa Sanpaolo is also providing UNHCR with its digital platform ForFunding.it to start a fundraising campaign among citizens and companies wishing to contribute to this crisis. For every donation made Intesa Sanpaolo will match the amount donated. Forfunding.it, Intesa Sanpaolo's crowdfunding platform, guarantees security and transparency, with public reporting on both the progress of the collection and the subsequent use of the money raised. In four years, it has raised about 27 million euro for more than 320 nonprofit projects. Information and donations at this link.

Intesa Sanpaolo also recently signed an agreement with trade unions to make paid leave quickly available to Group employees who wish to host Ukrainian citizens in Italy, including colleagues from the Ukrainian bank Pravex, or who are engaged in voluntary initiatives carried out outside national borders through NGOs or non-profit organisations with humanitarian and social purposes. 

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About Intesa Sanpaolo 

Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy’s leading banking group – serving families, businesses and the real economy – with a significant international presence. Intesa Sanpaolo’s distinctive business model makes it a European leader in Wealth Management, Protection & Advisory, highly focused on digital and fintech. An efficient and resilient Bank, it benefits from its wholly-owned product factories in asset management and insurance. The Group’s strong ESG commitment includes providing €115 billion in impact lending by 2025 to communities and for the green transition, and €500 million in contributions to support people most in need, positioning Intesa Sanpaolo as a world leader in terms of social impact. Intesa Sanpaolo is committed to Net Zero by 2030 for its own emissions and by 2050 for its loan and investment portfolios. An engaged patron of Italian culture, Intesa Sanpaolo has created its own network of museums, the Gallerie d’Italia, to host the bank's artistic heritage and as a venue for prestigious cultural projects.

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