Professional development and Internal Job Market

Training and people development represent a fundamental pillar in which the Group continues to invest, with the goal of creating a unique skills ecosystem aligned with the Bank’s evolution and ensuring the best professional experience for Group employees.

With this objective, in 2025 Intesa Sanpaolo continued to implement innovative training models and methodologies for all Group employees, promoting a multichannel approach designed to make learning as simple and flexible as possible. All employees with subordinate employment contracts are required to complete the mandatory training programs to ensure the proper performance of their duties, full knowledge of regulations and corporate processes, and compliance with supervisory authorities’ requirements.

During 2025, the Group defined a new training strategy that led to the creation of the Corporate Academy, with a primary focus on transformative learning to support the evolution of roles, employability, and professional growth of Group employees.

The Academy focuses on the following areas:

• Managerial Culture: aimed at developing Group training programs on leadership topics;
• Artificial Intelligence and Data: aimed at developing strategic and technical skills in AI and data management to accelerate digital transformation;
• Network Development: designed to accelerate the evolution of the banking network through specific and relevant business skills;
• Wealth Management: focused on developing wealth management expertise, with particular attention to personalized advisory services and digital tools;
• Risk Culture: aimed at strengthening risk culture and promoting greater individual awareness in support of compliance with internal and external regulations, thereby enhancing customer trust and mitigating business risks;
• Trainer Development Path: intended to develop the Group’s internal trainers in both transversal and specialized training design and delivery skills. 

The Academy, which focuses on strategic and cross-functional topics relevant to the Group, was structured in 2025 into eight Faculties (Managerial Culture, AI & Data, Network Development, Wealth, Risk Culture, Trainer Development, ESG, and Internationalization), within which training programs are developed consistently with the evolution of jobs and skills.

With reference to the Faculties launched during 2025, a total of 55,041 participants were enrolled.

In 2025, total training hours completed reached approximately 15.4 million (around 56 million training hours delivered since 2022).

All training activities, including mandatory training, are carried out with the support of a dedicated provider to ensure high-quality standards and continuously updated content tailored to the Group’s specific needs. Collaboration between Intesa Sanpaolo and Digit’Ed S.p.A., the Group’s partner in delivering training initiatives, continued throughout 2025. Digit’Ed was established in 2022 following the transfer of the business unit dedicated to training activities.

To reach the widest possible audience, the Group prioritized digital learning solutions, using fast, simple, and interactive participation formats, with approximately 90% of total training delivered digitally.

Intesa Sanpaolo promotes a responsible banking culture among its workforce through a broad range of training and awareness initiatives:

• The training plan is structured around due pillars:
  • Transformative training: focused on strategic, priority, and innovative topics for the Group;
  • Mandatory training: designed to build a shared foundation of knowledge related to risk culture, aligned with Group needs;
• Development of new digital content: aimed at incorporating regulatory updates related to Legislative Decree 231/01, Anti-Money Laundering, and Anti-Corruption regulations.
• Training initiatives are also delivered to employees responsible for managing customer relationships, enabling them to operate with diligence, fairness, and transparency. Targeted initiatives ensure continuous updating of specialist knowledge for specific roles while strengthening behavioral risk culture.
• Managers and executives are involved in dedicated training programs, including coaching, shadow coaching, remote tutoring, webinars on leadership and future scenarios, and compliance seminars (mandatory training). These initiatives aim to address the challenges of a constantly evolving environment, broaden managerial awareness, and strengthen leadership capabilities. Specific programs are progressively being implemented to involve up to 5,850 managers, 2,100 employees with coordination responsibilities, and approximately 200 talents.

Executive training remains central, with dedicated update programs for members of the Board of Directors. In 2025, 13 sessions were held on crucial topics such as the Transformation Plan, the strategic Isytech project, monitoring Strategic Initiatives under the Business Plan, macroeconomic and geopolitical developments, personal data protection, safeguards for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence, the new Business Plan, ESG framework evolution, and the implementation of the Digital Euro and its implications for banks.

With regard to AI, the progressive rollout of the “AI Fundamentals” training program began in 2025, aimed at developing key artificial intelligence skills and introducing its core concepts. The content provided offers an initial guide to understanding and effectively using new digital technologies while preparing employees for future changes. In addition, training continued through the publication of the “Artificial Intelligence Regulation” selection.

During 2025, for the second consecutive year and in compliance with the fortieth update of the “Supervisory Provisions for Banks” issued by the Bank of Italy, a specific training plan on “ICT and Security Risks” was implemented. In today’s context, characterized by strong digitalization of processes and tools, technological development, and complex international geopolitical conditions, the plan included training and awareness initiatives aimed at increasing employees’ awareness and know-how regarding key ICT-related risks.

Training initiatives target both the entire Group population (for example regarding online fraud, critical events and their management, information security management systems, and business continuity) and specific employee clusters responsible for managing business risks.

Training activities also aim to support the dissemination of a culture of sustainability, not only by conveying notions and knowledge in the ESG field, but also by ensuring that these are transformed into the skills needed for Group people to act as “agents of change,” contributing to the implementation of corporate strategies aimed at generating economic, social, and environmental value together.

The topics covered through ESG-related training concern environmental, social, and governance matters, with particular reference to environmental and social issues.

In 2025, a new collection of mandatory training modules on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) was released with the objective of providing an in-depth understanding of the CSRD Directive, reporting standards (ESRS), and the Group’s main social, governance, and environmental policies.

New modules were also launched to integrate and update the training track on the Code of Ethics, with the aim of providing an overview of the document’s development phases and the risks associated with its violation; in 2025, these training modules were completed by more than 67,000 people across the Group.
In addition to mandatory training, Intesa Sanpaolo organizes Digital Talks and specialized courses for specific divisions, such as the “Eurizon Advanced Training” within the Asset Management Division.

With a view to raising awareness on environmental issues, an updated mandatory training program on environmental protection was released, along with training modules on the Voluntary Carbon Market, with the aim of providing the relevant regulatory framework and useful information on how the Group intends to support its customers in their decarbonization journey, helping them make responsible and informed choices.

In 2025, a Compliance Talk titled “The Evolution of the ESG Framework” was delivered, addressing ongoing changes related to the context, Intesa Sanpaolo’s positioning, and sustainability as a driver of competitiveness and business development in compliance with ESG principles.

Overall, in 2025, ESG training accounted for approximately 18% of total training; 87,592 Group employees benefited from over 1.04 million hours of ESG training.
Initiatives on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, including those addressing sexual harassment, continued in line with previous years, such as initiatives dedicated to women’s empowerment, parenting, and the promotion of an aging culture. Additional initiatives were introduced focusing on interculturality, inclusive leadership, disability, and inclusive language.

During 2025, 44 Digital Talks were delivered, including 8 on ESG topics, featuring expert contributions on various themes, including climate change and inclusive leadership.

Intesa Sanpaolo promotes initiatives to enable employees to test themselves in different areas of the Group and to foster talent through international career paths.

Within the Talent Management strategy, the “Leaders of the Future” program has been developed. It is addressed to all people of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, both within the Italian and international perimeter, and is also included among the objectives of the 2022–2025 Business Plan. The program consists of two project initiatives:

• International Talent Program (ITP): represents one of the most important talent enhancement initiatives at Group level, aimed at developing a new generation of managers and professional roles with a transversal and international mindset through personalized paths lasting approximately three years. Talents are supported by a mentorship and tutorship program involving Senior Managers and the Heads of the structures hosting them;
• Key People Program: represents the second pillar of the Group’s innovative talent strategy, aimed at identifying and developing the Leaders of the Future. It is an excellence path for selected members of the Group’s middle management, with the objective of fostering professional and managerial growth, as well as guiding them toward future leadership roles in more complex managerial contexts.

The key objectives of the “Leaders of the Future” program are:

• enhancement of human capital: recognizing and promoting existing talents within the organization, encouraging their professional growth and development;
• strategic management of internal career growth: ensuring that the Group consistently has access to the best resources, thereby reducing reliance on external recruiting to fill critical roles;
• generational renewal: ensuring the continuous rejuvenation of the talent pool, enabling the Group to maintain a balance between experience and new perspectives.

As for the Key People Program, the scope of the population involved was defined for the entire 2022–2025 Business Plan and is therefore stable.

The target value for the number of people involved in the Leaders of the Future program is approximately 1,000 employees over the 2022–2025 Business Plan period, selected both in Italy and abroad. The indicator includes both populations of the program: the International Talent Program and Key People.

This target was achieved as of December 31, 2025.

From the launch of the “Leaders of the Future” Program up to the end of 2025, a total of 1,054 people have been involved in talent management and development activities through participation in the two programs “Talent Program” and “Key People.” Of these, 986 have completed or are still continuing their development path within the Group.

Details relating to further initiatives are available at the following link.