News of the GroupApril 2010 - n° 5

Marco Morelli is the Deputy General Managerand Head of the Banca dei Territori Division. Gaetano Miccichèis Head of the Corporate and Investment Banking Divisionn February 9th, upon the proposal of the Mana-ging Director and CEO, Corrado Passera, andwith the favourable opinion of the SupervisoryBoard - chaired by Giovanni Bazoli - Intesa

Sanpaolo’s Management Board - chaired by Enrico Sal-

za - decided to appoint Marco Morelli Deputy General Ma-nager and Head of the Banca dei Territori Division,and Gaetano Miccichè as General Manager and Head ofthe Corporate and Investment Banking Division.The powers entrusted to the Managing Director and

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Intesa Sanpaolo'stwo new General Managers

Intesa Sanpaolo's twonew General Managers

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London: a Hub branchfor 17 countries

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The Group’scommunication campaign

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Trade in southernMediterranean countries

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In Malawi a projectthat makes a difference

4The International BusinessDevelopment Deskis improved in Romania

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“This is how we managerisk in Albania”

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CEO have remained unchanged.The CEO and Managing Director, the Management Board, andthe Supervisory Board showed to Francesco Micheli their“unanimous appreciation and gratitude for the crucial workcarried out over the past few years, given the complete per-formance of all of the tasks entrusted to him, from the in-tegration of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group following the mer-ger to the reorganisation of the Banca dei Territori Division,and the implementation of growth drivers”.

Marco MorelliMarco Morelli was born in Rome on 8th December 1961. Heis married and has four children. He graduated from theLuiss University of Rome in 1984 with a degree in Econo-mics and Business with honours and obtained a specializa-tion degree in Finance from the London Business School.In the meantime, he joined KPMG Italia and was later em-ployed by the Corporate Finance Group of Banque Bruxel-les Lambert in Brussels.From 1989-1994, he worked first for the Corporate Finan-ce Group of Samuel Montague & Co and later for UBS.In 1994, he returned to Italy with JP Morgan Chase and wasappointed General Manager and Country Manager for Italy,joining JP Morgan Europe’s Executive Committee.In 2002, he was appointed Managing Director of PM & Par-tners, a strategic and financial consultancy company.In 2003, he joined the Monte dei Paschi Group. Since2004, he has been the CEO of MPS Capital Services-Bancadelle Imprese, which has progressively incorporated diffe-rent product companies belonging to the Group. In 2006, he was appointed Deputy General Manager of Ban-ca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, in charge of CorporateBanking & Capital Markets Division, which was responsiblefor large corporate clients, SMEs, local institutions, smallbusinesses and international activities. During that same year, shareholding banks also appointedhim Chairman of Hopa SpA, an office he retained until 2007.

Since 2008, as Deputy General Manager of Banca Montedei Paschi di Siena, he has also been the Group’s Chief Fi-nancial Officer. Moreover, some operational divisions ofthe Group reported to him: operational management andbusiness planning for network distribution clients; riskmanagement; strategies & development; investor rela-tions; market dealings; treasury & capital management;budget & administration, and extraordinary operations. Atthe same time, he also serves as Chairman of the Grou-p’s credit committee and risk committee and is a mem-ber of the product committee and investment committeeof the MPS Group.

Gaetano MiccichèGaetano Miccichè was born in Palermo on 12th October 1950.He graduated in Law and obtained his MBA degree with ho-nours in Business Administration from SDA Bocconi.In 1971 he joined Cassa Centrale Risparmio Provincie Sici-liane, where he remained until 1989 and was appointed He-ad of Corporate Clients.In 1989, he became the CFO of Rodriquez Spa, a global lea-der company in the yachting sector. From 1992-1995, he was the General Manager - and laterLiquidating Administrator - of Gerolimich-Unione Mani-fatture, a holding company with stakes in various industrialsectors.During the 1996-97 two-year period, he was appointed Ge-neral Manager of Santavaleria Spa, a holding companywith stakes in the chemical and glass sectors.Afterwards, he worked for Olcese SpA, where he served asManaging Director and General Manager.In 2002, he joined Banca Intesa SpA as Head of the Lar-ge Corporate and Structured Finance Division. In January2005, he was appointed Head of the Corporate Division.After the merger, in 2007 he was appointed Head of the In-tesa Sanpaolo's Corporate and Investment Banking and asCEO of Banca IMI SpA.

its clients more effectively. He stated: "First of all, in Roma-nia, we approach clients we know at a Group level and with apositive opinion in terms of credit. Secondly, we approachclients that already know us. It must be noted that IntesaSanpaolo is a relatively young brand in Romania, but it hasachieved fairly good level of recognition. In terms of interna-tional operations, size and reliability, our target for clientscurrently focuses on the large corporate sector. This means bigItalian groups, as well as the multinationals we work with inFrance, Germany, the United States, and in all the countrieswhere the Group operates. Our objective is to provide supportto branches, working on information provided by our Italianand Rumanian network, while also being proactive and ap-proaching potential clients directly." International Business Development Desk contact informa-tion: Ionela Marin in Bucharest (ionela.marin@intesasanpao-lo.ro); Piero Antonini in Timisoara (piero.antonini@intesa-sanpaolo.ro).

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The Group’scommunicationcampaignIntesa Sanpaolo’s institutional campaign was launched at the endof February on leading Italian and financial newspapers, on televi-sion, and in top cinema circuits.The press campaign was designed to promote all of the bank’s acti-vities with positive impact on Italian society by showing illustrati-ve situations that involve families, businesses, the public sector,the service sector, and research. To achieve this objective, thecreators have employed real figures from the activities carried outin order to highlight and describe the bank’s operations. They havealso emphasized the bank support for both the country and its bu-sinesses with highly striking photographs. The press campaignshowcases nine different concepts, each representing a specificfeature: close contact with customers, care for business needs, on-going commitment to NGOs, and presence abroad. Conversely, the TV campaign focuses on dreams, with three adver-tisements by three Italian directors: Francesca Archibugi, SilvioSoldini, and Paolo Virzì.

Three styles, three personalities, and three approaches are used totell the stories of Claudio, Luca, Giulia, and Sara, each of whom hashad to fight for their dream, be it a research project, a company, ora day-care centre.Long advertising films in 60 and 90 second formats have beenused and the stories are all portrayed in a similar manner: intro-duction of the protagonists, explanation of their dreams, and de-scription of the courage showed in tackling obstacles as well as inhurtling headlong into an adventure with an uncertain outcome.However, as the advertisement states, “the important thing is thatthere are many people just like them, with stories such as these.”Because Intesa Sanpaolo wants to stand alongside people likethem, who are able to fight for their dreams.

The InternationalBusinessDevelopment Deskis improved in Romania

At Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Ro-mania, support for internatio-nal clients is on the rise, par-ticularly in relation with theItalian ones. These latter areoften proposed by colleaguesfrom the domestic network,taking advantage of the po-tentiality which derive frombelonging to this big bankingGroup. Intesa Sanpaolo BankRomania was established in1996 and became part of theGroup in 2001. Its client por-

tfolio is centred on companies (small businesses and SMEs) andis currently expanding to include retail clients. Marco Sisti is the Head of the International Business Develop-ment Desk, which was recently enhanced to meet the needs of

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Project Malawi is a humanitarian commitment undertakenby Intesa Sanpaolo and Fondazione Cariplo in the heartof Africa that continues to improve living conditionsof the local population. The figures confirm it.

In Malawi a project that makes a difference

Six years have passed since our first trip to Malawi and fi-ve years since the official launch of Project Malawi. The aimof the project is to contribute to preventing the spread ofAIDS as well as to reduce the impact that the disease hason this tiny and extremely poor sub-Saharan country. In2005, the project was launched in the pilot district of Blan-tyre, one of the most densely populated areas of the coun-try and one of the hardest hit by the HIV virus. Thanks tothe programme, in 2006, the district could already take ad-vantage of a molecular biology laboratory and of a cliniccentre for HIV/AIDS treatment. These structures were of-fered alongside initiatives to stop the virus from spreading,which were carried out by the Scout Association and asso-

ciations providing assistance for orphans. Comunità di Sant’Egidio’s DREAM strategy with the aim oferadicating the disease has been the cornerstone of the pro-gramme from its inception. It is centred on a system of in-tegrated activities carried out by Save the Children, TheScout Association of Malawi and Comitato Internazionaleper lo Sviluppo dei Popoli (CISP - International Committeefor the Development of Peoples ).The collaboration and experience of our partner associa-tions, the direct participation of the local population,and the involvement and suggestions we have received fromthe government of Malawi were all essential to preparingour model of intervention. The model has proved to be ve-

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ry effective and has had a noticeable impact on the terri-tory, so much so that the project has been repeated - in allof its parts - for the benefit of new districts and a largersegment of the population. Project Malawi has been operative in the districts of Lilon-gwe and Balaka for a little over a year. Some of our mostsuccessful initiatives - improved by what has become a con-solidated experience - have been repeated in the area. Inthese cases, the local citizens are not just simple benefi-ciaries, but are asked to become directly involved in a ca-pillary manner.

Key wordsThe key words leading our work in Malawi are: healthplanning, safeguarding childhood, eliminating false beliefs,constructing the future, and supporting nutrition. They areassociated with precise objectives, which have been iden-tified, renewed, and planned until 2011. Each partnercontributes to these within the scope of their own skills,in synergy with the others. Health planning means increasing the number of people whoreceive treatment for HIV/AIDS, bolstering drug distribu-tion centres, providing them with new equipment, and in-creasing their scope of action. Above all, it means invol-ving 24,000 HIV positive, pregnant women in theprogramme to prevent them from transmitting the virus totheir children.Safeguarding childhood means reaching new villages, rai-sing awareness, and training the greatest possible numberof parents and operators so that they can implement ini-tiatives to provide psycho-social support for orphans andvulnerable children. The aim of the project is to increase

the number of orphans that receive support and to ensu-re home care for HIV positive children undergoing treatmentin clinical centres. Care for the weakest segments of society, children, and ado-lescents cannot be separated from the efficient diffusion ofthe correct behaviour that must be adopted in terms of pre-vention. Here lies our third objective: to eliminate the fal-se beliefs that still bring about death in Malawi. These be-liefs justify the abuse of minors in order to cure a personfrom AIDS and convey the idea that condoms transmit thevirus. In the coming years, at least another 2,000 groups ofScouts will be trained to provide sex education and infor-mation on risky behaviours to more than 21,000 adolescents.Building a future means providing assistance to no less than600 small entrepreneurs and 1,500 families at risk - so thatthey can launch economic activities - as well as supportinganother 1,400 families - so that they can establish infor-mal, saving and credit circles - giving rise to a highly im-portant synergy in the battle against AIDS.

Agriculture and nutritionAs of a year ago, the Department for Nutrition, HIV andAIDS of the Government of Malawi has become one of theproject’s partners with initiatives in support of nutrition.Upon the specific request of local government authorities,which are facing some of the most serious emergencies inthe country - at constant risk of famine due to an alterna-tion of droughts and floods - the scope of the programmehas been extended to include two food-related issues.The first is the nutritional support for patients under-going treatment at DREAM centres, while the second is the

Once again, our colleagues at Intesa Sanpaolo renewed theirChristmas commitment to the population of Malawi with a funddrive on December 21th to January 21th 2009 and collected al-most € 160 thousand, donated by more than 7 thousand people. After the three previous stages – Diamo un futuro al Malawi(Let's Give Malawi a Future) in 2005, L’unione fa la forza (Uni-ted We Stand) in 2007, and Insieme, l’impegno continua (Toge-ther, Ongoing Commitment) in 2008 – our highly successfuljourney continues.The funds will be used to build and open a new, integrated ma-ternity-infant ward at the Comfort Clinic of Balaka, ensure pae-diatric and neonatology assistance for healthcare emergencies,train local medical staff, provide nutritional support in clinicalcentres, and teach successful crop growing techniques.As Corrado Passera stated “The country is facing great difficulties.After these years of our joint commitment, it can certainly lookforward to a better future, when compared to a few years ago."For the latest information on what has been done and what willbe done in the country, please go to the new www.projectmala-wi.it website or send an email to progettomalawi@intesasan-paolo.com

Our colleagues’commitment continues

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spread of accurate nutritional information among the localpopulation. The programme favours the training of expertstaff in order to increase familiarity with alternative cropsin the villages involved in the project and it also launchesefficient systems to monitor and coordinate interventionswithin this sphere.These are the objectives that are being pursued. However,the project goes beyond this.

Neonatology and paediatricsThanks to the donations and support of so many colleaguesfrom the Group and with the collaboration of Società Ita-liana di Pediatria (SIP - Italian Society of Paediatrics) andSocietà Italiana di Neonatologia (SIN - Italian Society ofNeonatology), a maternity ward was built at the ComfortClinic of Balaka. It has been operative since 2007. Today, Project Malawi is about to broaden its involvementin the healthcare system of the District of Balaka. It willfund the construction and launch of a Maternity and ChildHospital with the intention of noticeably improving the qua-lity of mother-infant care. The new paediatric ward will ha-ve 16 beds, with the relative services (triage room, docto-r’s office, etc.), and will be located within the ComfortClinic compound. It will work as a unit with the materni-ty ward, creating an Integrated Maternity-Paediatric Depar-tment, which is managed by local staff and is part of thecountry’s healthcare programme. The new unit will have the support of the DREAM Centre ofBalaka and will be equipped with an analysis laboratory withcutting edge technology so that it can provide excellent ca-re for pregnant women and children suffering from AIDS.The agreement entered into with the Italian Society of Pae-diatrics (SIP) and the Italian Society of Neonatology (SIN)will ensure the voluntary presence of senior paediatri-cians and neonatologists, who will provide training and ca-re. In addition, professors of paediatrics will also be pre-sent - in a purely teaching capacity - and will organiseintensive courses for local doctors and clinical officers. Thetraining programme was inaugurated last autumn with re-fresher courses on cardiac diseases among children forin-house staff as well as for doctors from the District Ho-spital of Balaka. Moreover, obstetrics courses were also of-fered at Balaka’s Comfort Clinic. The cycle of lessons enti-tled “Refresher courses on how to treat illnesses of thecardiac valve in children” was given particular relevance.It was held by one of the volunteer doctors - Paolo Arci-prete - a paediatric heart surgeon from Monaldi Hospital ofSeconda Università degli Studi of Naples, and was attendedby students from the Department of Paediatrics of theQueen Elisabeth General Hospital of Blantyre (Medical Col-lege/ Uni Malawi).

The figures speak for themselves The figures confirm the extremely positive impact that Pro-ject Malawi has had on the situation in the country. Since its launch, 15,582 patients were treated at DREAMclinical centres, with 166,709 visits being provided. As of today, 1,599 healthy children were born of HIV po-

sitive mothers and 3,270 children below 15 years of age ha-ve received care. 1,280 entrepreneurs obtained training and credit assi-stance. Moreover, 64 income-generating businesses have be-en established to the benefit of 2,562 families struck by thevirus. As of today, 51,000 people have joined local Scout program-mes to raise awareness and provide training. Their numbershave increased tenfold since 2005. Additionally, 181schools have been involved. 3,735 operators were trained to provide paediatric care and1,222 orphans received assistance in the 14 centres thathave been built.Currently, 18 voluntary neonatologists and paediatricianswork alongside local clinical officers. They provide trainingsupport and help face paediatric and neonatal emergenciesat the maternity ward of Balaka, the nearby district hospi-tal, the DREAM centre of Blantyre, and the PolyfunctionalCentre in Kapeni.The figures are eloquent. They prove that Project Malawi isvery important to both the children and adults of Malawi,who are trying to build their futures. And it will continueto be important.

Last year on December 4th, Teatro alla Scala of Milan dedicated apreview of the inaugural evening of the 2009-2010 opera seasonto youths and held a performance of Bizet’s “Carmen", conductedby Daniel Baremboim and directed by Emma Dante. This is how“LaScalaUnder30” was born. The programme was conceived to al-low youths under 30 to draw closer to musical culture by meansof an extensive series of facilitations. Teatro alla Scala has renewed its support for Project Malawi andwill devolve part of its income from “LaScalaUnder30” to the pro-gramme. It is important to notice that the most important lyrical theatrein the world has recognised the value of a social project for ayoung population in Africa, when it is promoting cultural growthamong new generations, both in Italy and in Europe. When refer-ring to this collaboration, Corrado Passera noted, “All youths de-serve a great amount of attention, even though their needs andpriorities are different in various parts of the world. In manycountries, young people must be helped to grow and build a futu-re for themselves, free from illness and poverty. In our world, theymust also be helped to preserve their artistic sensitivity - in all ofits forms - as well as their sensitivity to others. Bringing togetherTeatro alla Scala and Project Malawi's activities means recognisingthese needs and raising awareness among more fortunate youths,so that they are conscious of the situations that less fortunateyouths face. Awareness is the cornerstone for a better world, whe-re equality, sharing, trust, and knowledge prevail.”Project Malawi wanted a group of young people who are thorou-ghly familiar with the project to be part of the audience. As such, itawarded 30 free tickets to youths who provided the correct answersto a number of questions published on www.projectmalawi.it.

“LaScalaUnder30”with Project Malawi

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An interview with Piergiuseppe Vigani, Head of RiskManagement at Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania

“This is how we manage riskin Albania”

We continue our journey ofdiscovery of the Group’s In-ternational Subsidiary Banksthrough the tale of the pro-fessional challenges facedby Italians abroad. In thisnumber, Mosaico meetsPiergiuseppe Vigani, Headof the Risk Management De-partment at Intesa Sanpao-lo Bank Albania.

After a career spent almostentirely in Italy as Head ofthe Regional Area of Sicily,Piedmont, and Lombardyyou decided to go and workabroad. How come?In Italy, I was given the op-portunity to reinforce my pro-fessional skills. After the In-tesa and Sanpaolo IMI mer-ger, I was offered a positionabroad. It was a sign of trustfrom the bank, an investmentin my professionalism, in spi-te of the fact that I was nolonger so young on paper.

How did Albania strike you?Albania is the ideal place for a new professional and per-sonal adventure. I found a young, dynamic environment andcolleagues who want to learn from each other. The dialo-gue and the way ideas are exchanged within a group ofopen–minded individuals with an excellent level of profes-sionalism was an immediate stimulus that spurred me to ke-ep up with the times. Moreover, I was given the chance toshare my experience, which was gratifying.Over the past few months, we have rewritten the vast ma-jority of the rules, procedures, and activities - which, at ti-mes, were little more than drafts - in order to bring theminto line with the Group’s standards. This has not alwaysbeen easy because, in addition to the obstacles intrinsic tochanges, we must have the humility to realize that, as Ita-lians, we are guests in a country with a different culture andapproach, which must be respected as well as understood. Moreover, the entire banking system is little more than a

decade old. In some respects, being in Albania is truly li-ke being on the frontier. The country is evolving rapidly andmoving swiftly to meet European standards. Furthermore,it has very short-term objectives for joining the EU.

Tell us about your experience in Tirana.From a personal point of view, apart from work, I have ve-ry little free time. The week just flies by - and not just ontrips to and from Italy. On average, I work twelve hours aday. In addition to this, I am entrusted with relations andrepresentation tasks. My family supports me in this perso-nal and professional challenge. Of course, I miss my wifeand children. Luckily, we have skype programme so that wecan see each other and keep abreast of the latest develop-ments in our daily lives.Sometimes, Albania reminds me of Italy in my youth. He-re, I see the very hands-on approach in daily life that I ex-perienced in the past. The country is full of contradictions:Roma children approach you and poignantly beg for a fewcoins while being surrounded by great richness and avera-ge wages standing at around € 300 a month. Albania is agrowing country that is constructing roads, buildings, andshopping centres at a breakneck pace. One fourth of the Albanian population lives in Italy. Indu-bitably, we are the country of reference for them. In Alba-nia, a lot of Italians work for companies, national and in-ternational institutions, and NGOs. The Italian communityis socially well integrated.

Let us talk about risk management.Our work is not easy, since the tools we use to assess risk- such as public information, as well as sector and marketvaluations - are limited and not particularly comprehensive.This is why it is important to train individuals and to ha-ve an efficient organisation. Recently, my division under-went an internal reorganisation and the Retail and Corpo-rate Credit Analysis Departments became a single unit. Anumber of resources with the skills required to take part inthe credit grant decision process were identified, based onnew powers and on recently reviewed mandates. The Mar-ket and Operational Risk Department was strengthenedand entrusted with monitoring and developing regulationsand controls. The Policy and Methodology Department wasdeeply transformed. In just a few months, it has gone frombeing a mere unit of calculation into becoming a veritableoffice devoted to the creation of new procedures and realdata analysis, which are essential to obtain insight into cre-

“Relations withemigrants are a greatopportunity for the bank.More than 400 thousandAlbanians live in Italyand keep regular contactwith their familiesin their home country”

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In June 2007, Intesa Sanpaolo funded the purchase of 80% ofthe American Bank of Albania (ABA), which was established inTirana in 1998. In January of 2008, the bank merged with Ban-ca Italo Albanese (BIA) to become the second largest bank inthe country in terms of total assets.

Ranking: 2Total assets: € 830 millionNumber of branches: 35

Figures updated as at 30 September 2009

dit risk with respect to the local market, as well as withinthe scope of the other countries in the area. All of the units involved contributed to re-writing the vastmajority of the credit procedures used for the commercialsectors. Moreover, the Credit Committee -which was previou-sly considered to be an administrative stopgap and wasused to distribute files and decisions that had already be-en made - has become a crucial moment in the life of thecompany. In the Committee, we not only debate proposals,but - above all – we discuss logics and strategies with ourcredit and commercial colleagues. They are invited to ta-ke part in the Committee from time to time, when intere-sted in the clients or subjects under discussion.

Was the international downturn felt in Albania?The economic slump is manifest in Albania as well, where– sometimes ambitiously - risks are taken, in particular inthe building sector. Many entrepreneurs in this sector ha-ve previously worked in other markets. Frequently, they areformer restaurateurs, car salesmen, or shopkeepers. This ma-kes us assess the risk of new investments very carefully, al-beit within the scope of the logic of a bank that supportsdevelopment in the country. Professional growth among col-leagues, daily debates, and open discussions on our clientsare essential to our business. Relations with emigrants are a great opportunity for thebank. More than 400 thousand Albanians live in Italy andkeep regular contact with their families in their homecountry. In future, Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania must in-vest in this.

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The Head of the Hub, Stefano Burani, explainsthe role of this international hub within the framework

of the new Corporate Foreign Network

London: a Hub branch for 17 countries

Hub branch: what has changed for your branch?Our organisation and our foreign business plans have changedmarkedly, more than what can be perceived from the internal regu-lations. International business is becoming increasingly importantwithin the new framework of the Corporate Foreign Network. Theestablishment of a Hub branch has improved organisation and ra-tionalised costs. Business support structures have been concentra-ted in these branches in order to take advantage of existing exper-tise. Moreover, this new organisation has shifted the focus ontocommercial coordination and the need to spread information flowsin an appropriate manner, by promoting collaboration and coope-ration among all structures. The main role of the Head of the Hub isnot to explain to colleagues from other branches – who are all se-nior and very skilled – what they need to do and what business op-portunities they need to gain with clients they know very well.Being in charge of the Hub means keeping everyone on the samewavelength in terms of both objectives and results to be achieved.Furthermore, it means increasing cooperation, sharing successesand failures, information and ideas in order to maximise cross-sel-ling among the bank’s products, while tenaciously and professio-

nally pursuing every opportunity and leaving nothing to chance.Innovative ideas are even more winning if all the Hub communitycan share them and offer its contribution.

What does the coordination of offices and branches in such diverse,distant, countries mean?At an organisational level, it means physically moving around afairly large area, with many different situations in terms of opera-tions as well as time zones. Experience has taught us that the bestway to come to grips with any situation is to do so personally, evenif our schedules and budgets do not permit this at times. I try tobridge geographic distances with telephone calls, emails, confe-rences, and periodic video-calls as far as possible.

What agency and branch activities does the Hub coordinate?Most of the branches perform fairly traditional commercial activi-ties: medium-term and syndicated loans/syndication where theyact as underwriters/arrangers/agents, treasury services, issue of fi-nancial guarantees and commercial bonds, etc. In some markets,such as London or Frankfurt, there is more work with multinatio-

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nals. In other places, such asMunich, our work is primarilybased on the Italian-relatedmid corporate sector. In somebranches, we have specialistcentres for financial institu-tions, trade finance activities,and structured export finance.For example, in Warsaw, our bu-siness is strictly corporate. Youcould call it a loan productionoffice. Generally speaking, re-presentative offices play an es-sential role in providing a con-nection with local financial in-stitutions, in particular for tra-de finance activities. Moreover,they are a point of reference forthe Group’s clients in the coun-try where they operate.

What are the main economicfeatures of the differentreference markets? We say that variety is the spice

of life. Indubitably, the Hub is no exception to this. Just think ofhow different business is in Frankfurt or London, compared to allof our other offices in the Mediterranean region. In the EMEA (Eu-rope, Middle-East & Africa) area, it is difficult to compare markets -and therefore product ranges - between branches and representati-ve offices. The bank can meet all the business and financial serviceneeds typically seen in mature markets, as well as provide assistan-ce to businesses in emerging markets. In the latter case, we have apolicy of long-term loans, so that we can bring Italian businesscloser to the markets of the future (Eastern Europe, North Africa,and the Middle East), where we have a specific interest, as well asto virtuous businesses in emerging markets. Becoming part of allof these reference markets is not easy, since we must prove to befunctional to the development of the economy of the country inquestion. We also must demonstrate to have specific expertise andto be able to build a relationship of reciprocity with the referencemarkets.

Two words describe the market in London: opportunityand difficulty.London is the quintessential financial marketplace and always of-fers a myriad of opportunities, even though it is a mature market.Operatively speaking, the Hub has increased the number and sizeof projects that are currently underway, without impairing the or-dinary management of a branch which is already complicated. He-re, the difficulties often lie in the complexity of the structure,which works like a bank within a bank, to some extent. For opera-tive and licensing reasons, we do not work with private clients.Apart from this, we work with any type of business - from SMEs tomultinationals and financial institutions - providing commercialbanking and structured finance services through Banca IMI, aswell treasury activities. In addition to our ordinary operations, weoffer all the essential services required in support of our branches

(accounting, IT, human resources) and of the Hub (legal and syn-dication). With respect to the market, our difficulties are tied tothe effects of the international economic crisis. Here, the markethas remained somewhat sceptical about risks and is slightly frostytowards business. Nonetheless, the latest economic figures revealthe City to be the driving force that is dragging Great Britain out ofthe recession. London will revive both growth and the markets inthe years to come.

How is Intesa Sanpaolo seen in the markets you coordinate?We have been operating in London for almost a century – exactlysince 11 December 1911, albeit with various interruptions duringthe war – and have always been considered to be the leading Italianbank present here. We have entered the other markets more recen-tly, but the key issue is the same: we are always the reference Ita-lian bank. London is a privileged observatory. It is striking to seehow much reliability and image Italian banks have gained – I hopethat everyone has noted this – over the past eighteen months, par-ticularly Intesa Sanpaolo. Our objective is to take advantage of thisopportunity, proud of the vibrant interest shown by financial insti-tutions, the authorities and, above all, international clients.

How do you interact with banks belonging to the Group as well aswith the International Subsidiary Banks Division?The Hub’s aim is to favour collaboration and cross-selling betweendifferent members of the Group, with no exceptions. In particular,collaboration with International Subsidiary Banks is extremely im-portant for branches belonging to the international network. Infact, commercial presentations for international clients, which aremostly multinationals, place great deal of emphasis on the Group’scapillary presence - as a local bank - in many markets in Central-Eastern Europe and in the Mediterranean area. This always catchesthe attention of our interlocutors and often brings about good op-portunities of development.

Objectives for the future? I believe we need to exert all our effort to favour greater collabora-tion with some divisions of the bank. For us, becoming more awareof what other operative units do in the Group is a good startingpoint. As such, we are trying to favour every initiative that invol-ves exchanging information, job rotations, training, team buildingopportunities, etc.

“The establishment of aHub branch has improvedorganisation andrationalised costs.Business supportstructures have beenconcentrated in thesebranches in orderto take advantageof existing expertise”

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Growth and business opportunities within the scopeof trade with the European Union

Trade in southernMediterranean countries

Southern Mediterranean countries are not homogenous.They can be classified into three sub-groups according toa number of distinctive features. These groups are: NorthAfrican countries that are great petrol producers (Algeriaand Libya) with concentrated exports (over 90% energy re-sources and derivatives) to EU countries, North Africancountries with a moderate amount of development in termsof labour-intensive manufacturing (Tunisia, Morocco, andEgypt) and ongoing business dealings with the EU, and Mid-dle Eastern countries (Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria),which have a noticeable balance in favour of services andare more integrated within the global economy. The latterare countries that enjoy significant trade even outside theEU, particularly with the United States, China and PersianGulf states. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has beenthe driving force behind integration. Back in 1995, the ob-jectives of the Barcelona Process included the creation ofa free market area in the Mediterranean by 2010. Furtherimpetus towards integration of the region will be provided

through the development of regional negotiations to libe-ralise services and recognise the right to establishment ba-sed on the Euromed Trade Roadmap beyond 2010. Moreo-ver, important infrastructural projects in the energy, watermanagement, environmental, transport, and sustainable ur-ban development sectors, together with the launch of newinitiatives for entrepreneurial development in the region,have been planned within the scope of the Union for theMediterranean project, which was launched in July 2008 toendow the Barcelona Process with new momentum.

Foreign trade structure and dynamicsOver the past few years, the southern Mediterranean regionhas seen a decisive growth in trade. According to theIMF, trade stood at approximately $ 620 billion in 2008,equal to around 1.9% of the global total amount. Averageannual growth for the nominal value of exports during the2000-2008 period was close to 28%, while imports increa-sed by over 24%. These figures highlight an annual growth

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rate which was markedly higher than the one registeredaround the world (for example in Latin America), but lowerthan the one experienced in emerging European coun-tries. Economic policies adopted by governments - combi-ned with international initiatives and intra-area economiccollaboration programmes - have opened the doors to tra-de and to direct foreign investments.From a historical point of view, the European Union is themain market for the sale and purchase of goods in the area,both because of its economic ties and because of its geo-graphic proximity. In 2008, the value of trade with the EU-15 was equal to a little more than half of the total tradethat took place in southern Mediterranean countries. Ho-wever, in 2009, this percentage dropped to the advantageof other emerging nations. In that same year, the UnitedStates was the region’s second trading partner. South-East Asia and the Persian Gulf have also begun to play anincreasingly important role over the last decade. Accordingto the World Bank, the reduced amount of regional integra-tion in the area can be primarily attributed to a low levelof complementarity between trade and production. SouthernMediterranean countries have different geographic structu-res for trade. The EU-15 is the reference market for ener-gy-exporting countries (Algeria and Libya) as well as forNorth African countries. Trade between Europe and the Mid-dle East is more limited. On the other hand, for these coun-tries, dealings with their Arabian neighbours in the PersianGulf, as well as with the US and South-East Asia, are mo-re significant. In 2008, mineral fuel exports were almost half of total ex-ports in the region. These were followed by precious sto-nes, electric and electronic machines, inorganic chemistry,and non-textile clothing accessories. The economic crisis also affected emerging and developingcountries, starting in the second half of 2008. Its repercus-sions on trade were also felt in countries in the area du-ring the vast majority of last year. The collapse in foreigndemand limited the export both of raw materials and of hi-ghly specialised finished products, in addition to interme-diate processing for a third party.

Italy’s importance for tradeItaly is an important trading partner for southern Mediter-ranean countries and, in turn, these account for a relevantshare of Italian trade. In 2008, Italian imports stood at8.8%, while exports were at 4.7%. Italian imports in the region primarily concern petrol pro-ducts and their derivatives. These are followed by textilesand clothing, synthetic fibres, and chemical products, in ad-dition to processed metal products. In 2008, approximate-ly one third of total exports from Italy to southern Medi-terranean economies included machines and mechanicalequipment, followed, to a lesser extent, by refined petrolproducts, metals and metal products, chemical products andsynthetic fibres, as well as electric and electronic machi-nery.Among the business clusters that are most involved in tra-de with Mediterranean countries, special mention mustbe made of jewellery and clothing/textiles sectors. A signi-ficant presence of iron and steel manufacturers from Bre-scia has been registered in Algeria. Moreover, it must be no-ted that a number of sectors saw brilliant performances inthese countries, even in 2009. The results achieved by pac-kaging machines from Bologna, jewellers from Vicenzaand Arezzo, instrumental mechanics from Vicenza, andtextile machinery and machines for plastic materials fromBergamo were particularly noticeable.

UE 15

USALatinAmericaAsia

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0

PersianGulf States

ExportImport

UE 15

USA

LatinAmerica

Asia

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0

PersianGulf States

ExportImport

ITALY 2008 ITALY % RANK

IMPORT EXPORT IMPORT EXPORT IMPORT EXPORT(CIF) (FOB)

Algeria 39.3 79.3 11.0 15.5 2 2

Libya 19.2 61.6 22.2 37.5 1 1

Egypt 64.6 32 7.3 9.4 5 1

Morocco 42.5 19.2 6.5 4.2 3 4

Mauritania 2.3 2.3 2.1 6.9 * *

Tunisia 24.8 17.5 19.2 17.6 2 2

Jordan 16.7 7.8 3.2 0.7 * *

Israel 65.2 61.4 3.9 2.7 * *

Lebanon 17.2 3.9 7.3 1.2 1 *

TotaleMediterranean area 320.3 302 8.4 15.1

Source: prepared by Intesa Sanpaolo based on IMF Direction of Trade data (no data available for the Palestinian Territories)

Trade with Italy