INTESA SANPAOLO: “OBIETTIVO ITALIA 2025” CONCLUDES IN ROME, A JOURNEY ACROSS ITALY TO ENGAGE WITH BUSINESSES AND SUPPORT THEIR GROWTH

• Over 80 participants attended the final stop of “Obiettivo Italia 2025,” the travelling initiative by the IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division
• Lazio is a strategic region for the Group, accounting for around 36% of the total volumes of the IMI CIB Division’s Italian Network
• Lazio’s businesses respond strongly to tariff challenges. The region ranks third in Italy for the number of innovative start-ups
• Michele Sorrentino: “With Obiettivo Italia, we aimed to listen closely to companies’ needs and support them in a complex market environment with concrete, tailored solutions. This initiative will continue in 2026 as an integral part of our mission to support sustainable and international business growth.”

Rome, 12 November 2025 - The IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, led by Mauro Micillo, has concluded its initiative “Obiettivo Italia 2025” in Rome. The project was created to promote direct engagement with the business community and to share growth strategies in a constantly evolving economic landscape.

Following stops in Italy’s main cities, the Rome event marked the culmination of a journey that, throughout 2025, strengthened dialogue with local production systems and showcased how businesses are facing global challenges with innovation and strategic foresight.

During the event, representatives of the IMI CIB Division and experts from Intesa Sanpaolo’s Research Department explored key trends reshaping industrial competitiveness, including risk management, the use of artificial intelligence in business decision-making, and new opportunities tied to digital transformation and international expansion.

The event welcomed over 80 participants, including representatives from the public sector and Lazio’s business community. Lazio stands out for its high value-added economy, driven by advanced services, technology, aerospace and pharmaceutical industries, and by increasing integration between research, universities, and enterprises.

With over 1,300 corporate clients and an average of €29 billion in loans in 2024, Lazio accounts for around 36% of the total volumes of the IMI CIB Division’s Italian Network. This makes the region a strategic area for the bank led by CEO Carlo Messina – a hub of industrial tradition, innovation, and internationalisation.

Michele Sorrentino, Head of the IMI CIB Italian Network at Intesa Sanpaolo, commented: “Rome is Italy’s institutional heart, home to numerous public entities, foundations, and major organisations with which our bank actively collaborates, alongside large corporates. These stakeholders are strategic drivers of national development, and we are committed to supporting them with responsibility and vision. We believe that public-private partnerships are crucial to driving Italy’s growth. The Rome event concludes the Obiettivo Italia 2025 roadshow, which involved over 550 business representatives across the country. We travelled across the country to listen to companies, understand their needs up close, and support them with cutting-edge financial and advisory tools. It has been a path of constructive dialogue, confirming the extraordinary adaptability and resilience of Italian enterprises, their strong innovation mindset, and commitment to sustainable and international growth. We are already looking ahead: in 2026, Obiettivo Italia will continue its journey, as our role is to stand by companies at every stage of their development.”

A well-established presence in Lazio supporting businesses

In the Lazio region, the IMI CIB Division serves corporate and institutional clients through two Corporate Centres in Rome, with a team of 40 dedicated professionals. The team supports business groups with turnover exceeding €350 million, offering bespoke solutions and advisory services focused on growth, innovation, and international expansion.

The closing event in Rome marks not only the end of a journey but the start of a new phase for Obiettivo Italia: a project set to continue in 2026 with the same ambition to strengthen local ties, promote industrial excellence, and boost the country’s competitiveness.

Macroeconomic outlook in uncertain times: priorities for Italy’s and Lazio’s economic fabric

Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and crises, the Italian economy shows signs of resilience, underpinned by a strong manufacturing base, high household savings, and a solid banking system. In 2025, Italian and Lazio’s economies are expected to benefit from rising household purchasing power, which should support consumption. Lower interest rates are also expected to drive investment, particularly among innovative, youth-led companies. Increased PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) spending over the current two-year period could further boost investment.

Lazio has a high concentration of advanced industries, especially in pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and telecommunications, but also traditional sectors like food, ceramics, publishing, cosmetics, and cleaning products. According to Intesa Sanpaolo’s internal survey, growth in the region will be driven by tourism, pharma and biomedical, electronics and advanced services, transport and logistics, and utilities – sectors that are highly competitive and dynamic. In the construction sector, positive signs are emerging for both civil engineering and residential projects (new builds and renovations). The manufacturing sector also shows a positive outlook despite the volatility of US trade policy. Following an agreement between the US and Europe, tariffs on European goods were raised to 15% from 2.5% at the start of the year, effective from 1 August.

Although Lazio’s export propensity is lower than the national average, it ranks sixth among Italian regions for export value, reaching around €32 billion in 2024 – up 8.5% from 2023, versus a national decline of 0.4%.

According to the Research Department, the impact of tariffs on Italy’s manufacturing sector can be mitigated by the high quality of Italian products and companies’ strategies to diversify and innovate export markets. Lazio ranks third in Italy for the number of innovative start-ups – over 1,400 as of September 2025 – behind Lombardy (around 3,400) and Campania (nearly 1,500).

An internal survey conducted by Intesa Sanpaolo’s internationalisation support teams revealed that companies are reacting to US tariffs by actively seeking new markets and customers. There is also growing interest among Italian firms in opening commercial and production branches in the United States.

Lazio’s economy has previously shown its ability to seize opportunities in new markets. Between 2019 and 2024, the top 15 growth markets for Lazio’s exports included the UAE (+€244m), Qatar (+€236m), Tunisia (+€79m), Mexico (+€76m), Poland (+€59m), South Korea (+€58m), India (+€47m), and Chile (+€44m). In H1 2025, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Romania, and Croatia were also added to this list.

Looking ahead, effective risk management will be increasingly important in today’s complex, uncertain environment. Beyond market risks, companies will need to tackle energy, supply chain, cybersecurity, environmental, climate, and reputational risks. Investment in process efficiency, innovation, and energy self-production must be scaled up. Firms that innovate and invest in R&D enjoy significant labour productivity gains: in manufacturing, for example, value added per employee is around €40,000 higher for innovative companies than for non-innovative ones. These benefits span all sectors and company sizes. There is also a positive correlation between the use of renewable energy or energy-efficient machinery and productivity. Business competitiveness will increasingly depend on the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, with the greatest benefits for companies that integrate these technologies across all operational areas.

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Media Relations

Intesa Sanpaolo

Corporate & Investment Banking and Governance Areas

stampa@intesasanpaolo.com