List of banks in Italy

The following list of banks in Italy is to be understood within the framework of the European single market and European banking union, which means that Italy's banking system is more open to cross-border banking operations than peers outside of the EU.

Policy framework

European banking supervision distinguishes between significant institutions (SIs) and less significant institutions (LSIs), with SI/LSI designations updated regularly by the European Central Bank (ECB). Significant institutions are directly supervised by the ECB using joint supervisory teams that involve the national competent authorities (NCAs) of individual participating countries. Less significant institutions are supervised by the relevant NCA on a day-to-day basis, under the supervisory oversight of the ECB.[1] In Italy's case, the NCA is the Bank of Italy.[2]

Significant institutions

As of 1 November 2025, the ECB had the following 11 banking groups based in Italy in its list of significant institutions.[3]

A study published in 2024 assessed that the bank with by far most aggregate assets in Italy (as opposed to total consolidated assets) as of end-2023 was Intesa Sanpaolo at €869 billion, followed by UniCredit (€274 billion), Banco BPM (€202 billion), the Iccrea Group (€175 billion), Crédit Agricole (€160 billion, via Crédit Agricole Italia), BPER (€142 billion), Monte dei Paschi di Siena (€122 billion), BNP Paribas (€103 billion, via Banca Nazionale del Lavoro), the Cassa Centrale group (€90 billion), Mediobanca (€84 billion), Banca Mediolanum (€78 billion), and Credito Emiliano (€68 billion).[4] Italy is also home to subsidiaries of three other euro-area significant institutions, namely Deutsche Bank (via Deutsche Bank SpA), Santander, and Société Générale.[3]

Less significant institutions

As of 1 September 2025, the ECB's list of supervised institutions included 142 Italian LSIs.[3]

High-impact LSIs

Of these, six were designated by the ECB as "high-impact" on the basis of several criteria including size:

South Tyrolean Raiffeisen Group

39 Italian LSIs, all bearing the name Cassa Raiffeisen, were bound together with the Cassa Centrale Raiffeisen dell'Alto Adige (also known as Raiffeisen Landesbank Südtirol) into the institutional protection scheme (IPS) of the South Tyrolean Raiffeisen Group, one of six IPSs in the euro area.[5]: 12 

Other Italian LSIs

The other 91 domestic Italian LSIs on the ECB list were:

Non-euro-area-controlled LSIs

Based on the same ECB list, six Italian LSIs (3 branches and 3 subsidiaries) were affiliates of financial groups based outside the euro area:

Third-country branches

As of 13 October 2025, the following banks established outside the European Economic Area had branches in Italy ("third-country branches" in EU parlance):[7]

Other institutions

The Bank of Italy, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, and BancoPosta are public credit institutions that do not hold a banking license under EU law.[8]

Defunct banks

Numerous former Italian banks, defined as having been headquartered in the present-day territory of Italy, are documented on Wikipedia in English. They are listed below in chronological order of establishment, divided into two categories depending on whether or not they qualified at some point as early central banks and/or banks of issue.[9] In mainstream narratives of the history of banking, Italy is widely viewed as the birthplace of modern European financial practices during the High Middle Ages and Renaissance, first in the form of family banks and later through municipal public banks known as mount of piety. Moreover, many local savings banks were established in the second and third quarters of the 19th century and, unlike in most other European countries, did not consolidate into a single national network.

Central banks and banks of issue

Other banks

See also

References

  1. ^ "What are less significant institutions?". European Central Bank. 2 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Members and Observers". European Banking Authority. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c List of supervised entities - Cut-off date for changes in group structures: 1 November 2025 (PDF), European Central Bank, 19 December 2025
  4. ^ Giulia Gotti, Conor McCaffrey & Nicolas Véron (October 2024), Banking union and the long wait for cross-border integration (PDF), European Parliament
  5. ^ Harry Huizinga (March 2022). "Institutional Protection Schemes - What are their differences, strengths, weaknesses, and track records?" (PDF). European Parliament.
  6. ^ Luca Davi (4 September 2024). "Banca Progetto changes ownership: Centerbridge takes over from Oaktree". Il Sole 24 Ore.
  7. ^ "The EBA updates list of third-country groups and branches operating in the European Union and the European Economic Area", European Banking Authority, 13 October 2025
  8. ^ "Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms - Current consolidated version - Article 2", EUR-Lex, p. L 176/350, 17 January 2025
  9. ^ Ulrich Bindseil (2019). Central Banking Before 1800: A Rehabilitation. Oxford University Press. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-19-884999-5.
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