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Native name | Credito Italiano S.p.A. |
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| Formerly | Banca di Genova |
| Company type | subsidiary |
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded |
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| Defunct |
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| Successor |
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| Headquarters |
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| Owner | UniCredito Italiano (100%) |
| Parent | UniCredito Italiano |
| Subsidiaries | Adalya Banca Immobiliare |
| Website | www |
Credito Italiano, often referred to by the shorthandCredit, was a significant Italian bank based inMilan. It was established in 1895, succeeding theBanca di Genova established in 1870 inGenoa. In 1998 it merged withUnicredito to form Unicredito Italiano, later known asUniCredit.
Soon afterwards, UniCredit created a new subsidiary of the same name to run the retail network of Credito Italiano. On 1 July 2002, that subsidiary received the assets of sister banks to becomeUniCredit Banca.[1][2]
TheBanca di Genova was founded on 28 April 1870,[3] with an initial capital of 3 millionlire. Its shareholders included local nobility (Pallavicino andBalbi), bankers (Quartara, Polleri) and merchants (Lagorio, Dodero, Bacigalupo). In 1872, it opened the first trans-Atlantic banking business with Buenos Aires.
In 1895, in the aftermath of a major financial crisis in Italy, the Bank of Genoa was reorganized with support from Italian and foreign (French, German and Swiss) financiers, including the banks Manzi & Co. (Rome) and Kuster & Co. (Turin). Under the leadership of Giacomo Castelbolognesi, a partner at theBanca Manzi, it was combined with Milan-basedBanca Vonwiller and renamed as Credito Italiano,[4]: 14 headquartered in Milan with a paid-in capital of 14 million lire.
In 1901, Credit in turn acquired the Banca Manzi, and in 1905 theBanca Meuricoffre in Naples. Its headquarters moved toPiazza Cordusio, and it opened a branch office in London in 1911. By 1913 its equity capital reached 75 million lire, and its savings and demand deposits grew very rapidly. It became a major source of funding for Italian industry in the prosperous years 1896-1913, especially iron and steel, electric power, sugar-beet refining, urban transportation, and chemicals.
At the start of theFirst World War, the executive directors of Credito Italiano and ofBanca Commerciale Italiana, the other dominant Italian universal bank which had also benefited from the support of German financiers, were officially in favour of neutrality.[5] However these banks were the subject of a campaign by both Italian nationalists, spearheaded byL'Idea Nazionale and Liberals grouped aroundFrancesco Saverio Nitti. Both these political initiatives had links with business rivalsGio. Ansaldo & C. andBanca Italiana di Sconto.[5]
FollowingWorld War I, Credito Italiano acquired the "Banca del Monferrato", "Banca di Legnano", "Credito Varesino and the SwissBanca Unione di Credito (1919), and in 1920 it joined the "Compagnia Finanziaria Nazionale" (1920); and established "Banca Italo-cinese", the "Banca Italo Viennese" and "Tiroler Hauptbank" (1920). In 1921 it opened offices in Paris and Berlin and later contributed to the establishments of Banca Italo Egiziana (1924) andNational Bank of Albania (1925).It was highly profitable in the boom years 1922 – 1925, thanks to the success of Italian industry. Decline set in after 1925.
As a result of thegreat depression, it went bankrupt and was nationalized, but became active again with funding fromIstituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (1933–1990s).
Italian government introduced a law that forced bank to separate short term loan and medium loan business in 1936. Credito Italiano, along with two other "bank of national interests", BCI and Banco di Roma, had formedMediobanca in 1946.
From 1973, until it was divested toCredito Emiliano in 1995,[6] Banca Creditwest e dei Comuni Vesuviani (formerly Banca Milanese di Credito) was majority owned by Credito Italiano withNational Westminster Bank as a minority shareholder. It had around 30 branches inRome,Milan andNaples.
In the 1990s the bank became a private company, as Italian government sold the stake of the bank. The bank also acquiredBanca Popolare di Spoleto (about 50%) in 1992 andBanca Cattolica di Molfetta (35%) in 1994.
In 1995 the bank acquired a majority interests inCredito Romagnolo (and its subsidiaryBanca Popolare del Molise) andCarimonte Banca (and its subsidiaryBanca Popolare di Rieti), which was merged intoRolo Banca,[7] except Banca Popolare di Rieti was spin off from Carimonte.
In late 1998 Credito Italiano was merged withUnicredito, which Unicredito was absorbed into Credito Italiano, and Credito Italiano was renamed intoUniCredito Italiano.[8][9] The original shareholders of Unicredito would owned about 38.46% shares of UniCredito Italiano.[10]
In the same yearBanca Popolare di Spoleto (July),Banca Cattolica di Molfetta (October) were sold, as well asBanca Popolare del Molise andBanca Popolare di Rieti were merged intoRolo Banca and UniCredit in June 1998 and 1999. In December 1999, Credito Italiano was reestablished as a subsidiary (instead of a division within the company).[11]
On 1 July 2002, Credito Italiano, as a subsidiary, was renamed toUniCredit Banca, which received the retail bank assets fromRolo Banca,Banca CRT,Cariverona Banca,Cassamarca,Cassa di Risparmio di Trento e Rovereto andCassa di Risparmio di Trieste. On 1 January 2003 UniCredit Private Banking and UniCredit Banca d'Impresa were spin off from UniCredit Banca. In 2010 the bank was completely absorbed into UniCredit.
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