Mediobanca Is An Italian Investment Bank Founded In 1946 At The Initiative Of Raffaele Mattioli (then CEO Of Banca Commerciale Italiana) And Enrico Cuccia To Promote The Post-World War II Reconstruction Of Italian Industry. Cuccia Led Mediobanca From 1946 To 1982. Today, It Is An International Banking Group With Offices In Milan, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Luxembourg, New York And Paris.
As Of Today, Mediobanca Group Is A Diversified Banking Group Consisting Of Four Business Units: Wealth Management, Corporate And Investment Banking, Consumer Finance And Insurance. Launched In 2016, The Wealth Management Segment Has Reshaped The Group's Strategy, Recording Its Highest Growth Rate In The Second Half Of 2023 And Is Expected To Be The Number One Business By Fee Income And The Number Two Business By Revenue By 2026.
The Company Is Listed On The FTSE MIB Index Of The Italian Stock Exchange And Is A Member Of The Standard Ethical Italian Banking Index.
Since The European Banking Regulation Came Into Force At The End Of 2014, Mediobanca Has Been Designated As An Important Institution And Is Therefore Directly Regulated By The European Central Bank.
History
Mediobanca Was Established To Provide Medium-term Financing To Manufacturers And To Establish A Direct Link Between The Banking Sector And The Investment Needs Of The Post-World War II Industrial Restructuring. The Banking Act Of 1936 Made A Clear Distinction Between Short-term And Medium- And Long-term Financing, With The Major Banks Choosing To Specialize In Short-term Loans And Having An Agency Responsible For Financing The Listing Of Companies Wishing To Be Listed On The Stock Market. In Addition To Comprehensive Loans Secured By Certificates Of Deposit And Savings Books, Mediobanca Carried Out The Placing Of Bonds And Shares Issued By Italian Companies. Under The Direction Of Enrico Cuccia, The Professionalism Developed By The Bank Allowed It To Quickly Gain A Leadership Position In The Italian Investment Banking Sector. In The Mid-1950s, Mediobanca Reached Agreements With Important Foreign Partners (Lazard Group, Berliner Handels-Gesellschaft, Lehman Brothers, Sofina) That Enabled The Bank To Function On The International Market And In 1956 It Was Listed On The Stock Exchange.
Since Its Inception, Mediobanca Has Been Operating In The Collateral Sector Of The Credit Market, Such As Trust Administration (in Cooperation With Spafid In 1948), Facilitating International Trade (through Trading Companies Operating Mainly Between Italy And Africa In The Mid-1950s), Consumer Credit (in 1960 Through Compass, A Company Founded Ten Years Earlier, Developing New Initiatives With Industrial Partners), Auditing (in Cooperation With Reconta, The First Italian Auditing Company, In 1961), Leasing Operations (in Cooperation With Selma In 1970). The Placement Of Securities By Italian Companies In The Domestic Market And Abroad Led To The Acquisition Of Small Holding Companies That Grew Over Time, Reinvesting Part Of The Profits. They Became The Main Practical Investment For The Bank To Protect Its Equity. These Packages Were Beneficial In Retaining Major Clients, Most Importantly Assicurazioni Generali, Montedison, SNIA Viscosa, Pirelli And Fiat. In 1963 Mediobanca, Together With Other Banks And Financial Institution Groups, Led The Formation Of The First Shareholders' Consortium To Intervene In The Capital Of Olivetti Corporation With The Aim Of Redefining Its Strategic Purchases, Buying Generali Shares Several Times, Resulting In The Bank Becoming Its Largest Shareholder (currently 13%). A Number Of Equally Important Businesses Were Carried Out With Montedison, Fiat, SNIA Viscosa And Italcementi. These Companies And Others Working With Mediobanca Are Often Referred To As The "Northern Galaxy".
When Mediobanca Was Founded, Shareholders Authorized Enrico Cuccia To Operate At Their Discretion. He Shielded The Bank From The Political Influence That Gradually Influenced The IRI, The Public Entity That Controls The Three Italian National Interest Banks, Which Are Major Shareholders Of Mediobanca. In 1982, During The Presidency Of Romano Prodi, A Period Of Intense Friction Began With The IRI, When The Three Banks Were Instructed To Terminate Mr. Cuccia's Tenure. Cuccia Resigned As General Manager And Was Elected To The Board By Shareholder Lazard, While Mediobanca Continued To Be Managed By His Two Trusted Aides Silvio Salteri As CEO, Vincenzo Maranghi, His Generally Accepted "heirs". In 1988, When Antonio Maccanico Took Over As President, The Conflict Was Resolved And The Bank Was Privatized By Forming A Consortium Of Shareholders, Which Was Represented Equally By The Banking Group (initially The Three Founding Banks) And The Private Group. At That Time, The Position Of CEO Was Held By Vincenzo Maranghi, And Cuccia Accepted His Appointment As Honorary President, Maintaining A Symbolic Presence In The Bank And Consulting Strategically. After Antonio Maccanico Was Appointed To The Government Position, The Presidency Was Held By Francesco Cãngano, Who Was Mattioli's Successor In The Bank Of Italy.
The New Banking Law, Passed In 1993, Abolished The Specialisation Requirement That Allowed Ordinary Banks To Enter The Medium- And Long-term Credit Market, And Created A Series Of Problems Between Mediobanca And Its Banking Partners, Which Were No Longer The Almost Exclusive Channel For Placing Time Deposits And Bonds. Against The Backdrop Of Changing Financial Marekts In The Early 1990s, Mediobanca Eventually Developed An International Presence By Engaging More Decisively In Investment Banking, Diversifying Significantly In Private Banking, And Expanding Its Consumer Credit Sector. In The 1990s, It Was One Of The Main Players In The Privatization Plan Of The Large State-owned Enterprises In Italy (the Largest Businesses Involved Telecom Italia, Enel, Bank Of Rome And The National Bank Of Lavoro), And Also Contributed To Foreign Plans In The UK, France, Germany And Spain.
Its Last, And Perhaps Largest, Coup Was Its Decisive Role In The Acquisition Of Telecom Italia By Olivetti In 1999. The Deal Was Decided By The Slightest Margin, With 51% Of Shareholders Voting In Favour Of The Deal. Under Cuccia, Which Lasted Until His Death In 2000, The Bank Was Widely Described As "secret", Albeit Publicly Traded: Meetings With Analysts Or Interviews With The Media Were Not Granted.
Commercial
Today, Mediobanca's Business Structure Consists Of Four Areas Of Expertise: Wealth Management, Corporate And Investment Banking, Consumer Finance, And Insurance.
Beginning In 2003, Mediobanca Simplified The Structure Of The Group By Exiting Non-strategic Equity Investments Inherited From Historical Management; In 2019, Equity Investment Income Mainly Referred To The Shares Of Assicurazioni Generali.
The Wealth Management Segment (representing 25% Of Group Revenue) Is Broken Down As Follows:
- Wealthy And Premium Clients Are Managed By Mediobanca Premier;
- Private Banking, HNWI And UHNWI Divisions Are Managed By Mediobanca Private Bank, CMB Monaco (the Leader In Monaco);
- The Asset Management Platform Consists Of Subsidiaries Mediobanca SGR, Polus Capital (headquartered In London And New York) And RAM Active Investments (headquartered In Switzerland)
- Trust Services Is Managed By Subsidiary Spafid S.p.A.
Mediobanca Is Actively Involved In Corporate And Investment Banking (22% Of Revenue), Directly Or Through Subsidiaries (notably Messier & Associès In Paris And Arma Partners In London, With Offices In The Principality Of Monaco), Covering The Following Areas: Corporate Financial Services, Especially Mergers And Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Corporate Lending And Transaction Services.
The Consumer Finance Segment (34% Of Revenue) Is Mainly Composed Of The Subsidiary Compass Banca S.p.A.
In Line With The Group's Sustainability Policy, Mediobanca Selected 100% Of New Investments For Asset Management Using ESG And Financial Criteria At The End Of The 2022-23 Fiscal Year, And Obtained 100% Of Energy Purchases From Renewable Resources. Mediobanca Is Also Climate Neutral In 2023, Complying With The UN-sponsored Net Zero Banking Alliance Programme, In Which The Group Participates.
In March 2023, Mediobanca Formed A Joint Venture With London-based Venture Studio And Startup Accelerator And Founders Factory, A Leader In Fintech, With The Aim Of Investing In The Development Of 17 Innovative Companies In The Financial Services Sector.
Today's Mediobanca
2000 In 2003, The Death Of Enrico Cuccia Heightened Tensions With The Bank's Shareholders. In 2008, Vincenzo Maranghi Agreed To Resign, As Long As The Bank's Independence Was Maintained. This Was Achieved By Promoting Two Of His Assistants, Alberto Nagel And Renato Pagliaro, To Senior Management Positions. They Developed Market Operations More Deeply (IPOs, Mergers And Acquisitions, Trading In Financial Instruments), Reducing The Weight Of Historical Holdings (some Of Which, Like Fiat, Were Sold). They Have Also Achieved Penetration Into Major Foreign Markets, And The Bank's Business Is Established Through A Team Of Local Professionals. With Che Banca!, The Scope Of Retail Banking Expanded, Creating A Model Of Multi-channel Distribution (Internet, Call Centers, Branches) Capable Of Providing A Large Flow Of Deposits.
Although In The Years Following Marange's Resignation, An External President Was Appointed (Gabriel Galatari And Cesare Geronzi), The Subsequent Events Re-established All The Conditions Guaranteeing The Independence Of The Institution, Whose Leadership Today Consists Of Alberto Nagel As CEO And Renato Paliaro As President.
Banca Esperia Was Energized In 2001 By A Partnership Between Mediobanca And Banca Mediolanum. Launched Within Mediobanca, The Project Was Designed From The Intuition Of Alberto Nagel To Support The Institution's Entrepreneurial Clients In Managing The Liquidity Generated By The Extraordinary Business Carried Out By The Institution's Corporate And Investment Banking Divisions.
Banca Esperia Laid The Foundation For The Launch Of Mediobanca Private Bank. In May 2017, Following The Acquisition Of A 20% Stake Owned By Banca Mediolanum And The Subsequent Merger Of Banca Esperia Into Mediobanca, The Division Served Mediobanca's Large Family Of Italian Entrepreneurs.
The Ambition Of This Division Is Exactly What Nagel Envisioned In The Late 1990s: To Become The First Private And Investment Bank In Italy, A Model That Is Now Also Highly Regarded By The Financial Community.
With CheBanca! In 2008, The Digitally Native Bank Mediobanca Expanded Its Financing Model By Acquiring A Large Flow Of Deposits. Over The Next 15 Years, CheBanca! Created And Utilized A Model Of Multi-channel Distribution (Internet, Call Centers, Branches) To Provide Wealth Management Services To Italian Families.
Starting With A Strategic Plan For 2016-19, Mediobanca Outlined A New Growth Path For CheBanca!, With An Increasing Focus On Managing Savings And Investments In Italy. This Positioning Has Played An Increasingly Important Role In The Subsequent Strategic Plans, Especially In The 2023-26 Strategic Plan "One Brand, One Culture", Where The Growth Of The Wealth Management Division Has Been Defined As A Priority Objective For The Group.
In Line With The Strategic Guidelines, In July 2024 Mediobanca Launched Mediobanca Premier, A Bank Under The Group Specialising In Wealth Management And Investment For Italian Families, Which Combines And Enhances Two Of The Group's Fundamental Assets: On The One Hand, Mediobanca's Expertise Acquired With Businesses Over 26 Years Of Market Activity, And On The Other Hand, The Legacy Of CheBanca!
