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| Cassa di Risparmio | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cassa di Risparmio |
| Type | Savings bank |
| Industry | Banking |
| Founded | Various |
| Fate | Various reorganizations |
| Headquarters | Italy |
| Area served | Italy |
| Products | Retail banking, corporate banking, wealth management |
Cassa di Risparmio is the traditional Italian model of regional savings banks that emerged from charity-driven institutions in the 18th and 19th centuries and evolved into modern banking entities involved in retail, corporate, and investment activities. The model links historical foundations, municipal patronage, and later national financial legislation, and it has featured prominently in episodes involving Banca d'Italia, Minister of Economy and Finance (Italy), Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and regional banking consolidation. These institutions interfaced with entities such as Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Banco di Napoli, Credito Italiano, UniCredit, and Intesa Sanpaolo during waves of reform, privatization, and restructuring.
Many institutions carrying the name trace roots to philanthropic initiatives linked to Papal States, Kingdom of Sardinia, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and municipal governments in cities like Turin, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Venice, Milan, Padua, Verona, and Bari. Founding acts often invoked local rulers such as Victor Emmanuel II, Napoleon Bonaparte, Pius IX, and administrators like Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour and Giuseppe Garibaldi who affected institutional frameworks. During the late 19th century and the era of Giolitti governments these entities grew alongside industrialists connected to families including Agnelli, Ferrarotti, Pirelli, and networks around Assicurazioni Generali and Fininvest. The 20th century saw interaction with regulatory episodes involving Banca d'Italia, wartime economic measures under Benito Mussolini, postwar reconstruction under Palazzo Chigi and the Marshall Plan, and later European integration with European Economic Community institutions. Financial crises and banking legislation in the 1990s led to structural changes influenced by figures such as Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Lamberto Dini, Romano Prodi, Antonio Fazio, and corporate moves by Enrico Cuccia and Corrado Passera.
Originally constituted under charters issued by municipal councils, noble patrons, or ecclesiastical authorities, these savings banks became subject to laws like the Banca d'Italia law, reforms associated with the Amato Law and Ciampi reforms, and oversight from agencies including Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa and Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato. Organizational forms shifted among entities such as joint-stock companies, cooperative banks linked to statutes like the T.U.B. (Testo Unico Bancario), and banking foundations inspired by models like Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. Governance engaged boards drawn from local elites, representatives from institutions such as Region of Lombardy, Province of Turin, Municipality of Naples, and oversight bodies including European Central Bank and Single Supervisory Mechanism after Maastricht Treaty and Treaty of Lisbon developments.
Regional networks coalesced into larger groups through mergers and acquisitions involving Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, BPER Banca, Mediobanca, Banco BPM, Credito Valtellinese, Gruppo Sanpaolo IMI, Cariparma, Banca Popolare di Vicenza, Veneto Banca, Ubi Banca, Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Cassa di Risparmio di Parma e Piacenza, Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia, and Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna. Cross-shareholding and banking syndicates connected to industrial conglomerates like FIAT, Pirelli, Edison, and investor groups such as Vittorio Merloni family holdings played roles in reshaping regional footprints. European players like Santander, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole, and HSBC influenced strategic alliances and capital flows.
Activities expanded from deposit-taking and charitable lending to include retail banking, corporate finance, mortgage lending, asset management, and capital markets operations with counterparties such as Borsa Italiana, London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse, and institutions like European Investment Bank. Product lines interfaced with firms including SACE, SIMEST, Assicurazioni Generali, Allianz, and AXA for insurance-linked products and wealth management offered through subsidiaries patterned after Banco Ambrosiano Veneto and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. Technological integration involved vendors and platforms used by SIA S.p.A., IBM, Accenture, and Microsoft in digital banking transformations.
These entities were central to reform episodes led by policymakers associated with Giorgio Napolitano, Giulio Tremonti, Silvio Berlusconi, Mario Draghi, and institutions like European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. Reforms included privatization, consolidation, and foundation-model separation influenced by the Amato Law and Basilea II and Basilea III capital standards. Restructuring programs involved state interventions via Intervento straordinario, recapitalizations coordinated with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and crisis resolution mechanisms aligning with Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive and Single Resolution Mechanism in the European Union framework.
High-profile distress episodes implicated entities such as Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Popolare di Vicenza, Veneto Banca, Banco Popolare, Banca Carige, Banca Marche, and Banca Etruria, prompting interventions by European Central Bank, Banca d'Italia, Minister of Economy and Finance (Italy), and rescue operations involving Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit. Legal inquiries and asset recoveries engaged prosecutors in Rome, Milan, Florence, Ancona, and Vicenza, and political debates referenced figures like Matteo Renzi, Pier Luigi Bersani, and Angelino Alfano. Restructurings often created or enlarged banking foundations such as Fondazione Cariparma, Fondazione Cariplo, and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo to manage legacy assets and cultural patronage with links to institutions like Opera del Duomo di Firenze and Museo Nazionale del Bargello.
Category:Banking in Italy