Banca Fideuram S.p.A. is part of Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo and it is specialised in the production, management and distribution of financial products and services. Banca Fideuram believed in and focused on financial consulting since its establishment more than forty years ago, at a time when only current accounts, deposits and Treasury bills were the options available on the market. Therefore, it presented itself as a provider of personalised assistance and innovative solutions in the field of assets and savings management.
Through its 4,850 private bankers (of which 3,345 belonging to the Fideuram network, and 1,505 to the Sanpaolo Invest network), the bank offers financial consulting, as well as insurance and pension solutions. A personalised offer, the attention to details, a leadership attitude and the fact of belonging to a prestigious banking group have made Fideuram one of the main protagonists in the private banking sector in Italy.

The most important steps in Fideuram’s history:

1968: IMI created a new subsidiary, Fideuram, to market Luxembourg-based mutual fund products.
1984: Fideuram launched the first Italy-based mutual fund.
1996: Fideuram was listed on the Italian Stock Exchage's MIB 30 index.
1997: Fideuram diversified into private banking operations.
2002: Banca Sanpaolo Invest was acquired from parent San Paolo IMI.
2004: Banca Fideuram widened its offer with multibrand products of the best International investment providers.
2006: Banca Fideuram launched the private equity investment to retail costumers.
2007: Banca Fideuram implemented the MiFID, the regulation that officially recognized the role of the financial consultant, thus establishing Fideuram’s consulting model.
2009: SEI, a new approach to the planning of clients’ needs, was established.

Banca Fideuram developed as an offshoot of Italy’s Instituto Mobiliare Italiano, or IMI, created in 1931. IMI had developed a strong business in investment banking, asset management, and other private banking services. The decision of the International Overseas Services in the late 1960s to withdraw from the operation of mutual fund investments opened a new opportunity for IMI. In 1968, it created a new subsidiary, Fideuram, which began offering the Luxembourg-based Fonditalia and Interfund mutual fund products to the Italian market. The new company was backed by a team of more than 300 private bankers, who began promoting its products throughout the country. Into the next decade, Fideuram remained limited to promoting foreign fund investments, but in 1984, Fideuram began marketing Italy’s first domestic funds, Imirend and Imicapital, backed by parent IMI.
Fideuram represented just one part of IMI’s mutual funds and assets management operations. Another important part of IMI’s assets management business was Banca Manusardi, which functioned as IMI’s inhouse bank, providing back-office processing for its mutual funds business. In 1992, in the merger between Banca Manusardi and Fideuram established a new company named Banca Fideuram, with its shares listed on the Borsa Italiana, Italian Stock Exchange.
Banca Fideuram started out as a giant in Italy’s investment banking sector, with 22 Fideuram bank branches and a nationally operating army of more than 2,200 sales agents working from 220 sales offices. The new Banca Fideuram also included insurance products, notably through the subsidiaries Fideuram Vita and Fideuram Assicurazioni. Mutual funds remained the company’s primary focus, however, and, with control of such mutual fund products as Fideuram Gestioni and part-ownership of Imigest, another top Italian mutual fund, Fideuram was the clear market leader. By the early 1990s, Banca Fideuram controlled more than 21 percent of the total mutual fund market.
Fideuram grew strongly into the middle of the 1990s. By 1996, the company was valued among the top Italian public companies, and its listing was added to the prestigious MIB 30 index. By then, Fideuram had begun to diversify its product offering. Among the company's new products was a new "Umbrella Fund" launched in 1995 and modelled after the British-styled multilevel funds. In 1997, the company branched out into personalized financial planning and other private banking services through a partnership with the United States' Frank Russell group.
The late 1990s and early 2000s marked a new phase in Fideuram’s growth as the company turned toward developing an international base of operations. In 1998, the bank established its first foreign subsidiary in Luxembourg. This was followed in 2001 by the creation of a Swiss subsidiary, in the town of Lugano. By then, Fideuram had moved into the French market as well, when it acquired Groupe Wargny in 2000. In 2001, Fideuram consolidated its French presence, regrouping its operations in that country under a new subsidiary, Banque Privée Fideuram Wargny. The growth of Fideuram’s international operations -which, by 2003, represented 15 percent of the bank’s total net revenues -enabled Fideuram to sharpen its focus around a core of assets management and private banking services. In 2002, the group’s operations were boosted through an agreement to acquire San Paolo IMI’s own financial services and investment consulting arm, Banca Sanpaolo Invest. The addition of the new operation, with its own strong brand and more than 1,500 financial consultants, boosted the total assets under Fideuram’s control, placing Fideuram among the top assets management groups not only in Italy but throughout Europe.
With its newly fortified focus as a provider of financial services, assets management, and private banking, Fideuram moved to simplify its own structure at the beginning of 2004. In February of that year, Fideuram and Sanpaolo IMI (now Intesa Sanpaolo) announced their intention to de-merge Fideuram Vita from Fideuram, transferring ownership of the insurance operation to San Paolo IMI. In 2005, the equity of Sanpaolo IMI in Banca Fideuram was given to the newly established Eurizon Financial Group S.p.A., directly controlled by Sanpaolo IMI. In 2006, Fideuram launched an investment in Private Equity to Retail costumers, and the following year the MiFID regulation officially recognized the role of private bankers and Fideuram’s consulting model. In 2006, Key TV, the business TV of Gruppo Banca Fideuram was set up. In 2007, following the public takeover bid by Eurizon Financial Group, Banca Fideuram’s shares were delisted from the Telematic Stock Exchange and it became completely controlled by Intesa Sanpaolo as a consequence of Gruppo Eurizon’s reorganisation. Therefore, all the activities and functions previously ceded to Eurizon were reintegrated into Banca Fideuram. In 2008, the 40th anniversary was celebrated. In the same year, Fideuram Wargny Gestion SAM in Monaco was transformed into a bank (Fideuram Bank Monaco SAM), whereas Banque Privée Fideuram (today Fideuram France S.A.) gave back its banking license. In 2009, the Group started the advanced consulting service SEI, a new approach to the planning of clients’ needs, and the first two Private Centres in Turin and Milan were opened. The Private Banker network of Banca CR Firenze was integrated into Sanpaolo Invest SIM, and the merger by takeover of Fideuram France S.A. into Financière Fideuram S.A. was completed. Lastly, the arm of Banca Fideuram dedicated to security custodian was transferred to Intesa Sanpaolo Servizi Transazionali S.p.A.. In 2010, in the frame of a reorganisation of the insurance and pension sector, Fideuram Vita was established: Banca Fideuram held 19.99% of the new insurance company, whereas Intesa Sanpaolo held the remaining 80.01%. In the same year, the liquidation of Fideuram Bank Monaco SAM was completed, while Banca Fideuram and Sara Assicurazioni signed a deal for the acquisition by Banca Fideuram of Banca Sara S.p.A.’s entire share capital. In 2011, Banca Fideuram took over Banca Sara S.p.A. and the process of integration was completed by means of a total division of the latter. With regard to foreign activities, Banca Fideuram and Fideuram Bank Luxembourg signed a contract of assignment with Banca Credinvest S.A., thus disposing of Fideuram Bank Suisse A.G.. In October, the private banking activity of Fideuram Bank Luxembourg was assigned to Société Européenne de Banque, a company belonging to Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo. In the area of research and development, Banca Fideuram started the project Fideuram Mobile Solution, which, thanks to the latest technologies, allows to dedicate more time to the relation with the client, thus simplifying private bankers’ operations. In 2011, the bank kept implementing the “Patti Chiari” regulation promoted by ABI (Association of Italian Banks) in order to improve the relations between banks and clients, and it gave new impulse to above-the-line and below-the-line marketing through advertising, flyers, events and so on.
In 2011, Banca Fideuram devolved €250,000 to charity, in support of aid agencies, as well as of scientific research and cultural organisations. The bank is also engaged in fostering green behaviour at work.
Banca Fideuram’s head office is in Rome, while a secondary one is in Milan. The bank and its private bankers are present in the main Italian cities with 190 offices and over 100 branches. Abroad, it is present in Ireland, France and Luxembourg.
At 31/12/2011, the number of clients of Fideuram and Sanpaolo Invest networks was equal to 624,000.
In 2011, the assets under management were 70,949 million euros, the net collection 1,717 million euros, the net profit 175.1 million euros, and the consolidated net worth 549,2 million euros.
The Administrative Board is composed of Enrico Salza (President), Angelo Caloia (Vice President) and Matteo Colafrancesco (Managing Director).

Link: (in Italian only) www.bancafideuram.it

Intesa San Paolo Group http://www.group.intesasanpaolo.com/scriptIsir0/si09/eng_index.jsp