BPM Group - Banca Popolare di Milano

2006 

BPM Group 

Social Responsibility Report

THE VALUE OF WORKING TOGETHER 

Interpretation, conception, action. The process with 

which projects are carried out is the same as ever. 

At various points in this process BPM has always 

advised individuals and businesses, financed and put 

them in contact. 

The real strategic resource for BPM Group is its 

continuous and constant exchange with Customers, 

Members, Personnel and all its Stakeholders: in this 

way action becomes joint action.

CONTENTS 

7 Methodology 

8 Evolution of BPM Group’s Social Reporting Activity 

11 BPM GROUP IDENTITY 

15 Group Profi le 

27 Mission, Guiding Principles and Strategies 

45 Governance 

71 BPM GROUP ECONOMIC REPORT 

73 Key fi nancial highlights 

76 Value Added 

81 BPM GROUP SOCIAL POLICIES REPORT 

83 Stakeholders of Banca Popolare di Milano 

85 Customers 

107 Members and Shareholders 

127 Personnel 

141 Suppliers 

147 Community 

155 Environment 

159 Communications 

163 GROUP BANKS AND PRINCIPAL COMPANIES 

180 GLOSSARY 

Prepared by the General Affairs Offi ce 

of Banca Popolare di Milano 

Layout and art direction 

Ology adv - Agema Group - Milan 

Consultancy and graphic direction 

Gilberto Cappelletti 

Methodology and procedural assistance 

Studio Badalotti for Bilancio Sociale S.r.l. 

Printing 

Grafi che Agema S.p.A. - Milan 

It is forbidden to reproduce either in full or in part the text 

and images contained in this report. 

Further information about this document, 

which may also be downloaded from the website: 

www.bpm.it, 

can be obtained by contacting the General Affairs Offi ce of 

Banca Popolare di Milano or by e-mailing: 

bilanciosociale2006@bpm.it

BPM GROUP 

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 

REPORT 

2006 

I am pleased to present to you the fourth edition 

of BPM Group’s 

Social Responsibility Report. 

This year we once again confi rm our commitment 

to reporting our Company activities 

for the benefi t of our various Stakeholders and 

areas which we serve. 

Roberto Mazzotta 

Chairman 

Banca Popolare di Milano 

5

Methodology 

The form and content of this document refer to 

the “Guidelines for the Preparation of Social 

Responsibility Reports” drawn up in 2001 by GBS 

(the Social and Environmental Accounting Study 

Group) and to the “Manual for the Preparation 

of Social Responsibility Reports by the Banking 

Sector” (2001) published by ABI (the Italian Banking 

Association), thereby ensuring the quality of 

reporting and the associated information. 

Structure of the document 

This document is organised in three sections: 

• Identity – describes the BPM Group’s profile, 

its mission, guiding principles and results of the 

2004-2006 Strategic Plan, the 2007-2009 Strategic 

Plan and the Parent Bank’s model of co- operative 

governance and governance of the Group; 

• Economic Report – presents some of the Group’s 

key financial highlights and the calculation and 

distribution of Value Added. 

• Social Policies Report – describes the various 

social relationships and policies that Banca 

Popolare di Milano, the Parent Bank, maintains 

with its different types of stakeholders, stressing 

their consistency with the mission, principles and 

strategies discussed in the section on “Identity”. 

This section of the report also discusses the process 

of obtaining feedback and also contains a report on 

the commitments made in the 2005 edition of the 

Social Responsibility Report. 

As in past editions, a final section of the report 

describes the activities and key economic and 

social information relating to the Group’s banks and 

principal product companies. 

Scope of reporting and information 

The 2006 Social Responsibility Report refers to BPM 

Group, as indicated in the Consolidated Financial 

Statements of the Group. Unless otherwise 

specified, the economic and financial information 

and figures refer to those contained in the 

aforementioned Consolidated Financial Statements 

and mainly to 2005 and 2006. 

To take into account the changes made within the 

scope of consolidation and in order to guarantee 

better comparability between the data, the fi gures 

as at 31 December 2005 of BPM Group have been 

restated on a pro-forma basis. We point out that 

as at 31 December 2005, Bipiemme Vita and 

Ultramediass were consolidated according to the 

line-by-line method and that as at 31 December 

2006 were no longer within the line-by-line scope of 

consolidation following: 

• the conclusion of a bankinsurance agreement 

with FonSai Group whereby 50% of the share 

capital of Bipiemme Vita was transferred to Milano 

Assicurazioni; 

• the merger through incorporation of Ultramediass 

(a company already entirely controlled by Bipiemme 

Vita) into Bipiemme Vita. 

This report also has been updated to include the 

key events that took place after the end of the 2006 

fi nancial year. 

Terminology 

A glossary of the specialist terms contained in this 

report can be found at the end of this document. 

Please note that the term BPM refers to the Parent 

Bank Banca Popolare di Milano. 

7

Evolution of BPM Group’s 

Social Reporting Activity 

BPM Group launched its social reporting activity 

with the publication of the 2003 Social Policies 

Report through which it has been able to: 

• refl ect on the Group’s mission and clearly identify 

the guidelines and values essential to achieving 

said mission; 

• take a critical look at the path followed in past 

years in order to identify the main lines of strategy 

that can be further pursued as well as guidelines for 

the future; 

• highlight the elements of “responsible 

management” naturally present in rules of 

governance and in relations with stakeholders. 

Communication activity 

The 2003 Social Policies Report and a letter of 

presentation from the Chairman were distributed 

to all Group employees and to Branches to divulge 

to their Customers. The Report was presented to 

the Members’ Associations and handed out to 

Shareholders attending the Shareholders’ Meeting 

of 24 April 2004 approving the fi nancial statements. 

BPM Group continued its reporting endeavours 

by issuing its 2004 Social Responsibility Report, 

which was designed to give greater visibility to the 

Bank’s contributions to business growth and within 

different facets of the community. More specifi cally 

the report aimed to highlight the uniqueness and 

strong-points of the co-operative governance model 

adopted by BPM and its ability to bring together the 

needs of various stakeholders. 

This was made possible by: 

• analysing in-depth each stakeholder of the Parent 

Bank and developing the lines of strategy described 

in the 2003 Social Policies Report in light of the 

2004-2006 Strategic Plan; 

• identifying the performance indicators able to 

representation 

of relationships 

8 � social responsibility report 

intensity of relationships 

social responsibility 

report t 

social responsibility 

report t+1 

certainty 

of relationships 

measure the commitments made and report the 

improvements achieved; 

• preparing a base of instruments and methods 

to develop stable feedback activities with the 

stakeholders of the Parent Bank. 


In June 2005 the Chairman presented stakeholders 

with the 2004 Social Responsibility Report. The 

presentation was held in the Sala delle Colonne 

room of the Milan headquarters in Piazza Meda. 

In attendance were the CENSIS General Secretary, 

Mr. Giuseppe De Rita, the General Director of 

Assolombarda, Mr. Roberto Polli, the General 

Secretary of the Milan Chamber of Labour, Mr. 

Giorgio Riolo, and the Director of Casa della Carità 

Father Virginio Colmegna. 

The report was also distributed to the Shareholders 

attending the Shareholders’ Meeting of 23 

April 2005 approving the fi nancial statements. 

In addition, along with the report, a letter of 

presentation from the Chairman and a satisfaction/ 

suggestion card were sent to all Group employees, 

and all the Branches for distribution to their 

Customers. A copy of the complete document 

appears on the Bank’s website and may be 

downloaded and/or consulted in full or section-bysection. 

The 2005 Social Responsibility Report refi nes the 

social reporting process of BPM Group and expands 

on its contents with: 

• information about feedback activities involving the 

Parent Bank’s stakeholders and the measures taken 

in respect of the commitments made; 

• a description of the measures taken to enact the 

2004-2006 Strategic Plan; 

• more information about the Group’s banks and 

companies. 

The 2005 Social Responsibility Report also marks 

the start of a project that envisages greater 

social responsibility and aims to improve the 

overall quality of relations with stakeholders. 

Three characteristics have been identifi ed for 

describing the quality of relationships: intensity, 

representation and certainty: 

– the intensity of relationships is increased through 

the process of feedback and dialogue with the 

various stakeholders and through projects capable 

of developing the Bank’s links with the local area in

order to boost its ability to interpret local economic 

and social needs; 

– the representation of relationships 

(accountability) is improved both by applying 

performance indicators that are better at measuring 

the achievement of strategic social responsibility 

objectives and by defi ning and satisfying the 

information requirements of the various types of 

stakeholders; 

– the certainty of relationships is increased through 

projects that help make the Bank’s conduct clear 

and transparent in respect of those dealing with it. 

For each of these BPM has identifi ed specifi c 

projects that develop the Group’s social 

responsibility activities. 


In September 2006, the Chairman presented the 

2005 Social Responsibility Report to stakeholders 

during the inauguration of the “Centro Servizi BPM” 

Auditorium attended by Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi 

as well as the Director of A.A.Ster, Mr. Aldo Bonomi, 

the President of Assolombarda, Ms. Diana Bracco, 

and the Secretary General of the Milan Chamber of 

Labour, Mr. Onorio Rosati. 

The report was sent out to all the Branches to in 

turn be distributed to Customers. The employees 

of the Group however received a summary report 

containing a presentation by the Director of 

Resources and Contractual Policies together with a 

satisfaction/suggestions card. 

The complete document appears on the Bank’s 

website and may be downloaded and/or consulted 

in full or section-by-section. 

BPM Group’s 2006 Social Responsibility Report 

continues the social responsibility project aimed 

at transparent reporting and better relations with 

stakeholders. In particular, the Report: 

• describes the results of the feedback activity the 

Parent Bank engages in annually with stakeholders; 

• reports the measures taken with respect to the 

commitments made with the various types of 

stakeholders, redefi ning those for future years; 

• describes the results achieved by the Group by 

virtue of the 2004 – 2006 Strategic Plan; 

• sets out the guidelines of the new 2007-2009 

Strategic Plan; 

• launches the TERRITORIAL WORKSHOP project to 

support competitive and sustainable development 

of the community and territories within which it is 

present. 

Governance of Corporate Social Responsibility 

The social reporting activity carried on from 2003 

until today has enabled the Group to identify a 

model for governing corporate social responsibility 

involving the creation of a specifi c management 

team charged with co-ordinating the contributions 

and thoughts of the various company departments 

concerning responsible management and with 

checking the results achieved. This will make 

it possible to achieve, with understanding and 

graduality the “voluntary integration of social and 

environment aspects in all commercial dealings and 

relationships with all parties concerned”0. 1 . 

On the basis of constant improvement, this model of 

governance will seek to achieve a system of social 

responsibility that is an integral part of the process 

of defining the Group’s general strategies that will 

help, with specific actions, to improve the quality of 

relationships with stakeholders. 

Corporate Social Responsibility will also aim 

gradually to involve the Bank’s different functions 

and to co-ordinate the various company initiatives in 

progress in this area: the preparation of the Social 

Responsibility Report, the process of obtaining 

stakeholder feedback and the relationships with 

Italian social responsibility networks. 

1 COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – GREEN 

PAPER, Promoting a European framework for Corporate Social 

Responsibility – Brussels, 18/07/2001 

9

The value of working together. For economic, civil and social development.


identity 

The identity of the BPM Group is the expression 

of its way of being, meaning its business, 

organisational characteristics, people who 

work for it, the guiding principles behind its 

management and cultural model. 

This Identity reveals the Group’s distinguishing 

traits that characterise its uniqueness. 

11

BPM GROUP IDENTITY 

13 Group fi gures 

15 GROUP PROFILE 

16 Evolution of the BPM Group: key dates 

18 BPM Group structure 

20 • Principal subsidiaries 

22 • Principal equity investments 

24 Distribution network 

27 MISSION, GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIES 

28 Mission 

28 Guiding principles 

30 BPM Group Strategic Plan 

45 GOVERNANCE 

46 The Parent Bank’s system of co-operative governance 

49 • General Meetings 

52 • Board of Directors 

56 • Other Governing and Supervisory Bodies 

60 • Rules of Governance 

62 • Management structure 

66 Governance of the Group 

68 System of Internal Controls over the Group

Group fi gures 1 

(in thousands of euro) 

Volume of business 

2006 

2005 

Pro-forma 

Loans 26,312,649 22,585,310 

Direct deposits* 29,354,399 24,612,847 

Assets under management** 20,729,355 20,439,253 

Assets under administration 18,884,318 16,655,183 

* include amounts due to Customers, debt securities in issue and 

fi nancial liabilities designated at fair value through profi t and 

loss. . 

** at market value and net of any duplications. 

Group Customers 

2006 

Individuals 1,166,000 1,176,000 

Companies 143,000 143,600 

Entities and Associations 13,000 10,500 

(in thousands of Euros) 

Income statement 

2006 

2005 

Pro-forma 

Operating income 

Operating 

1,764,675 1,551,657 

profi t 

Profi t from current 

operations 

695,120 513,720 

before tax 

Net profi t for the year 

pertaining 

637,402 412,376 

to the Parent Bank 398,680 258,980 

The fi gures refer to a duly reclassifi ed format of the income 

statement so as to guarantee a clearer picture of performance and 

full compliance with normal market practices. The line items have 

been grouped or reclassifi ed among the same. 

Group personnel 2 

Managers Officials Other employees Total 

2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 2006 2005 

Banca Popolare di Milano 97 108 2,334 2,346 3,884 3,947 6,315 6,401 

Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 13 15 317 307 478 468 808 790 

Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria 10 7 160 162 406 411 576 580 

Banca Akros S.p.A. 25 25 112 109 107 107 244 241 

Bipiemme Gestioni SGR S.p.A. 9 10 43 42 58 58 110 110 

We@Service S.p.A. 4 4 33 31 41 41 78 76 

Bipiemme Private Banking SIM S.p.A. 4 4 43 41 19 9 66 54 

BPM Ireland Plc. 1 1 0 1 6 6 7 8 

Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. 0 1 4 2 3 5 7 8 

Other companies 2 1 6 5 58 57 66 63 

Total 165 176 3,052 3,046 5,060 5,109 8,277 8,331 

1 

We point out that in order to take into account the changes in the scope of consolidation and to ensure better comparability of data, the 

fi gures as at 31 December 2005 of the BPM Group have been restated on a pro-forma basis. In this respect, the companies Bipiemme Vita and 

Ultramediass – which at 31 December 2005 were consolidated based on the line-by-line method – at 31 December 2006 were no longer within the 

scope of consolidation line-by-line following: 

• the conclusion of a bankinsurance agreement with Fondiaria-Sai Group whereby 50% of the share capital of Bipiemme Vita was transferred to 

Milano Assicurazioni (see “Signifi cant events” - Directors’ Report of the Parent Bank); 

• the merger through incorporation of Ultramediass (a company entirely controlled by Bipiemme Vita) into Bipiemme Vita. 

2 

The number of personnel per category refers to the situation at the end of the period. The fi gures only include employees and exclude workers 

under different types of contracts (temporary and professional ongoing collaborators), which totalled 114 workers at the end of 2006. 

2005 

13

BPM Group Identity 

Group profi le

Evolution of the 

BPM Group: key dates 

1865 

Banca Popolare di Milano was founded in 1865, in 

the climate of renewal characterising the era in the 

immediate aftermath of proclaiming the Unification 

of Italy. Luigi Luzzatti, the great economist and 

statesman, was Chairman from 1865 to 1870 and 

Honorary Chairman until 1927. The Bank rapidly 

established itself in the social and economic fabric 

of Milan thanks to its mutualistically inspired model 

and its support for small businesses, craftsmen and 

tradesmen without access to adequate credit and 

easy prey to usury. 

1945 

Up until the Second World War BPM developed as 

a typical local bank, enhancing its dominion in its 

area of origin. 

In the period immediately after the war the Bank 

made a significant contribution to reconstruction 

and economic recovery particularly fostering the 

start-up of small and medium enterprises in the 

northern area of the Milan province. 

1950s 

In the 1950s BPM’s growth strategy took it beyond 

the borders of Lombardy: it completed its first 

merger (with Banca Popolare di Roma, 1957), 

acquired control of Banca Briantea and obtained a 

major stake in Banca Agricola Milanese, becoming 

its principal shareholder. 

1960s and 1970s 

After a decade of consolidating its past growth, the 

1970s saw a considerable expansion in operations, 

taking BPM beyond its original territory with the 

opening of branches in Turin and Florence and 

branches and representative offices abroad. It also 

continued its expansionary strategy, absorbing 

Banca Popolare Cooperativa Vogherese in 1979. 

1980s 

The 1980s confirmed BPM’s great potential and 

solidity, with it taking a leading role in the rescue 

of Banco Ambrosiano (1982). In 1985 it obtained 

control of Banca Agricola Milanese through a 

hostile takeover bid – an unprecedented action in 

the Italian banking industry – demonstrating the 

banking regulator’s confidence in BPM and those 

firmly at its command. 

In 1988 it absorbed Banca Popolare di Bologna e 

Ferrara. 

At the end of the 1980s it created the BPM Banking 

16 � social responsibility report > group identity > profi le > evolution of the bpm group 

Group to offer Customers complete, professional, 

multi-sector services, specialising in the more 

important areas of financial intermediation, asset 

management and remote banking. In 1989 it 

acquired Banca Popolare di Apricena. 

1990s 

The liberalisation of new openings resulted in the 

rapid growth of the number of branches, especially 

in Milan and Lombardy. In the second half of the 

1990s the Group absorbed Banca Agricola Milanese, 

Banca Briantea and Banca 2000 (ex Inabanca), 

while obtaining control of Banca Akros. 

2001 - 2005 

In 2001, BPM acquired control of Banca di Legnano, 

expanding in areas of signifi cant economic interest 

and within the vicinity of the Milanese centre of 

gravity. In 2003, as part of a growth strategy based 

on safeguarding its own identity, BPM signed 

an important agreement with the Strasbourg 

Federation of Crédit Mutuel, designed to develop 

operating synergies between the BPM Group and 

Crédit Industriel et Commercial, a bank with strong 

roots in the French capital and a Crédit Mutuel 

subsidiary. In the same year BPM reached an 

agreement with Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di 

Alessandria to acquire control of Cassa di Risparmio 

di Alessandria and subsequently to absorb it into 

the BPM Group. In 2004 BPM acquired control 

of 80% of Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria and 

executed the agreement to transfer 20% of Cassa 

di Risparmio di Asti to Banca di Legnano, a whollyowned 

BPM subsidiary. In 2005, BPM realized 

the Private Equity project through a partnership 

with Wise Venture SGR, developed a partnership 

in the property funds sector with AEDES S.p.A., 

and concluded a bankinsurance agreement with 

Fondiaria-SAI Group. 

Signifi cant events in 2006 

In 2006 a series of measures contributed to the 

results achieved by the 2004-2006 Strategic 

Plan and are at the root of the expected growth 

described in the new three-year plan. 

Among these are: 

BPM Group’s New 2007-2009 Strategic Plan 

The Plan continues from where the previous 

plan left off, adopting the following three main 

lines of strategy: development of Commercial 

Banking, higher profi tability from the Corporate & 

Investment Banking area, and greater effi ciency

in operating activities and platforms, completing 

the rationalisation process started in the last three 

years. 

Development of the bankinsurance agreement 

between BPM and Fondiaria-SAI Group 

Following the agreements signed on 21 December 

2005, Fondiaria-SAI Group acquired a 50% stake 

in Bipiemme Vita. Within the ambit of non-life 

insurance, the Group has been marketing Multi-risk 

policies sold starting from last 12 March through 

the BPM network the distribution of car insurance 

policies is expected to start in 2008. The Group’s 

entry into the non-life insurance sector is designed 

to further increase Customer loyalty and expand the 

client portfolio. 

Acquisition of a stake in Pitagora 1936 S.p.A. 

In 2006, BPM Group purchased a 24% interest in 

Pitagora 1936 S.p.A., a special purpose vehicle 

holding 75% of Pitagora S.p.A., a fi nancial company 

specialised in providing loans through salary and 

mortgage assignments. This agreement will enable 

BPM Group to widen its offering in the consumer 

credit sector, fi nance Customers with diffi cult access 

to credit, and exploit the Pitagora network to market 

other BPM products. 

Shareholding increase in SelmaBipiemme Leasing 

In May 2006, as provided for in the Shareholders’ 

Agreements, BPM increased its stake in 

SelmaBipiemme Leasing from 38.35% to 40% 

after renewing the commercial agreement for the 

distribution of products through BPM’s commercial 

network. 

Completion of the framework agreement with 

Crédit Industriel et Commercial 

In February 2006, BPM and Crédit Industrielle et 

Commercial (C.I.C.) mutually acquired an interest 

in each other’s share capital, with BPM acquiring 

from Crédit Mutuel Group 352,082 shares in C.I.C. 

for a total of 55,276,874, equal to 1% of the French 

bank’s share capital. This operation was carried out 

to perform and complete the Framework Agreement 

entered into with Crédit Industriel et Commercial 

with regard in particular to the mutual purchase of 

shares between the two banks. 

Simultaneously, C.I.C. granted BPM a put option 

on the sale of the aforementioned shares to be 

exercised in the six months following the possible 

date of transfer of the effects of the Framework 

Agreement. 

Merger through incorporations of Bipiemme 

Immobili into BPM 

On 5 December 2006, BPM’s Board of Directors 

approved the merger through incorporation of 

Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. (a real estate company of 

the Group in which BPM holds a 90.89% interest) 

into BPM following the purchase of the residual 

9.11% of the capital currently in the hands of Banca 

di Legnano S.p.A. 

Securitisation of performing real estate mortgage 

loans worth approximately Euro 2 billion 

This operation entailled the pro-soluto transfer of a 

portfolio of performing real estate mortgage loans 

issued by BPM worth approximately Euro 2 billion 

and backed by fi rst-level mortgage guarantees to 

BPM Securitisation 2 S.r.l. To fi nance the purchase 

of the portfolio, BPM Securitisation 2 S.r.l. issued 

a series of senior securities with limited recourse 

(with AAA, AA and BBB ratings) in July 2006. The 

securities were listed on the Luxembourg Stock 

Exchange and distributed to institutional investors 

for a total amount of Euro 2,015.3 million. 

Adoption of the new code of governance for listed 

companies 

In December 2006, BPM’s Board of Directors 

approved the adoption of a new code of selfgovernance 

for listed companies. The version 

adopted is the one presented by the Italian Stock 

Exchange on 14 March 2006 replacing the 1999 

version (amended in July 2002), which BPM had 

fully adopted. 

17


structure 

18 � social responsibility report > group identity > profi le > bpm group structure 

BPM is a group serving a vast clientele. It supports 

investment and lending projects for numerous 

types of Customer (households, small and medium 

enterprises, local authorities and associations) 

and combines with its evident vocation in the retail 

sphere constant attention to developing activities 

displaying greater growth potential, such as asset 

management and private and corporate banking. 

BPM is therefore a full-service diversified banking 

group, operating in all sectors of the financial 

markets. 

The Group’s structure is accordingly organised into 

the following business units: 

Retail Banking: this serves the retail market 

using different approaches according to Customer 

segment and includes the traditional branch 

network, as well as financial consultants, private 

banking and virtual banking with activities mainly 

focusing on: raising funds, disbursing credit, 

providing collection and payment services, 

distributing products and services for investment, 

retirement savings and risk hedging, providing 

e-commerce and on-line services in general. 

Corporate Banking: this serves the corporate 

market by granting credit, supplying collection 

and payment services, offering investment and 

risk hedging services and identifying commercial 

opportunities relating to extraordinary corporate 

finance operations. 

Investment Banking: this includes areas of 

business such as dealing in financial instruments, 

both on own account and on account of third 

parties, capital markets activities and primary 

market subscription and placement services 

(equities and bonds). 

Wealth Management: this mostly serves the retail 

market and includes all the activities associated with 

asset management, such as mutual funds, portfolio 

management schemes, insurance, products and 

services for the purposes of retirement savings and 

risk hedging.

55.16% 

51% 

90.89% 

50% 

100% 

99.99% 

100% 

100% 


at 31 december 2006 

50% 

Bipiemme Gestioni SGR S.p.A. 

Milan 

Bipiemme Private 

Banking SIM S.p.A. 

Milan 

Banca Popolare di Milano S.c.ar.l. 

Milan 

Bipiemme Fund 

Management Ltd. 

Dublin 

We@Service S.p.A. 

Milan 

BPM Luxembourg S.A. 

Luxembourg 

Akros HFR Alternative 

Investments SGR S.p.A. 

Milan 

Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. 

Milan 

9,11% 

100% 

Akros Securities Inc. 

U.S.A. 

Bipiemme Vita S.p.A. 

Milan 

BPM Capital 1 L.l.c. 

U.S.A. 

Bipiemme Ireland Plc. 

Dublin 

Tirving Ltd. 

Dublin 

Ge.Se.So S.r.L. 

Milan 

Calliope Finance S.r.L. 

Milan 

40% 

19% 

100% 

99.99% 

99% 

93.51% 

Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 

Legnano (MI) 

40% 56.89% 

Banca Akros S.p.A. 

Milan 

0.01% 

NOTE - changes occured in 2007: 

• January: BPM purchased 100% of Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. 

• June: Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. was incorporated into Banca Popolare di Milano 

• June: BPM transferred another portion of shareholdings in Bipiemme Vita S.p.A. to Gruppo Fondiaria-SAI. 

BPM’s current shareholding amounts to 45.89%. 

• July: Banca Akros S.p.A. acquired the residual 49% share capital of Akros Alternative Inv. from HFR Europe 

Ltd., which changed its company name and is now only Europe Ltd. 

1% 

51% 

Cassa di Risparmio 

di Alessandria S.p.A. 

Alessandria 

Retail banking 

Corporate banking 

Investment banking 

Wealth Management 

80% 

19

Principal 

subsidiaries 1 

The structure of the BPM Group is the result of a 

process of acquisitions, equity investments and 

control of banks with distribution networks deeply 

rooted in the economy of areas neighbouring those 

of the Parent Bank and companies specialising in 

the development and offer of products capable 

of responding to the needs of a vast, diversified 

clientele. 


This established bank joined the Group in 2001. It 

has deep roots in the North West of Lombardy with 

a network of over 100 branches. Given its strong 

local roots, its focus is on retail Customers and 

small and medium enterprises. It also operates 

actively in the leasing segment. It owns significant 

interests in the Group’s product companies. 

Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria S.p.A. 

This bank joined the Group in September 2004. 

It is firmly established in the Alessandria area 

and surrounding provinces, neighbouring those 

in which the Group is already present. Its main 

business is with retail Customers and small and 

medium enterprises. It has around 80 branches. 


This bank provides investment and private banking 

services to Italian and foreign institutional 

Customers, as well as to companies and high 

net worth private clients. In 1999 it set up Akros 

Securities Inc. in the USA to act as a broker/dealer 

on the American market. Together with HFR, its 

American partner, through HFR Europe Ltd., it also 

set up Akros HFR Alternative Investments SGR 

S.p.A., a company that manages funds of hedge 

funds. In April 2007, Banca Akros exercised a call 

option on the purchase of the residual 49% of 

the capital held by the partner HFR Europe Ltd. 

The call option was granted under the Investment 

Agreement entered into with its American partner 

and expiring on 31 March 2007. Following the 

operation, the acronym “HFR” became the 

subsidiary’s company name. 

In 2006 Banca Akros acquired a holding in Promac, 

a company promoting alternative capital markets 

(listing in progress) and dedicated to giving small 

businesses easier access to capital markets. 

20 � social responsibility report > group identity > profi le > lprincipal subsidiaries 


This is the Group’s most important asset 

management company. It offers a complete 

range of asset management products, which is 

constantly updated and expanded to respond to 

the more diversified needs of Customers: mutual 

funds (active management, dynamic management, 

management for companies), funds of funds, 

pension funds and portfolio management schemes. 

Within this context, for the purposes of adopting 

the instructions issued by the Bank of Italy 

regarding collective asset management, and of 

providing transparency and an ever better response 

to investor needs, during the fi rst half of 2006 the 

Company amended the regulations of the funds set 

up and/or managed by it. 

Bipiemme Vita S.p.A. 

An insurance company operating in the life and 

health/accident insurance sector, Bipiemme Vita 

S.p.A. offers one of the widest ranges of products 

on the Italian insurance market, guaranteeing the 

best investment opportunities and protection for its 

clientele. 

From a corporate standpoint, in performance 

of the agreements signed in December 2005 

by BPM Parent Bank and Fondiaria-SAI Group 

to develop bankinsurance activity and possibly 

forge a partnership in the non-life sector, in 2006 

Milano Assicurazioni, a company belonging in the 

Fondiaria-SAI Group, purchased in two instalments 

a total 50% stake in Bipiemme Vita. In the fi rst 

half of 2007, Milano Assicurazioni exercised a call 

option on a further 1% of Bipiemme Vita thereby 

acquiring control of the company. 

On 31 December 2006, the subsidiary Ultramediass 

S.r.l was merged through incorporation into 

Bipiemme Vita in order to rationalise the 

shareholding structure of this latter. 


In IT, commercial and advisory terms, We@Service 

develops the virtual banking initiatives of BPM 

Group. The consolidation of We@bank, a website 

dedicated to retail Customers, and of InlineaNet, 

the portal designed for business, in 2006 was a 

pivotal step in developing a multi-channel bank 

that offers integrated services such as home 

banking, on-line trading and other high addedvalue 

services for its clientele.

BPM Ireland Plc. 

A fi nance company based in Dublin active in the 

dealing on own account of securities, bonds 

and credit derivatives. It controls BPM Fund 

Management Ltd. 

BPM Fund Management Ltd. 

A company incorporated under Irish law that 

manages harmonised funds, securities-backed 

guarantees and the multi-sector mutual fund called 

“Dublin International Fund” (D.I.F.), distributed 

in Italy through the network of fi nancial advisors 

of the Group. The new sectors of the D.I.F. are to 

be marketed in Ireland in order to increase the 

fi nancial products present on the market. 

Bipiemme Private Banking SIM S.p.A. 

Set up in 2001, this company provides personalised 

advisory services on investments in fi nancial 

instruments and on wealth management to high net 

worth individuals who are clients of the Group. The 

company is distributed into 14 “Private Centres” 

located mainly throughout the region of Lombardy. 

In April 2007, the company obtained ISO 9001 

certifi cation for all its in-house processes. 

Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. 

This company holds the non-instrumental property 

of the Group, in other words property to be sold 

or leased within the medium-term. Bipiemme 

Immobili has also headed the project for the 

development and completion of BPM’s Service 

Centre in viale Bezzi in Milan. 

In 2006, it continued to transfer non-instrumental 

assets. As this transferring activity was nearly 

reaching its conclusion, in the fi rst half of 2007, 

Bipiemme Immobili was incorporated into BPM. 

The operation falls within the wider organisational 

rationalisation project envisaged in the 2007- 

2009 Strategic Plan of the Parent Bank to ensure 

that this latter retains sole management of the 

properties. 

Calliope Finance S.r.l. 

This fi nancial intermediary company is listed in 

the register as per Article 106 of Legislative Decree 

no. 385/1993 and since the latter half of 2006 has 

been operative thanks to the joint venture between 

BPM and “LB UK RE Holdings Limited”, a company 

within the Lehman Brothers Group. 

In particular, Calliope Finance grants mezzanine 

loans for the acquisition and/or development of 

real estate. 

The project aims to optimise the potential 

synergies existing between BPM and Lehman 

Brothers within the ambit of property loans and 

take advantage not only of Lehman Brothers’ 

experience and client base within the sector of 

mezzanine lending, but also of BPM’s fi rm roots 

within the territory. 

1 For further details on the banks and principal companies of the 

Group, see the fi nal sections of this document. 

21

Principal 

equity investments 1 

Banca Popolare di Milano owns interests in certain 

other companies in order to enhance the range of 

products and services offered to Customers and 

to support the respective local economies. The 

network of alliances is structured on the basis of a 

tripartite strategy: 

1 To put the Group’s specialist expertise 

and specific product capability at the service of 

Customers of other banking partners with strong 

local ties. 

The agreements with the following banks fall under 

this strategy: 

Cassa di Risparmio di Asti S.p.A. 

(20% interest held through the subsidiary Banca di 

Legnano) 

A historical bank with deep roots in the area of 

Asti, this company is currently strengthening 

its territorial network in the provinces of Turin, 

Alessandria and Cuneo. Its commercial operations 

are mostly directed at retail Customers and small 

and medium enterprises. The bank aims to be an 

interpreter of economic development in its own 

particular territory. 

NordEst Banca S.p.A. 

(10% interest) 

This local bank, set up in 2002, operates in the 

provinces of Udine and Pordenone, positioning 

itself as a partner of reference for small and medium 

enterprises in the North East and for local investors. 

2 To acquire additional specialist skills of 

excellence, possessed by external partners, in order 

to put them at the service of Customers of BPM and 

of other banks in the BPM Group. 

In this context we point out the partnerships with: 

Dexia Crediop S.p.A. 


This bank is a leading provider of finance to public 

works and infrastructure projects and of financial 

services to local communities. It is a point of 

reference for project financing involving local 

authorities, leading public agencies and the most 

important public-service companies. 

1 

The companies described do not fall within the scope of 

consolidation of the Group 

22 � social responsibility report > group identity > profi le > principal equity investments 

Aedes BPM Real Estate SGR S.p.A. 


Previously named Bipiemme Real Estate SGR, this 

company manages closed-end property funds, 

including “Investietico” – dedicated to retail clients 

and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange – whose 

equity is currently invested mostly in nursing and 

health care facilities and offi ces. 

SelmaBipiemme Leasing S.p.A. 

(38.35% interest) 

Set up as a collaboration between BPM Group and 

Mediobanca Group within the leasing sector, this 

company is among the leading ten companies in the 

sector. The company aims to satisfy the mediumterm 

fi nancing needs of clients against fi xed 

capital investments. Following the subscription of 

a capital increase reserved for payment, starting 

from January 2007 BPM has increased its interest in 

SelmaBipiemme Leasing from 38.35% to 40%. 

Etica SGR S.p.A. 


This company develops and sells mutual funds 

featuring a high degree of social responsibility 

(Responsible Values Funds) and whose assets are 

invested in financial instruments selected on the 

basis of strict ethical-environmental criteria. 

It serves investors wishing to invest their money in 

a more conscious fashion, based on the concept of 

sustainable development. In 2006 the three existing 

funds were joined by a new one under the name of 

“Responsible Values Equity”, which mainly invests 

in equities. 

In regards to defi ning the social-environmental 

criteria on which the investments of these funds 

are based, in 2007, the company switched from 

the ethical advisor Ethibel to EIRIS, an English 

company with a long-standing tradition in the 

ethical investment research sector. It is an active 

shareholder in the companies in which it has 

invested, meaning that it takes part in general 

meetings and presents proposals relating to the 

social and environmental responsibility of the 

companies themselves.

It supports microcredit in Italy, ensuring that 0.1% 

of the amounts invested in the Responsible Values 

Funds is transferred to a specific fund that provides 

small loans to the disadvantaged. 

Pitagora 1936 S.p.A. 


A special-purpose vehicle established in 2006 

by BPM and, among others, the “Wisequity II & 

Macchine Italia” fund (managed by the subsidiary 

Wise Venture SGR S.p.A.) for the purpose of 

acquiring a majority 75% shareholding in Pitagora 

S.p.A., a fi nance company specialised in granting 

mortgages and loans against salary assignments. 

Through this shareholding, BPM Group is, among 

other things, able to optimise its offering in the 

consumer credit sector, a market segment with 

a great deal of potential thanks to the new laws 

that now allow employees of private companies 

and pensioners to obtain this form of fi nancing 

and companies to fi nance clients with a bad credit 

history. 

Wise Venture SGR S.p.A. 


This company, which operates in the private equity 

sector, absorbed BPM Private Equity SGR during 

2005. It currently manages three funds, among 

them “BPM Private Equity Fund”. 

Banca Italease S.p.A. 


This bank is run by a shareholder syndicate 

consisting of co-operative banks and mutual 

insurance companies. BPM’s interest is a result of 

the 2005 merger through incorporation of Factorit 

S.p.A. into Banca Italease. Banca Italease is the 

second-largest Italian bank operating in the sector 

of fi nancial leasing. Its activity centres heavily on 

property and instrumental leasing. 31 December 

2006 marked the completion of the merger through 

incorporation of Leasimpresa S.p.A. (a leasing 

company of Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara 

Group) into Banca Italease. 

3 To acquire interests in organisations that 

carry out socially relevant activities. 

Falling within this context are the following equity 

interests: 

Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (I.E.O.) S.r.l. 


This is a private non-profit entity that provides 

services under arrangement with the national health 

service and otherwise. The institute, inaugurated in 

May 1994, became an Institute of Hospitalisation and 

Treatment for Scientific Purposes under a ministerial 

decree dated January 1996. In keeping with the 

standards of the most advanced international 

oncological centres, it carries out a complete range of 

activities in the fight against cancer: prevention and 

diagnosis, health education and training, research 

and treatment. In addition to BPM, its shareholders 

include Italy’s top banks (Mediobanca, Banca Intesa, 

Unicredit, Capitalia), top insurance companies 

(Fondiaria – Sai, Ras, Generali, Milano Assicurazioni) 

and some of the country’s most important industrial 

groups (Fiat, Pirelli, Edison, Telecom, Italcementi). 

Genextra S.p.A. 


This company carries out research and development 

in the innovative sectors of biotechnology, 

biomedicine and the functional genomics. The 

presence of biotechnology research centres 

of excellence in Milan and the commitment of 

respected scientists to making the city a national 

centre in this sector, have resulted in the decision 

to make this investment also with a view to the 

provision of support by a local bank to an important 

local venture that involves not only a particularly 

respected scientific and management team, but also 

institutional and private investors of high profi le 

and visibility. In 2006 the company increased its 

share capital in order to be able to acquire control 

of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, a U.S.-based company 

whose scientifi c endeavours complement those of 

Genextra. 

Consorzio Idroenergia Soc. Consortile a r.l. 

(subscription to one share) 

This consortium generates electricity from 

renewable sources. The support for this venture is 

designed to achieve certification as a user of energy 

from renewable sources. 

23

pos (point of sales) 

Equipment that allows 

customers of traditional and 

mass market retailers to make 

safe payments using their 

credit and debit cards. 

Distribution network 

Financial Consultants and Private Centres 

Financial advisors (2 working for Bipiemme 

Private Banking SIM, 35 for BPM and 14 for 

Banca Akros) comprise the network providing 

personalised advisory and asset management 

services. Thanks to this network the Group is 

also able to reach areas that have not 

traditionally been served. 

51 promotors 

16 private centres 

around 20,000 pos 

internet channel 

Internet services - These allow 

information to be managed and 

transactions to be executed remotely, 

including on-line trading. They are 

managed by the company We@Service 

S.p.A. and are directed at individual 

customers and companies through the 

We@bank and inLineaNet channels 

respectively. 

Retail Branches - These represent the physical 

location specially for individual customers, 

professionals, and micro and small enterprises 

(with up to Euro5 million in turnover). 

710 retail branches 

BPM 

GROUP 

call center 

call center - This provides customers with 

remote access and includes phone banking 

services. 

24 � social responsibility report > group identity > profi le > distribution network 

The BPM Group uses a multi-channel distribution 

model in order to provide an ever better response 

to the demands for specialisation, quality and 

accessibility to the services by the different types 

of Customers. 

The number of locations and types of access to 

services is the result of concentrated investments 

in technology, organisation and training of the 

distribution network. 

The commercial sector of the Parent Bank was 

restructured in the fi rst half of 2006 and has led 

Corporate Segment - This is the BPM 

structure (4 corporate branches and 10 SME 

units,) operating in areas where the Group 

is particularly well established and created 

to provide advice and a point of reference 

for medium and large enterprises. 

14 units in the 

corporate segment 

832 atm points 

ATMs - The Group's ATMs densely 

populate the area thanks to the presence 

of over 800 machines.

to changes in the organisational structure of the 

network, the closing of 18 corporate branches and 

the establishment of: 

• four new Large Companies branches that manage 

clientele that generates a turnover of more than 

Euro 50 million (divided into upper corporate 

from Euro 50 million to Euro 250 million and large 

corporate over Euro 250 million); 

• ten new Small to Medium Companies branches 

in each territorial area that manage clientele that 

generates a turnover from Euro 5 million to Euro 50 

million. 

At 31 December 2006, BPM Group’s distribution 

network was composed of a total of 741 points of 

contact with Customers, consisting of 710 Retail 

Branches, plus the virtual branch of We@Bank, 4 

new Large Company branches and 10 Small and 

Medium Company branches forming part of the 

operating structure of the Parent Bank, as well 

as 16 Private Centres, of which 14 belonging to 

Bipiemme Private Banking SIM and 2 to Banca 

Akros. 

There are 710 traditional branches spread out 

over 13 regions throughout Italy. In 2006 10 new 

branches were opened, of which 6 are BPM, 2 

Banca di Legnano and 2 Cassa di Risparmio di 

Alessandria. 

Two branches, one belonging to BPM and the other 

to Banca di Legnano, were closed. 

BPM Group distribution network 

31/12/2006 31/12/2005 

Lombardy 465 462 

Province of Milan 

Other provinces in Lombardy 

of which: 

322 322 

Banca Popolare di Milano 366 364 

Banca di Legnano 96 95 

Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria 2 2 

Banca Akros 1 1 

Other regions 245 240 

Emilia Romagna 31 30 

Latium 58 57 

Apulia 38 37 

Piedmont 92 92 

Other regions 

of which: 

26 24 




Total Italy 

of which: 

710 702 




Banca Akros 1 1 

We@Bank – virtual branch 1 1 

Total no. of branches 711 703 

Large Company Branches 4 – 

Small and Medium Company Branches 10 – 

Corporate Branches* – 18 

Private Centres (Bipiemme Private Banking SIM and Banca Akros) 16 – 

Total distribution network 741 736 

*In 2005 the Corporate Branches were replaced by Large Company Branches and Small and Medium Company Branches 

25


Mission, Guiding 

Principles and Strategies

Mission 

Guiding principles 

28 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies 

The BPM Group is committed to enhancing the value 

of personal savings and to support the business 

sector’s development with credit. It adopts a 

responsible approach to the demands of everyone it 

deals with and incorporates social and environmental 

considerations in its actions, making them a 

distinguishing feature of its activity as a bank and a 

co-operative and hence of its competitiveness and 

ability to create wealth. 

In keeping with this approach the BPM Group’s 

mission involves: 

promoting and sustaining economic, civil, social 

and environmental development in the areas in 

which it is present, exercising to the best its role 

as a banking group in respect of all sectors of the 

economy represented therein: 

• the private one - individual Customers and 

businesses, with a particular focus on small and 

medium enterprises; 

• the public one - entities and institutions 

representing the local authority sector; 

• the civil one - associations and other 

organisations representing the no-profit sector. 

1 HARMONIOUS BALANCE OF INTERESTS 

The interests of Customers, Members and 

Shareholders and Personnel find a harmonious, 

balanced composition in the Group’s mission 

pursued to the benefit of all its stakeholders. 

To operate for the benefit of Customers by ensuring 

a quality, transparent service and for the benefit 

of Personnel by enhancing their professional skills 

are closely interdependent goals and represent the 

cornerstone of the Bank’s creation of value for its 

Shareholders. 

In fact, the different interests involved only compete 

against one another in a short-term, narrow sense, 

which may and must be overcome with a far-sighted 

vision of corporate interest, like that required in order 

to pursue the Group’s mission. 

The systemic, harmonious conception of value 

creation, not just economic value, takes into 

account the expectations for economic returns 

of even the most demanding of Shareholders, 

as a sure guarantee of commitment to meeting 

the expectations of national and international 

financial markets with regard to the principles of fair 

management conduct and transparent disclosure.

2 EFFICIENCY AND DEVELOPMENT 

Efficiency and development represent an 

inseparable pair of values and goals, always to be 

pursued together. 

While efficiency, constantly and resolutely pursued 

in every area of operation, produces development 

from solid, reliable basis, development itself is 

what gives real meaning to the comprehensive 

commitment to seeking ever greater efficiency. 

This virtuous circle involves developing state-of-the 

art processes and technology, enhances existing 

professional skills and increases the ability to 

attract top professionals from outside. 

3 CO-OPERATIVE SPIRIT 

The co-operative spirit is at the basis of joint action 

for the benefit of all Members, by fostering their 

participation in the Bank’s affairs and decisions 

and in the development of the local areas in which 

it operates. 

This is an essential principle of the co-operative 

model, which in this way fosters the achievement 

of high standards of efficiency and social relations 

and so is fully entitled to a place in an economic 

system in which freedom of enterprise also signifies 

freedom to decide between different types of legal 

and institutional form. 

4 ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY 

The principle of accountability and transparency 

requires every member of the business to perform 

their function responsibly, independently and to the 

best of their ability, answering for their activities 

to their superiors and being accountable to their 

stakeholders. 

The BPM Group views accountability and 

transparency as being at the basis of its ability: 

• to enact its values. It is a primary responsibility 

of top management, but also of all Members 

and Personnel, to enact the Group’s values and 

mission, continuously generating a genuine spirit 

of co-operation geared to achieving the mission 

itself and building with the various parties, inside 

and outside the business, fair and transparent 

relationships based on respect and trust, supported 

by professional competence. 

• to generate the facts to be communicated. 

The BPM Group has a permanent commitment 

to communicating not just in words but with 

facts and work, reflected in its mission of social 

accountability. The Social Responsibility Report 

is the systematic method of reporting the Group’s 

strategies, actions taken and results achieved. 

29


Strategic Plan 

The three-year strategic plan embodies the 

Company’s vision for the future, its positioning and 

objectives and strategies pursued through specifi c 

policies and measures. 

It is not merely a list of activities and measures, but 

represents a vision for the future of the company 

that contributes to the creation of a corporate 

identity. 

BPM Group’s Plan has been created and developed 

around certain key notions that on the one side 

stand as objectives to be achieved and on the other 

as the guided values that characterise the Group 

itself. 

Improvements in economic performance and 

in creating value for shareholders are brought 

together not only by more effi cient internal work 

processes, but also by a commercial policy that is 

increasingly able to meet the needs of the changing 

demographics and culture of society and the new 

needs of the production system. 

In terms of the internal process for creating the 

Strategic Plan, the federal structure of BPM Group 

has worked together with direct contributions from 

all corporate functions and every Board of Directors 

of the companies of the Group. 

From this viewpoint, the Plan stands as a pact 

between everyone operating within the various 

corporate functions and clearly lays out the 

commitments each is able to undertake, thereby 

channelling human and economic resources to the 

designated management areas. 

Strategic planning process 

30 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > strategic plan 

The Plan was structured based on a plan organised 

by business line in which the activities of BPM 

Group are divided according to a scheme that 

encompasses all the departments/companies of 

the Group. 

Governance of this process was entrusted to an ad 

hoc Guidance Committee composed of the Parent 

Bank’s management, the general Directors of the 

companies of the Group and a project team. 

The progress of the Plan was monitored not only 

by the ad hoc team set up within the Parent Bank 

(Strategic Planning), but also by all the corporate 

functions, each in relation to its own area of 

competence. This phase involves monitoring 

activities and entails further evaluation of the 

activities in question, possibly leading to review 

proposals on such activities.

The choice of appropriate indicators is particularly 

important in monitoring the single strategic 

actions, highlighting economic results as well as 

qualitative results induced from the action itself. 

Process of strategic planning 

GUIDING 

COMMITTEE 

TASKFORCES 

STRATEGIC 

PLANNING 

PRELIMINARY 

ACTIVITY 

ANALYSIS 

IN DETAIL 

OPERATIONAL 

CONTROL 

Defines the guidelines, 

validates the intermediate and final results, 

guides in strategic decisions. 

MARKETING 

OPM 

(Operational Programme Management) 

(Strategic Planning) 

Analyse the issues 

assigned to them 

and draw up economic forecasts. 

Works with the taskforces 

to provide specialised advisory 

services in the drawing-up of strategic measures. 

Gives support for the development 

of economic forecasts. 

Supports taskforces 

in processing marketing data. 

DRAWING-UP 

OF PLAN IMPLEMENTATION 

DEFINING 

STRATEGIES 

AND SINGLE 

MEASURES 

COMMUNICATION 

IDENTIFYING 

OBJECTIVES 

DEFINING 

THE OPERATIONAL 

MASTER PLAN 

DEFINING 

IMPLEMENTATION 

CONTROLS 

Acts as the starting 

point for the overall status 

of works, monitors, identifies 

and points out any critical areas. 

MONITORING 

AND CONTROL 

MONITORING 

THE STATUS OF WORKS 

31

Reporting of the 2004-2006 


Objectives of the 2004-2006 Strategic Plan 

• Plans for expanding volumes, revenues and Retail 

and Corporate customer base 

• Targeted expansion of the geographical 

and commercial network 

• Excellent products and development of marketing 

Goal for end of 2006 

annual average growth 

revenues +7.4% 

1. Commercial 

development 

2. Organisational 

set-up 

• Concentration/Rationalisation of the Financial 

Operations desk and direct channels 

(Internet and Phone banking) 

• Organisational simplification 

• Elimination of overlapping structures within 

the Group 

* Adjusted for goodwill and non-recurring items 

** Objectives adjusted to apply IAS (originally 65% and 14.9%) and ITGAAP. 

During 2004 the BPM Group drew up a detailed 

and ambitious Strategic Plan for the three years 

2004-2006 with the primary objective of regaining 

effi ciency and consolidating profitability as a result 

of major revenue growth and targeted measures to 

cut operating costs. 

These goals have been achieved through a detailed 

programme of measures and projects affecting 

all functions across the Group; the efficiency 

and profitability goals have been achieved 

through general improvement in services and the 

variety of products offered to Customers, greater 

accessibility to and integration of the distribution 

channels, rationalisation of operating processes 

and organisational structures and refocusing of 

the business with regard to the economic sectors 

with which the BPM Group has been traditionally 

associated. 

• Optimisation of operating processes and release 

of "commercial time" 

• Transfer of resources from the centre to the network 

• Actions regarding staff turnover and structural 

measures relating to payroll costs 

• Management of costs 

3. Operational 

efficiency 

4. Risk and capital 

management 

Goal for end of 2006** 

Cost/Income ratio 61% 

ROE* 12.4% 

• Basel 2 project 

• Development of instruments and processes 

for improving the disbursement and monitoring 

of credit 

32 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > reporting of the 2004-2006 strategic plan

Results achieved 

2006* 

2005 

2004 

2003 

Simplified 

Organisational 

Structure 

RACE Project 

New Corporate 

Banking Structure 

Reorganisation 

of finance area 

Closure 

of foreign 

branches 

Actions carried out 

79.3% 

+3.4% 

6.3% 

+12.0% 

72.1% 

7.5% 

Revenues 

+13.6% 

67.7% 

11.7% 

Costs 

Cost Income 

61.3% 

ROE Adjusted 

12.5% 

Profitability 

Starting point Results achieved during the three-year 2004-2006 Plan 

* For the sake of consistent comparison, 2006 figures have been recalculated on a pro forma basis through an integral 

consolidation of Bipiemme Vita instead of at equity. 

• Repositioned loan book on Retail and SME 

• Reduced concentration of loan book 

• Reduced financial assets component 

• Opened 33 new sales points 

• Increased number of home mortgages 

1. Commercial 

development 

2. Organisational 

set-up 

• Restructured finance area 

• Closed foreign branches 

• Integrated BDL and launched the integration 

of CR Alessandria 

• Set up new Corporate Banking organisational 

structure 

• Implemented RACE project (optimising 

the operational processes of branches) 

• Launched IT sector project to lower costs 

• Launched project to rationalise Back Office area 

3. Operational 

efficiency 

4. Risk and capital 

management 

• Implemented Basel 2 project (launched internal 

rating project to measure credit and market risks) 

• Entered into agreement with Aedes for property 

funds 

• Sold majority stake in BPM Private Equity 

• Entered into bankinsurance agreement with 

Fondiaria-SAI 

33

2004-2006 Strategic Plan 

1 

Commercial development 

Volumes, revenues and clients 1 

The measures taken for Retail and Corporate 

clientele have resulted in signifi cant growth 

in Customer business and revenues, which 

exceeded targets thanks especially to the positive 

performance of direct deposits and loans. 

The positive trend of volumes and margins improved 

company profi tability and has enabled the Group to 

increase its market share (the direct deposit market 

share rose from 1.87% at the end of 2004 to 2.04% 

in December 2006). 

Strategic businesses 

During the course of the Plan, the BPM Group also 

worked on a large project to develop its business 

model in order to pursue objectives of qualitative 

excellence and product variety, by seeking out 

alliances with specialist partners who were market 

leaders in complementary spheres to that of 

traditional banking. BPM Group’s reorganisation 

translated into important company events such 

as the conclusion of agreements previously 

reached with specialist partners (Pitagora SpA 

and Fondiaria–SAI SpA Group) aimed at pursuing 

strategic businesses such as Consumer Credit and 

Bankinsurance. 

Consumer credit 

A fi rst transaction involved a partnership in the 

sector of fi nancing against salary assignments 

between BPM Group and Pitagora 1936 SpA, a 

leader in the sector. 

The transaction was carried out together with the 

closed-end fund “Wisequity II & Macchine Italia” 

managed by its subsidiary Wise Venture Sgr. 

Through this partnership, BPM Group will have the 

opportunity to strengthen its offering in the credit 

consumer sector and, in the light of recent law 

changes, reach client segments that before were at 

Customer business and Clientele* 

Objective 2006 


% change 

2004-2006 

Direct and indirect deposits Euro 53 bn Euro 60.5 bn Euro 60 bn 14% 

Loans Euro 20 bn Euro 24.5 bn Euro 23 bn 23% 

Customer business Euro 73 bn Euro 85 bn Euro 83 bn 16% 

Net interest and other banking income Euro 1,417 mn Euro 1,794 mn Euro 1,723 mn 27% 

* Management reporting fi gures. 

2004 

the margin of institutional relationships with credit 

companies. 

Consider in this sense employees of private 

companies who need temporary loans for amounts 

that are beyond their current means or pensioners. 

Bankinsurance 

The agreement reached and concluded in 2006 

with Fondiaria-SAI Group, an Italian leader in 

bankinsurance activities, has enabled BPM Group 

to further consolidate its presence in the life 

sector and from 2007 market non-life products. By 

integrating banking and insurance systems and 

because they are complementary to one another, 

BPM will be able to offer its Customers a complete 

range of products aimed at satisfying needs that 

today’s life conditions render more and more 

complex. 

Furthermore, the agreement with Fondiaria-SAI 

Group will lead to production processes that are 

more effi cient and to Customer services offered at 

competitive prices. 

34 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > reporting of the 2004-2006 strategic plan 

2006

Expansion of the geographical and commercial 

network 2 

In the three-year period the Group continued to 

open new branches in keeping with its policy 

of making proximity to the Customer one of its 

fundamental drivers of growth. The programme 

of new openings mostly referred to BPM, in its 

traditional areas (province of Milan, Rome and 

Bari) and in places where citizens and businesses 

meet (Viale Bezzi Service Centre with the recent 

opening of a pilot branch with a self-service area 

and the Lombard airport system with the opening 

of the second Malpensa agency). All branches 

opened in 2006 strive to realise the R.A.C.E. project 

(Reengineerig and Commercial Excellence) – a 

new commercial model of the retail network – in 

order to improve their relations with Customers 

(with new window displays and internal layouts) 

and reengineer their internal processes so that 

personnel working in the branches and the head 

offi ce can reduce their paperwork and focus more 

on their relationship with clients. 

Under the new commercial model R.A.C.E., selfservice 

areas will be installed and new spaces will 

be created so that clients can autonomously and 

freely manage their time and transactions. 

The geographical distribution of ATMs has also been 

extended, making them more accessible (including 

for the disabled), while use of the on-line channel 

has grown significantly. 

1 More detailed information can be found in the section entitled 

“Key financial highlights” forming part of the Economic Report. 

2 Detailed information on the development of the geographical 

and commercial network can be found in the section entitled 

“Stakeholders- Customers” forming part of the Social Policies 

Report. 

35


2 

Organisational Structure 

Rationalisation of the Financial Operations desk 

and direct marketing channels (Internet and Phone 

banking) 

2005 marked the conclusion of the reorganisation 

of BPM Group’s Financial Operations desk. The 

foreign branches in London and New York were no 

longer operational and in 2006 were defi nitively 

closed. BPM Group’s presence abroad is guaranteed 

through BPM Ireland, Akros Securities (U.S.), and 

the operations desks in Paris and Barcelona, as 

well as through the commercial correspondence 

agreements in force with the groups Crédit Industriel 

et Commercial, Caixa and Raiffeisen Mein Bank. 

As for the rationalisation of direct channels (Internet 

and Phone banking), all the activities concerning 

the Group’s virtual bank have been concentrated 

under We@Service S.p.A. which develops them in 

commercial, advisory and IT terms. 

Semplifi cazione organizzativa ed eliminazione di 

strutture sovrapposte all’interno del Gruppo 

L’evoluzione dell’Area Finanza del Gruppo ha reso più 

effi cace il presidio centralizzato dei rischi fi nanziari 

ed ha portato alla realizzazione delle necessarie 

modifi che dei processi organizzativi. 

Le logiche sottostanti al processo di riorganizzazione 

sono riconducibili: 

• elimination of operational overlaps within the 

Group; 

• allocation of functions by centre of specialisation; 

• redefi nition of internal checks for market risks. 

* Management reporting fi gures prepared under IAS 

** Figures do not include Bipiemme Vita and Ultramediass 


Optimisation of operating processes 

The process of improving efficiency includes the 

measures to centralise and rationalise the central 

back offices, which have freed up “commercial 

time” for branch personnel, thus ensuring better 

Customer service. 

The measures designed to make operating 

processes more efficient have helped recover 

more resources than expected in the Plan; in fact, 

the measures adopted have helped recover the 

equivalent of around 100 staff. 

Evolution of turnover 

The aforementioned operating rationalisation 

measures have resulted in signifi cant changes 

within the personnel structure: There were 8,277 

employees at the end of 2006, which was 228 fewer 

than at the start of the planning period. 

Management of costs 

The management and control of costs have 

allowed the BPM Group to meet the targets set in 

the Strategic Plan. With regard to administrative 

expenses, these exceeded the plan’s fi nal target for 

2006 despite the costs for completing the Viale Bezzi 

Service Centre. 

Operating efficiency* 

2006 2005 

Operating effi ciency 

2004 

(without IAS 32-39) 

Objective 2006 


Group administrative expenses 291.6 289.6 290.5 320.0 

Payroll costs 691.1 656.8 626.2 624.0 

Lightning of Group headcount ** 8.277 8.336 8.505 8.296 

Cost/Income 61.3% 67.7% 72.1% 61.0% 

ROE adjusted 12.5% 11.7% 7.5% 12.4% 

36 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > reporting of the 2004-2006 strategic plan 

3


4 

Risk and Capital Management 

Between 2004 and 2006 BPM Group devoted 

particular attention to assessing and managing 

risks, in the knowledge that their careful controls 

within the ambit of their core business would be 

vital for steady growth. 

In particular, top management took steps to: 

– invest adequate resources in risk controls; 

– create unity in terms of strategy, coordination and 

control by centralising strategic decisions on risk 

management; 

– pursue and obtain full awareness of total risk 

profi les through analytic assessments of the risks 

incurred in the business areas and by the single 

subsidiaries; 

– use a system to limit risk exposure, managed and 

maintained by the Parent Bank for the business 

areas and subsidiaries based on the type of risk. 

The above measures were taken through the 

following actions: 

• Basel 2: BPM Group has offi cially decided to 

employ an internal rating system to determine 

creditworthiness. 

The internal rating models developed by the Bank 

are specialised according to type of clientele in 

order to take into account specifi c size. Attention 

is also given to “qualitative” data. In this way, 

BPM Group’s “local bank” image is strengthened, 

an image that it already promotes through its 

commercial activity, and value is given in the rating 

system to data that can be collected and interpreted 

thanks to the Group’s local presence. 

• Financial risks: with the goal of improving the 

quality of risk-measuring systems, BPM has decided 

to request formal approval from the Supervisory 

Authority of the systems already in use. 

• Operating risks: BPM has launched and started to 

implement a project to improve the way it manages 

operating risks, implementation which became 

necessary due to the progressive complexity of the 

“operating machine”. 

37

ACTIVITIES 

From the 2004-2006 Strategic Plan 

to the 2007-2009 Strategic Plan 

The success of the 2004-2006 Plan has led BPM to draw up a 2007–2009 Strategic 

Plan that, like the one before it, seeks to render the operating machine more 

effi cient, but, unlike its predecessor, is more focused on ambitious profi tability and 

effi ciency objectives in terms of its commercial operations in order to ensure BPM 

Group as a competitive player in the current banking scene. 

Evolution of the activities of the 2004-2006/2007-2009 Strategic Plans 


Increase results and profi tability 

by improving productivity, rationalising 

organisation and 

stabilising cost structures. 

2007-2009 

STRATEGIC PLAN 

• 100 Activities 

• of which 15 reconfirmed 

from the previous Plan 

15 activities reconfirmed 

in the new Plan 

2004-2006 

STRATEGIC PLAN 

• 11 Areas of implementation 

• 60 Activities 

01/01/2004 31/12/2006 31/12/2009 


Improve profi tability 

by increasing volume per sector 

and making commercial operations more 

effective and cost structures 

more effi cient. 

38 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > from the 2004-2006 to the 2007-2009 strategic plan


The three pillars for development for BPM Group in 2007-2009 

1. 

Development of BPM 

Customer Base 

• Higher volumes and 

more Customers, 

leveraging the Retail and 

Small Business segment 

• Expanding sales 

network and channels 

• Launching new 

products 

• Controlling new 

attractive segments 

Innovative actions 

on a mediumlong-term 

horizon 

Commercial Banking 

Wealth Management 

2. 

Higher productivity 

and profitability 

• Improving profitability 

and risk profile of 

Corporate and 

Investment Banking 

• Developing selective 

loan strategies 

• Optimising risk 

profiles, human capital 

and capital allocation 

Focus on performance 

and revenues 

Corporate Banking 

Investment Banking 

The 2007-2009 Strategic Plan takes up from where 

the 2004-2006 Plan left off by: 

• consolidating the lines of strategy identifi ed in the 

previous 2004-2006 Plan; 

• completing the commercial and organisational 

measures previously approved and in progress; 

• developing new initiatives and measures aimed at 

further reducing structural gaps by planning related 

investments and the actions connected thereto. 

Better operational 

efficiency 

• Completing 

restructuring started 

in recent years 

• Optimising operational 

processes and ICT 

systems 

Structural 

measures with 

long-term benefits 

Corporate Center 

Main objectives of 2007 - 2009 Strategic Plan 

2006 

2009 SP 1 

CAGR 06-09 2 

(Millions of Euros) 

Direct deposits 25,340 33,383 9.6% 

Indirect deposits 38,640 45,298 5.2% 

Loans 24,517 31,993 9.3% 

Total Customer business 88,497 102,220 4.8% 

(Millions of Euros) 

Operating income 1,765 2,035 4.9% 

Operating costs –1,070 –1,129 1.8% 

Operating results 695 906 9.2% 

Net profi t for the year* 302 443 13.6% 

DELTA 06-09 

Cost Income 60.6% 55.5% 5.1 

Roe Adjusted* 12.5% 16.1% 3.6 

EPS* 0.73 1.07 0.34 

Tier 1 (Annual average)** 7.1% 7.7% 0.6 

EVA* 147 213 66 

*2006 fi gures have been adjusted by excluding non-recurrent items. **2009 fi gures have been calculated taking into account the full application of Basel 2 

1 S.P. Strategic Plan Objective 2 CAGR Compound annual growth rate 

3. 

ROE 16.1% 

Net profit 

CAGR 14.3% 

Pay-out 

Around 50% 

39


1 

Development of BPM 

Customer base 

MAIN INITIATIVES FOR 2007-2009 

Branch plan 

Strengthen geographical presence, especially in the 

business market in the Bank’s traditional territorial 

roots, with the opening of 50 new branches. 

Overall renovation plan 

of the branch network 

The Plan envisages signifi cant renovation to the 

internal layout of BPM Group branches and all the 

window displays. 

The new layout will make the areas more 

comfortable for Customers. 

The new window displays will showcase an image of 

the Bank that is clear and easily distinguishable as 

well as convey reliability and transparency so that 

the Group’s long-standing institutional/relationship 

values can emerge and be recognisable. By the end 

of 2008, all 700 of the Group’s branches will change 

the overall look of their window displays. 

• Branch plan 

• BPM credit point 

• New branch layout (internal/external) 

• Development of Customer relations 

• Direct channels 

• Self-service 

• Telesales 

• Network of loan brokers 

• Network of consultants 

Customers 

1 R.A.C.E. – Reengineering and Commercial Excellence 

2 CRM – Customer Relationship Management 

Distribution 

R.A.C.E. 1 

& CRM 2 

• Loyalty program 2 

• Emerging segments (young couples, 

immigrants and atypical workers) 

• Private Banking 

New windows - daytime 

New windows - nighttime 

• Direct issue of credit cards 

• Salary assignments 

• Life bankinsurance 

• Non-life bankinsurance 

• Leasing 

• Derivatives rates and exchange (sales) 

• Hedge funds 

Products 

40 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > 2007-2009 strategic plan

Credit Point 

BPM plans to establish a network of Credit Points 

operating in conjunction with branches that is 

specialised in household credit (eg, mortgages, 

personal loans, salary assignments, revolving 

and non-revolving credit cards) and employs an 

innovative format that is more fl exible and costeffective. 

Credit card issuance 

This project seeks to redefi ne the role of BPM from 

distributor to issuer of its own credit products. 

In this way, BPM would have the opportunity 

to establish a direct and effi cient relationship 

with cardholders, while at the same time cutting 

management costs for the benefi t of both BPM and 

the Customer. 

Development and attention to new Customer 

segments (young couples, atypical workers and 

immigrants) 

Because of the economic hardships and deep 

cultural differences that characterise this type of 

Customer, attention must focus on their constantly 

R.A.C.E 

& 

C R M 

P 

R 

O 

C 

E 

S 

S 

E 

S 

I 

N 

S 

T 

R 

U 

M 

E 

N 

T 

S 

• Segmentation of Customers and changes/redesign of portfolio 

(one manager per Customer) 

• New Front End organisation model 

• Final commercial plans at branch level 

• Structured and measurable sales processes 

• Redesign of operational processes with low added value 

for activity rationalisation (release of time for resources) 

• Motivational leverages 

• New internal layout 

• Individuals 

• Companies 

evolving lifestyles and highly segmented consumer 

behaviour. At the end of 2005, there were 2 million 

young couples, approximately 3 million atypical 

workers (17% residing in Lombardy) and 2.8 million 

immigrants in Italy. 

In the light of this data, BPM Group proposes to 

guarantee a comprehensive offering that responds 

to the needs of this target Customer, and to this 

end: 

• increase the immigrant Customer base for which 

BPM plans to devote multimedia corners within 

its branches, increase the number of agreements 

with ethnic/trade associations and telephone 

companies, and employ native speakers to work in 

branches and call centres; 

• make more mortgages available to atypical 

workers and young couples with special plafonds 

and fl exible repayment methods. 

Consumer credit 

BPM Group plans to complete its consumer credit 

offering through a partnership with Pitagora 1936 

to issue products and services linked to salary 

Instruments supporting the 2007-2009 Strategic Plan: R.A.C.E. and CRM Project 

The Plan will be backed by important commercial management instruments such as R.A.C.E. and CRM. 

R.A.C.E. is a commercial model aimed at improving Customer service and results for the Bank. 

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a tool used to identify the qualitative and behavioural traits of Customers. 

• Analysis 

of Customers 

financial position 

• Renewed platform 

• Creation of CRM instruments to support the RACE project 

• Changes to indicators: churn, potential products, risk level 

• Changes to and evolution of current platform 

• Optimisation of interface for companies 

• Integrated segmentation of potential commercial/risk 

• Prescreening of potential customers and preresolution of contact management system 

RACE and CRM 

objectives 

Cutting 

Staff 

Defection Rate 

Increasing 

Overall Cross 

Selling 

41

assignments and other products and services 

marketed by BPM through the Pitagora network. 

Wider use of direct channels 

The Plan proposes to increase the use of Internet 

Banking by: 

• widening the offer of on-line products (eg, 

personal loans, virtual bank accounts for Small 

Business); 

• implementing innovative projects (eg, new access 

methods, electronic invoicing). 

Bankinsurance 

BPM Group plans to offer non-life products through 

its collaboration with Fondiaria–SAI to render the 

bank-insurance offering more complementary 

and integrative (eg, family protection products 

– home insurance, head of family insurance, legal 

assistance – and auto insurance). 

Loyalty Programme 

This programme rewards Customers’ loyalty to BPM 

products and services with collectable points. 

Addition of Customer relations resources 

BPM Group will add 80 professionals (between 

developers and fi nancial brokers) to its network 

with the task of focusing on the Retail segment and 

the SME and Small Business market to enhance 

Customer relations. 

CHIEDI DI PIÙ ALLA TUA BANCA E RICEVI UN MONDO DI PUNTI. 

Scopri la facilità di regalarti tanti premi esclusivi. 

PREPARATI A UN NUOVO PUNTO DI VISTA. 

FOTOCAMERA DIGITALE. 

Main bank project 

Over time, BPM has become deeply rooted in Italy’s 

entrepreneurial fabric, especially in the area of 

Lombardy where it has been historically present. 

Thanks to BPM’s historical presence and attention 

to the needs of entrepreneurs over time it has 

recorded above-average increases in loans, while at 

the same time ensuring a level of risk that is among 

the lowest on the market. 

It is starting from these relationships forged over 

the years that the Group’s banks aim to strengthen 

their positioning and offer themselves as reference 

partners to satisfy the fi nancial needs of companies. 

CHIEDI DI PIÙ ALLA TUA BANCA E RICEVI UN MONDO DI PUNTI. 

Scopri la facilità di regalarti tanti premi esclusivi. 

PREPARATI A UN NUOVO PUNTO DI VISTA. 

SERVIZIO POSATE. 

42 � social responsibility report > mission, guiding principles and strategies > 2007-2009 strategic plan


2 

Greater productivity 

and profi tability 

Lines of strategy for development of 

Risk and Capital Management 

The Plan seeks to improve risk levels and optimise 

capital absorption. 

The Group plans to strengthen its credit policy by: 

• strictly applying and carefully monitoring internal 

management restrictions; 

• developing operations with Private, Small 

Business and SMEs; 

• limiting the level of concentration of the loan 

portfolio. 

By fully applying the new Basel 2 prudential rules, 

BPM will have the opportunity to base its business 

Customer relations on more transparent and stable 

foundations. 

Lastly, by making its regulatory capital more 

effi cient, BPM can narrow the gap between capital 

invested by shareholders (net equity) and capital 

allocated to business lines. 

Commercial Banking (55) 

Information Technology (9) 


3 

Planned Activities 

In terms of its internal processes, BPM will continue 

to regain effi ciency, as already developed in the 

previous Plan. 

Corporate Center (16) 

Improve operating 

effi ciency 

Rationalisation of the operational mechanism 

Organisational 

measures 

ICT 

Administrative 

costs 

Investments 

• Render the central functions and 

commercial network more efficient. 

• Optimise property management. 

• Consolidate and complete 

IT sector restructuring measures. 

• Cut unit purchase costs 

and consumption of all Group 

companies by: 

– making the Group's Procurement 

Department fully operational; 

– consolidating cost managment 

practises initiatied during 

the previous plan. 

• Restore investment balance through 

progressive action ranging 

from measures aimed at supporting 

the operational mechanism 

to investments geared towards 

developing commercial relations. 

The 2007-2009 Strategic Plan envisages approximately 100 activities, divided up by business line 

(commercial banking, corporate banking, investment banking, wealth management, IT and 

Corporate Centre) and involving all of the companies of the Group. 

LE ATTIVITÀ MESSE A PIANO 

Wealth Management (2) 

Investment Banking (12) 

Corporate Banking (8) 

43


Governance

The Parent Bank’s system 

of co-operative 

governance 

Governance, in its widest sense, relates not only 

to the system of rules governing relationships 

between shareholders, Directors, management 

and other stakeholders, but also to the set of laws, 

market rules and methods of governance and 

management that allow the business to attract 

capital and to create an efficient, effective and 

profitable business. 

1 

As established by Decree 310/04 

2 

Within the limits specified in the special rule set out in new article 

150bis of the Banking Act 

3 

In other words, the legislator allows the possibility of creating, within 

the standard co-operative model, corporate entities in which - like 

co- operative banks - the mutualistic purpose may co-exist, in compliance 

with the co-operative governance model, with a profit-seeking 

purpose, as reflected in the possibility of distributing the full amount 

of earnings, the grant of rights over the assets to shareholders who 

are not Members, and the favour accorded to institutional investors in 

the matter of share ownership limits. 

46 � social responsibility report > group identity > governance 

Governance of Co-operative Banks 

The applicability of the company law reforms 

to co-operative banks 1 and specifically the new 

rules on co-operatives, 2 confirms the membership 

of such banks in the diverse “family” of cooperative 

institutes, including those that are not 

“predominantly mutualistic”. 3 

In this way co-operative banks not only retain the 

principal structural and functional characteristics of 

co-operative entities, but they also offer a unique 

model of mutuality at the service of their Members, 

in support of the local economies of the areas in 

which they operate (providing particular access 

to credit for individual Customers and SMEs) and 

through their original “democratic” method of 

governance based on the equality of their Members. 

This equality includes the following features: 

• each shareholder-member is entitled to a single 

vote, regardless of the number of shares held 

(one-man-one-vote); 

• no one may hold more than 0.50% of share capital 

(shareholding threshold), with the exception 

of undertakings for collective investment in 

transferable assets; 

• there must be at least two hundred members; 

• any earnings not allocated to the legal reserve, 

other reserves, or other purposes specified in 

the articles of association or not distributed to 

members, are allocated to charity or activities of 

social benefit; 

• resolutions by the Board of Directors to approve 

or reject applications by shareholders for admission 

to membership must be taken bearing in mind the 

company’s interests, the rules embodied in the 

articles of association and the spirit of the 

co-operative principle (approval clause). 

Members are therefore those who not only own 

shares but have also been approved by the Board 

of Directors and so have been entered into the 

Register of Members, thereby becoming entitled 

to participate and vote in general meetings. Such a 

right is not granted to Shareholders, who can only 

exercise ownership rights. 

The co-operative banking model’s one-man-onevote 

system and restrictions on share ownership 

preventing the formation of pre-established 

controlling syndicates fosters the presence of 

independent Directors on the Board of Directors 

and its committees and is also the reason, since 

each Member has equal status, for the active 

participation in decisions taken in general meetings.

Governance of Banca Popolare di Milano 

As part of the reconfirmed validity of the cooperative 

model, Banca Popolare di Milano has 

undertaken an extensive remodelling of its internal 

governance system in recent years with the purpose 

of optimising the rules of procedure and operation 

of its governing and supervisory bodies on the 

basis of greater efficiency and representation of its 

members. 

BPM’s current model of governance is based on the 

following principles and goals: 

• to foster the representativeness of the general 

meeting and the corporate bodies, through the 

defence of minority groupings and the presence of 

their representatives on corporate bodies; 

• to ensure the independence and professionalism 

of members of the Board of Directors and the 

transparency of their decisions, these goals also 

being behind the Bank’s adoption of the best 

practice rules contained in the Code of Conduct for 

Listed Companies (with the implementation of the 

new edition of March 2006); 

• to ensure effective rules of procedure and 

suitable controls over roles and responsibilities, 

through constant evaluation of the organisation 

and efficiency of board committees (to which, 

in accordance with the aforementioned Code 

of Conduct, a special annual meeting is now 

dedicated); 

• to make subsidiary companies aware of their 

responsibility for the specific mission concerning 

clear, transparent rules, promoting their 

appreciation and efficiency as part of a Group-wide 

strategic policy; 

• to encourage the holding of shares by employees 

in order to maximise participation; 

• to encourage shareholders to become members of 

the co-operative in order to foster their participation 

in its operation and decisions, also ensuring greater 

protection of their interests. 

Governance thus conceived makes it possible 

to achieve a harmonious balance between the 

interests of Members/Shareholders, Customers 

and Personnel. 

These interests, which in the long run find their 

natural reflection in the achievement of the Bank’s 

mission to the benefit of all the stakeholders, are 

protected in the short term by the transparency 

and efficiency of operations, guaranteed by the 

independence and professionalism of the Board 

of Directors and management. 

47

governing and supervisory bodies 

key: 

governing 

supervisory 

Oversees the process 

of evaluating credit, 

market and operational risks 

(measurement of exposure 

to risk, review of scenarios) 

arbitration 

committee 

3 acting memebers and 

2 alternate members 

general management 

risk 

management 

Verifies 

limits 

individual 

departments 


shareholders’ meeting 

board of 

directors 

20 directors, including the chairman, 

2 deputy chairmen and one director entrusted 

with ensuring that the internal control system is functional 

(as provided for in the new code of conduct) 

executive committee 

7 members, including the Chairman 

and two Deputy Chairmen 

Board Financing 

Committee 

9 memebers, including the Chairman 

and two Deputy Chairmen 

Remuneration Committee 

5 memebers (who do not sit on the 

Executive Committee) 

Policy guidelines 

Improvement 

of work programmes 

Individuals departments and the networks carry 

out specific controls on direct activities through 

duly documented monitoring procedures (line controls) 

board 

of statutory 

auditors 

5 acting members and 

4 alternate members 

Members Relaions’ Commission 

6 memebers (of whom 4 do not sit on the 


Internal Control Committee 

6 memebers (of whom 5 do not sit on the 


Supervisory Committee 

(Decree 231/01) 

4 memebers including the Technical and 

Operating Controls Manager 

General audits 

Specific audits 

Follow-up work 

Monitoring 

Reporting of anomalies 

Results of reviews 

performed 

State-of-the-art 

system of control 

management of 

internal auditing 

Report on line controls 

Reporting of anomalies 

This performs supervisory 

activities, taking part in all 

meetings of the Board of 

Directors and Executive 

Committee and, in the person 

of the Chairman or one of his 

nominees, meetings of the 

Internal Control Committee. 

Members of the Board of 

Statutory Auditors may attend 


meetings. 

This assists the Board 

of Directors in setting guidelines 

for the system of internal 

controls and periodically checks 

the adequacy thereof 

In accordance with Decree 231/01 

this committee evaluates the 

adequancy of the organisational, 

operational and control models 

and of the COde of Ethics and 

monitors their operation and 

observance 

netwotks 

Is not bound 

to any operational 

function and reports 

directly to the BoD.

General Meetings 

1 Based on new article 147-ter of Decree 58/98, as amended by 

Law 262/05 (known as the “Investment protection law”) and 

subsequently by Legislative Decree no. 303/06 (the so-called 

“Corrective Decree”) 

General meetings represent all the Bank’s 

Members and its conduct is governed by the law, 

the articles of association, the Regulations for 

General Meetings and, unless otherwise provided, 

by the Chairman. 

General meeting may be attended by Members 

listed in the Register of Members, in the manner 

and terms stated in the articles of association, as 

well as by the Directors, members of the Board 

of Statutory Auditors and members of senior 

management. 

General meetings can be attended, without 

any right to speak or to vote, by professionals, 

consultants, experts, fi nancial analysts, qualifi ed 

journalists and persons other than Members, if 

expressly authorised by the Board of Directors or 

by the meeting’s Chairman. 

Regulations for General Meetings 

Their purpose is to provide a full set of functional 

rules for governing the proceedings of general 

meetings, a key event in the corporate life of a 

co-operative bank with widely-held shares. 

These Regulations provide rules relating to: 

• the procedures and conditions for taking part in 

general meetings; 

• the powers of the Chairman for running such 

meetings; 

• how ballot papers should be arranged, how 

voting should take place and how votes should be 

counted. 

List voting system 

BPM encourages the presence of the various 

member groups on the Board of Directors and 

Board of Statutory Auditors and their aggregation 

into associations representing like interests, 

with a view to the Bank’s general interest and 

in compliance with the co-operative model. The 

adoption of the list voting system for appointing 

Directors since the general meeting of April 2003 

– now compulsory for listed companies 1 – has 

given “minority members” a more direct say in the 

running of the Bank, making its governing body 

more representative and respected by the general 

body of Shareholders. 

Single ballot for the appointment of the entire 

Board of Directors 

As a result of adopting the “list voting system” in 

the general meeting of April 2003, it has become 

more appropriate to re-elect the entire Board 

of Directors in a single ballot (unlike the former 

system which involved at least two ballots), in order 

49

to ensure balance between the different member 

groupings and to provide the Bank with a stable, 

cohesive governing body for the entire three-year 

term. 

Membership review 

The Bank’s membership is reviewed through a 

detailed examination of the entries contained in 

the Register of Members and the cancellation of all 

those names who no longer own the Bank’s shares. 

The purpose is to provide Members and the market 

with correct information about the actual size of 

membership; this is also needed for the purposes 

of determining the quorum for the meeting’s valid 

formation and the quorum required for passing valid 

resolutions set out in the articles of association. 

General resolution concerning management of 

relationshipswith Members 

This resolution defi nes the requirements and 

procedures for admitting the candidate as a 

Member, who must own at least 100 shares as a 

guarantee of their effective interest in taking part in 

the co-operative and provide a statement that they 

are committed to retaining these shares over time. 

This resolution also establishes the requirements 

and procedures for cancelling membership and the 

criteria for maintaining the Register of Members and 

the Register of Shareholders 

(see the subsequent section on “Members and 

Shareholders”). 


The mechanism of list voting involves: 

• the presentation of the lists of candidates by a group of not 

less than 300 shareholders who have been included in the 

Register of Members for at least 90 days, and who have a 

right to attend and vote at the general meeting; 

• a fi xed number of Directors nominated by the majority 

members (16) and by any “minority” groups (up to 4 in total); 

• the replacement of Directors, if necessary, during the 

course of their three-year term in offi ce maintaining - where 

possible - the proportion between the majority and any 

“minorities” as indicated above; 

• the introduction of a “representative quorum” for lists 

obtaining at least 150 f the votes validly expressed at the 

general meeting (lists obtaining less than this minimum 

threshold are not taken into consideration for the purposes 

of board appointments); 

• appointment of the Chairman and the two Deputy 

Chairmen, respectively, in the same order as the fi rst three 

candidates shown on the list voted by the majority.

General Meeting held in 2006 

Reappointment of the Board of Directors 

membership analysis 

analysis of the 5,267 votes placed 

Members – 54,478 (53.32%) 

Shareholders – 47,691 (46.68%) 

Other Members – 39,438 (72.39%) 

Institutional Investor Members – 6 (0.01%) 

Partner Members* - 7 (0.01%) 

Large Shareholder Members – 27 (0.05%) 

Associations** - 15,000 (27.53%) 

List 3 - Friends of BPM Association - 2,160 (41.03%) 

List 1 - Together for BPM Association - 1,605 (30.47%) 

List 2 - Non-BPM Staff Members Committee - 1,421 (26.98%) 

Blank ballots - 61 (1.15%) 

Void ballots - 20 (0.37%) 

* Partner Members: Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria and C.I.C. - Credit Mutuel Group – with whom there 

are agreements which, amongst other things, make provision for involvement in the corporate bodies. 

** Figures reported in declarations by the individual Member Associations. 

The general meeting of 6 May 2006 

elected the new Board of Directors 

using the list voting system, which 

confirmed four directors as 

representatives of "minority lists" 

out of the total number of twenty. 

Lists Represented on the Board 

of Directors 

The Articles of Association have 

allowed groupings of members to 

transform themselves into 

associations. 

Friends of BPM Association 

16 directors of whom one 

representing the Partner C.I.C. - 

Credit Mutuel Group and one 

Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di 

Alessandria. 

Together for BPM Association 

2 directors 

Non-BPM Staff Members 

Committee 

2 directors 

List - Association 

Votes gained % voters Directors 

List 3 - Friends of BPM 2,160 41.03 16 

List 1 - Together for BPM 

List 2 - Non-BPM staff members 

1,605 30.47 2 

committee 1,421 26.98 2 

Null and blank 81 (20+61) 1.52 

51

Board 

of Directors 


The Bank’s Board of Directors consists of a 

Chairman, two Deputy Chairmen and seventeen 

Directors, all of whom are members of the Bank 

in accordance with article 32 of the articles of 

association. 

The Board is invested with powers of ordinary and 

extraordinary administration and it usually meets 

once a month. 

It is called by the Chairman, who presents a 

specifi c, detailed agenda at least one week 

before the meeting, except in the case of more 

urgent meetings. The members of the Board of 

Directors and of the Board of Statutory Auditors are 

normally sent in advance all of the documentation 

and information needed to give them adequate 

background knowledge of the matters being 

discussed at board meetings. 

As a result of the voting at the general meeting 

in May 2006, four representatives of minority 

members were elected to the Board out of a total 

number of twenty. 

Executivity and Independence 

Following the adoption of the new Code of Conduct 

for Listed Companies (March 2006 edition), the 

Bank’s Board of Director’s met on 6 February 2007 

to evaluate both the level of executivity (as per 

Article 2.C.1 of the Code) and independence (as per 

Article 3 of the Code) of Directors. 

The results of the evaluation revealed that based 

on the criteria set out in the Code of Conduct, 

two out of the twenty Directors were “executive” 

and therefore not independent (in particular the 

Chairman of the Board of Directors and the new 

Director charged with overseeing the functionality 

of the internal control system), nine were nonindependent 

Directors in other areas (more 

specifi cally, they are important representatives 

of strategic subsidiaries or have held their offi ce 

for more than nine years) and the remaining nine 

Directors were independent in the sense that: 

• they do not control the Bank either directly or 

indirectly or even through subsidiaries, fi duciary 

companies or interposition of persons, nor can 

they exercise signifi cant control or infl uence over 

the Bank; furthermore, they cannot participate in 

shareholders’ agreements in which one or more 

parties exercises control or a signifi cant infl uence 

over the Bank; 

• they are not, nor have been in the past three 

fi nancial years, infl uential members of the 

Bank, any of its strategic subsidiaries or jointlycontrolled 

companies, or of companies or entities 

that, together with others through shareholding 

agreements, control the Bank or have a signifi cant 

infl uence over the same;

• they do not have, now or in the previous fi nancial 

year, a directly or indirectly signifi cant commercial, 

fi nancial or professional infl uence over (eg, 

through subsidiaries or companies of which they 

are infl uential representatives or as partners of a 

professional or consultancy fi rm): 

– the Bank, its subsidiaries or any of its infl uential 

representatives; 

– any party that, even together with others through 

a shareholders’ agreement, controls the Bank or, if a 

company or entity, over infl uential representatives, 

in other words are not nor have been in the last 

three fi nancial years employees of any of the above 

parties. 

• they do not receive and in the past three 

fi nancial years have not received from the Bank 

or its subsidiary or parent company substantial 

remuneration in addition to the “fi xed” nonexecutive 

Directors’ fee, including participation in 

incentive plans linked to company performance, 

even through shareholdings; 

• they have not been Directors of the Bank for more 

than nine years in the last twelve years; 

• they are not executive Directors for another 

company in which an executive Director of the Bank 

holds an offi ce as Director; 

• they are not members or Directors of a company 

or entity belonging to the network of the audit fi rm 

entrusted with auditing the Bank’s accounts; 

• they are not directly related to a person in one of 

the aforementioned conditions. 

All the Directors are committed to exclusively 

pursuing the interests of the Bank regardless of 

those who put them up as candidates. 

Experience and integrity 

All the Directors meet the requirements of 

experience and integrity demanded by the special 

rules and regulations for the banking sector. The 

experience of the Directors is also witnessed by the 

professionalism, expertise and diligence displayed 

when participating at board meetings. 

Bank and industry separation and absence of 

confl ict of interests 

The issues of Directors’ experience and 

independence are linked to the delicate topic of 

the relationship between banks and industry and 

the consequent potential confl ict of interests. The 

restriction on share ownership in cooperative banks 

- which prevents the formation of pre-established 

controlling majorities - is on its own a guarantee 

that bank/industry separation is maintained. 

Banca Popolare di Milano has always paid the 

utmost attention to this subject, in which it has 

been helped by its traditional roots in the retail 

and small and medium enterprise segments, which 

represent its most numerous class of shareholder. 

In this sense even the major strategic partnerships 

entered into in recent years (specifi cally the 

admission to membership of Crédit Industriel et 

Commercial and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di 

Alessandria) are strictly in the banking and fi nancial 

sector and are directly geared to developing the 

Bank both nationally and internationally. 

It should also be stressed that no member of 

“big industry” has an interest in BPM’s share 

capital and so does not have any infl uence over its 

lending “philosophy”, or over company policy in 

general. Similarly, none of the current Directors is a 

representative of “big industry”. 

53

54 

The complete list of current Directors appointed in a single ballot by the general meeting held on 6 May 2006 is reported 

below, along with details of the board committees on which each sits and of other Directorships/corporate positions held. 

Roberto Mazzotta 

Chairman 

Member of the Committees: Executive, Financing 

Director of Sogepar S.p.A. 

Director of Crédit Industriel et Commercial 

Director of Aedes S.p.A. 

Director of Metalfi n UK 

Director of Carmiano SS. 

Mario Artali 

Deputy Chairman 


Deputy Chairman of Banca Akros S.p.A. 

Chairman of Wise Venture SGR S.p.A. 

Chairman of Sigma Tau America S.A. 

Director of Sigma Tau Finanziaria S.p.A. 

Deputy Chairman Sigma Tau Industrie Farmaceutiche 

Riunite S.p.A. 

Chairman of Sigma Tau International SA. 

Director of Sigma Tau Europe SA. 

Director of Sigma Tau Healthscience S.p.A. 

Chairman Sigma Tau Sudan Ltd. 

Director of Tecnogen S.p.A. 

Director of Biofutura Pharma S.p.A. 

Director of Biosint S.p.A. 

Director of Avantgarde S.p.A. 

Director of Prassis S.p.A. 

Marco Vitale 

Deputy Chairman 


Chairman of Bipiemme Gestioni SGR S.p.A. 

Director of Etica SGR S.p.A. 

Chairman of Same Deutz Fahr Italia S.p.A. 

Director of Same Deutz Fahr S.p.A. 

Director of A.S.M. Brescia S.p.A. 

Director of Recordati Industria Chimica e Farmaceutica 

S.p.A. 

Director of Ermenegildo Zegna HoldItalia S.p.A. 

Director of Pictet International Capital Management 

Director of Pictet & C. SIM S.p.A. 

Chairman of Vincenzo Zucchi S.p.A. 

Member of the Supervisory Board Deutz AG – KOLN 

Director of Snaidero R. S.p.A. 

Director of LU-VE S.p.A. 

Director of Smeg S.p.A. 

Chairman of Consiglio di Sorveglianza Mid Industry 

Capital S.p.A. 

(1) Secretary to the Board of Directors 

(2) Representing a “minority” (“Together for BPM” list ) 

(3) Representing a “minority” (“Non-BPM Staff Members 

Committee” list) 

N.B. The list representing the majority is known as 

Friends of BPM. 

Enrico Airaghi 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Executive, Internal 

Control, Members’ Relations 

Luca Caniato (2) 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Remuneration 

General Representative of Koelliker S.p.A. 

Executive Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Koelliker 

Multimedia s.r.l. – Executive Deputy Chairman and Managing 

Director of M.M. Automobili Italia S.p.A. – Executive Deputy 

Chairman and Managing Director of Hyundai Automobili 

Italia Importazioni S.p.A. – Executive Deputy Chairman of 

Kia Motors Italia S.p.A. – Executive Deputy Chairman and 

Managing Director of Symi S.p.A. – Executive Deputy Chairman 

and Managing Director of Koelliker Gestioni S.p.A. – Executive 

Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Koelliker Handling 

S.p.A. – Chairman of Autotrade and Logistics S.p.A. – Chairman 

of Ski Area Valchiavenna S.p.A. – Chairman of Koelliker 

Automobili Torino s.r.l. – Chairman of Koelliker Automobili 

Padova s.r.l. – Chairman of Koelliker Automobili Roma s.r.l. 

Emilio Castelnuovo (1) 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Executive, 

Financing, Remuneration 

Director of Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. 

Giuseppe Coppini 

Director 

Member of the Committees: 

Financing, Members’ Relations 

Deputy Chairman of Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 

Director of Nordest Banca S.p.A. 

Director of Cassa di Risparmio di Asti S.p.A. 

Enrico Corali 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Financing 

Chairman of BAS-Servizi Idrici Integrati S.p.A. 

Director of Multiservizi Nord Milano S.p.A. 

Director of Trescore Infrastrutture S.r.l. 

Rocco Corigliano 

Director 

Chairman of Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 

Director of Vega Finanziaria S.p.A. 

Chairman of Bipiemme Vita S.p.A. 

Eugenio Crosta 

Director 

Member of the Committees: 

Remuneration, Internal Control 

Director of Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 

Director of Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A.

Roberto Fusilli (3) 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Financing, 

Remuneration, Members’ Relations 


Director of Bipiemme Gestioni SGR S.p.A. 

Piero Lonardi (3) 

Director 


Control 

Director of Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria S.p.A. 

Director of L’Altra metà s.r.l. 

Director of Spinarmony s.r.l. 

Director of Siplast s.r.l. 

Director of Errepi S.p.A. 

Sole Director of Fin-Arco s.r.l. 

Sole Director of Cet s.r.l. 

Sole Director of Immobiliare Alfredo Mario s.r.l. 

Sole Director of Immobiliare Emanuela s.r.l. 

Sole Director of La Castagna s.r.l. 

Sole Director of M.G. Enterprise s.r.l. 

Sole Director of Toscolano s.r.l. 

Sole Director of Vismaf s.r.l. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of AMSA S.p.A. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of AMSA DUE s.r.l. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of AMSA TRE s.r.l. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of A. De Pedrini S.p.A. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of Medicaltraining S.p.A. 

Auditor of GUT Edizioni s.r.l. 

Auditor of Nitrol Chimica s.r.l. 

Maria Martellini 

Director 


Chairman of Bipiemme Immobili S.p.A. 

Deputy Chairman of Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 

Director of R.C.S. Pubblicità S.p.A. 

Director of R.C.S. Investimenti S.p.A. 

Director of Class Editori S.p.A. 

Director of Milano Finanza Editori S.p.A. 

Director of CUEIM-Consorzio Un.Ec.Ind. e Manageriale 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of 

Italcementi S.p.A. 

Michele Motterlini 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Executive 

Managing Director of Cofi fast S.r.l. 

Gianfranco Pittatore 

Director 

Director of Banca Akros S.p.A. 

Director of Bipiemme Vita S.p.A. 

Director of S.I.A.S. Società Iniziative Autostradali e Servizi 

S.p.A. 

Director of Wise Venture SGR S.p.A. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of A.C.E.A.C.R.I. s.r.l. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of Lombardi s.r.l. 

Director of Soc. Immobiliare Ariosa s.r.l. 

Chairman of Palazzo del Governatore s.r.l. 

Director of Norman 95 S.p.A. 

Director of Palazzo del Monferrato s.r.l. 

Marcello Priori 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Members’ Relations 

Deputy Chairman of Bipiemme Gestioni SGR S.p.A. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of Etica 

SGR S.p.A. 

Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors of 

Carrefour Servizi Finanziari S.p.A. 

Director of Monzino S.p.A. 

Auditor of Lucchini S.p.A. 

Auditor of Reno De Medici S.p.A. 

Auditor of Fomas Finanziaria S.p.A. 

Auditor of IBI S.p.A. 

Jean-Jacques Tamburini 

Director 


Managing Director and executive committee member 

of Credit Industriel et Commercial 

Chairman and Managing Director of CIC Société Bordelaise 

Chairman of Supervisory Board of CM-CIC Capital Privé 

Chairman and Managing Director of CIC Participations SAS 

Deputy Chairman of Supervisory Committee of CM-CIC 

Asset Management 

Director of CIC Investissement 

Director of CIC Finance 

Director of Banque de Tunisie 

Member on the Board of Statutory Auditors of Banque 

Marocaine du Commerc Extérieur 

Director of CIC Banque CIAL 

Director of CIC SNVB 

Director of CIC Lyonnaise de Banque 

Director of Institut de Participation de l’Ouest (IPO) 

Graziano Tarantini 

Director 


Chairman of Banca Akros S.p.A. 

Chairman of Akros Securities Inc. 

Director of ESN North America Inc. 

Director of Interservice Gestione Partecipazioni S.p.A 

Director of Dexia Crediop S.p.A. 

Valerio Tavormina 

Director 


Control, Members’ Relations 


Director of Cassa di Risparmio di Asti S.p.A. 

Michele Zefferino 

Director 

Member of the Committees: Internal Control, 

Members’ Relations 

Director of Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria S.p.A. 

Director of Bipiemme Vita S.p.A. 

55

Other Governing 

and Supervisory Bodies 

Board of Statutory Auditors 

Offi ce held 

Antonio Ortolani Chairman 

Marco Baccani Auditor 

Enrico Castoldi Auditor 

Emilio Cherubini ** Auditor 

Paolo Troiano * Auditor 

Salvatore Rino Messina ** Alternate auditor 

Enrico Radice Alternate auditor 

Giuseppe Zanzottera Alternate auditor 

Giorgio Zoia * Alternate auditor 

* Representing a “minority” (“Together for BPM” list ) 

** Representing a “minority” (“Non-BPM Staff Members Committee” 

list) 

N.B.: The list representing the majority is the one known as “Friends 

of BPM” 


Further to the reform of the articles of association, 

it is now compulsory for all the investigative 

and/or proposal-making board committees and 

commissions envisaged by the Code of Conduct 

for Listed Companies to have the presence of 

one Director elected on a minority list (there are 

currently two “minority” representatives on the 

Internal Control Committee). Similarly, a Director 

representing each of the two “minorities” is also 

present on the Executive Committee. 


The Board of Statutory Auditors consists of a 

chairman, four acting auditors and four alternate 

auditors, who are elected from among the Bank’s 

members. Currently, two acting auditors and 

two alternate auditors representing the minority 

shareholders serve on the Board. 

In implementation of Law no. 262/05, the 

extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of 21 

April 2007 amended Article 41 of the articles 

of association in order to ensure that the next 

chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors will be 

one of the acting auditors representing the minority 

shareholders, as currently set out in Article 148, 

paragraph 2-bis of the Finance Act. 

The Board of Statutory Auditors takes part in all 

meetings of the Board of Directors and Executive 

Committee and the Chairman (or one of the acting 

auditors delegated by him) also takes part in 

meetings of the Internal Control Committee. 

The Board of Statutory Auditors also takes part 

in person at meetings of the Board Financing 

Committee. 

The main duties of this body1 consist of monitoring 

compliance with the law and deeds of incorporation, 

the observance of correct codes of management 

conduct, the adequacy of the company’s 

organisational structure (for the aspects falling 

under its remit) and the systems of internal and 

accounting-administrative control, as well as the 

reliability of the latter for correctly representing the 

company’s performance. The Board of Statutory 

Auditors also controls the way in which the rules 

of corporate governance envisaged by codes 

of conduct adopted by the Bank are effectively 

implemented, and the adequacy of instructions 

passed down to subsidiaries. 

The complete list of current members of the Board 

of Statutory Auditors appointed by the general 

meeting held on 6 May 2006 is reported below, 

along with details of any nomination by “minority” 

lists. 

1 

See Legislative Decree no. 58/98, as now amended by Law 

262/05

Executive Committee 

The Executive Committee, formed annually by 

resolution of the Board of Directors, currently 

consists of seven members, including the Chairman 

of the Board of Directors and the two Deputy 

Chairmen. This body usually meets once a week 

with the participation of the General Manager 

and the Board of Statutory Auditors. Executive 

Committee resolutions must be passed by 

unanimous vote of all of those present; otherwise, 

the resolutions are referred to the Board of 

Directors for decision. 

For the 2006 fi nancial year, the Board of Directors 

attributed the following powers and responsibilities 

to the Executive Committee: 

• to make proposals and identify lines of strategy 

and general policy for the Bank and BPM Group and 

consequently make the most appropriate decisions, 

which are to be submitted for approval to the Board; 

• to draw up the draft fi nancial statements, to be 

submitted to the Board for approval; 

• to examine and express its opinions to the Board 

of Directors on hiring plans, company organisation 

structures, training programmes, disciplinary 

measures that entail more than a two-day 

suspension or dismissal; 

• to examine the Bank’s budget, specifi cally 

expenses and investments, as well as proposals for 

the purchase and sale of real estate and shares; 

• to resolve on ordinary expenses and out-of-budget 

investments of up to Euro 1.5 million per transaction 

and up to an annual limit of 5% of the budget 

approved by the Board of Directors; 

• to carry out all the resolutions, in performance of 

the duties specifi cally entrusted to the Executive 

Committee by the Board of Directors; 

• to resolve on all particularly urgent and necessary 

actions in cases in which the Board cannot 

immediately convene and without prejudice to this 

latter’s approval in the fi rst meeting thereafter. 

Board Financing Committee 

The Board Financing Committee is made up of the 

high-ranking members and six Directors appointed 

specifi cally for this purpose by the Board of Directors 

and by the General Manager (or one of his nominees). 

The Committee primarily decides on credit facilities and 

lines that go beyond the authority of the Management 

Financing Committee, and those facilities whose 

approval by the latter featured a favourable majority but 

with dissentions or abstentions (including for confl icts 

of interest). 

Internal Control Committee Internal Control 

Committee 

Formed via a resolution of the Board of Directors of 

13 November 2001, this Committee in 2006 widened 

and better defi ned its investigative and proposalmaking 

functions in light of the experience earned 

in the last few years and of that contained in the 

Code of Conduct for Listed Companies (March 2006 

edition). 

The Committee’s current functions are as follows: 

• to assist the Board of Directors in defi ning the 

lines of action of the internal control system so that 

the main risks of the Parent Bank and the Group 

companies can be adequately identifi ed, assessed, 

managed and monitored, furthermore establishing 

the criteria on the basis of which these risks are 

deemed compatible with the sound and correct 

management of the company; 

• to evaluate the work of those in charge of internal 

control and the periodical reports of these latter; 

• together with the auditors, to evaluate the head of 

the Administrative Division of the Parent Bank and 

representatives of the Group companies, as well as 

identify how to correctly implement the accounting 

standards and ensure that they are consistent 

in the preparation of the consolidated fi nancial 

statements; 

• to express opinions on the main business risks 

and on how to plan, implement and manage the 

internal control system; 

• to evaluate the proposals of audit fi rms seeking 

to be entrusted as external auditors as well as the 

work plans prepared and the results appearing in 

the report and suggestion letter; 

• to oversee that the audits are being performed 

effectively; 

• to evaluate the fi ndings that emerge from the 

reports drawn up by Internal Auditing Department 

and Internal Control Functions of the Parent Bank 

and Group companies; 

• to report to the Board of Directors, at least on a 

quarterly basis during the approval of the fi nancial 

statements and quarterly reports, the activities 

carried out and the adequacy of the Group’s system 

of internal control; 

• to perform any further tasks the Board of Directors 

entrusts to it; 

• to assist the Board of Directors in defi ning the 

methods for approving and performing transactions 

with related parties and transactions in which it is 

presumed that there is a direct or indirect confl ict of 

interest. 

After appointing the Director charged with 

overseeing the functional effectiveness of the 

internal control system, the Committee, when 

the Director so requests it, must then express its 

opinion on specifi c aspects that relate to identifying 

57

the main business risks as well as to planning, 

implementing and managing the internal control 

system. 

The Committee is currently composed of 

fi ve members (all non-executive and mostly 

independent, of which two elected in the two 

“minority” lists). 

The Chairman of the Board of Auditors, or other 

statutory Auditor appointed by the same, takes part 

in the activities of the Committee. 

The General Manager and, even disjointly, in 

relation to specifi c issues, the head of Internal 

Auditing Department, the head of Service Risk 

Management of the Parent Bank, members of 

management of the Parent Bank and heads of the 

Group companies may also be called upon to attend 

the Committee’s meetings. 

Supervisory Committee (as per Legislative 

Decree no. 231/01) 

The Supervisory Committee, set up in accordance 

with Legislative Decree no. 231/01, assesses the 

adequacy of the organisational/management/ 

control models and Code of Ethics adopted by 

the Bank, and monitors how they work in order to 

prevent the committing of the offences described in 

Legislative Decree no. 231/01. 

This Committee has also implemented an 

effective system of internal communication that, 

by guaranteeing the utmost confi dentiality and 

protection to the reporter, allows anyone learning of 

unlawful acts, or situations that fail to comply with 

the organisational/management/control models 

and Code of Ethics, to report these to the head 

of their relevant departments and to provide the 

Supervisory Committee with every relevant fact for 

the purposes of Legislative Decree no. 231/01. 

In the course of 2006, in order to ensure greater 

autonomy and independence of the Committee, 

parties external to the Bank and the head of Internal 

Auditing were appointed to serve on the Committee. 


Legislative Decree no. 231/2001 in BPM 

The introduction of administrative responsibilities of 

entities into the Italian legal system (irrespective of the 

criminal responsibility of individuals for crimes materially 

committed) has had a signifi cant impact on the entire Italian 

economic system and more specifi cally on banks, which now 

(on the basis of guidelines issued by the Italian Banking 

Association) must set up preventive internal rules specifi c 

to each bank in order to avoid any penalties that may arise 

from the application of the Decree. Towards this end, BPM 

has implemented a series of preventive measures, including 

an Organisation, Management and Control Model and a 

Code of Ethics. Furthermore, it has appointed a Supervisory 

Committee and set up distance learning courses for 

Personnel to whom the texts of the Legislative Decree, the 

Model and the Code of Ethics have been sent in hard copy 

and electronic format. In any event, Personnel may consult 

the texts simply by accessing the Bank’s General Regulation. 

Personnel have also been advised that a penalty system has 

been introduced for violations committed against the Code of 

Ethics and the Organisation Model. In fact, a special brochure 

has been sent to all members of Personnel, regardless of the 

relevancy of the tasks assigned to them. 

These measures have entailed a high level of commitment on 

the part of the Bank as well as Personnel, who are required 

to keep abreast of and comply with ever-evolving rules. 

However, this commitment has brought about important 

results in that on the one side the Bank and Its equity are 

safeguarded against possibly signifi cant penalty risks and on 

the other side the Bank’s organisational processes are fully 

reviewed and any inherent risks that might arise in relation 

to the new rule of law are analysed in detail. 

No less important is the fact that the activities carried out by 

the Bank to comply with the Legislative Decree have enabled 

it to reinforce ethical values by which the Bank and everyone 

operating on its behalf have always been inspired in the 

performance of their activities.

Members’ Relations Commission 

This reviews applications for the admission of 

members and proposals to cancel members in 

compliance with the law, the articles of association 

and related resolutions by the Board of Directors, 

as well as waivers on privileged guarantees on 

company shares. 

Remuneration Committee 

This reviews and makes proposals concerning 

the remuneration of Directors of the Bank holding 

particular offi ces and Directors of subsidiaries as 

well as top management remuneration policies 

within the Group, with a view to fostering uniform 

standards of evaluation that take account of the 

different levels of risk/responsibility. 

Arbitration Committee 

This was set up in accordance with article 42 of 

the articles of association. It consists of three 

acting and two alternate members elected for a 

three-year period in general meeting from among 

the Members. It reviews all the disputes referred 

to it under the articles of association and seeks to 

resolve disputes that might arise between Members 

or between the Members and Directors concerning 

the conduct of the business. 

Frequency of board and board committee meetings (2006) 

Number 

of Directors 

of whom 

representatives 

Number 

of meetings 

% 

of attendance 

Board of Directors 20 4 18 92 

Executive Committee 7 2 39 90 

Board Financing Committee 9 1 45 82 

Internal Control Committee 5 2 12 95 

Remuneration Committee 5 2 5 100 

Members’ Relations Commission 


6 2 10 91 

(as per Legislative Decree no. 231/01) – – 7 97 

59

Rules of governance 

1 Revised and updated in the light of rules on “Market Abuse” 

(Law no 62/2005, so-called “2004 Community Law”) and CONSOB 

Regulation no 15232 of 29 November 2005. 


Code of Conduct 

In March 2006 Borsa Italiana S.p.A. presented the 

new text of the Code of Conduct, which replaces the 

edition drawn up in 1999 and reviewed in July 2002. 

In the meeting held on 19 December 2006, the 

Board of Directors of BPM resolved to voluntarily 

adhere to the Code and set out a special calendar 

of the measures taken to implement the Code’s 

new provisions, to date fully enacted (in particular, 

an executive Director to supervise the system of 

internal control has been appointed, the executivity 

and independence of Directors have been evaluated 

based on new criteria, the limits of the tasks of 

Directors and the self-evaluation of the Board of 

Directors with respect to its size, composition and 

functioning and its Committees have been defi ned). 

Code of Conduct on Internal Dealing 

This Code 1 strictly regulates the disclosure 

requirements and any restrictions involving 

dealings in listed fi nancial instruments issued by 

BPM carried out by “Relevant Persons” (and their 

close associates), meaning those persons, who, by 

virtue of the position held in the Group (Director, 

statutory auditor, senior manager with decisionmaking 

powers such that can affect the issuer’s 

future prospects), have regular access to pricesensitive 

information regarding the Bank and the 

Group. 

The purpose of this Code is to ensure that dealings 

by such “Relevant Persons” are reported to the 

market in the most transparent, uniform way. 

Guidelines on signifi cant operations 

and with related parties 

These guidelines (in the updated version approved 

by the Board of Directors in the meeting of 13 March 

2007) aim to identify the “signifi cant” operations 

of the Bank (and of the entire BPM Group) and 

more specifi cally those with related parties, as 

well as provide all interested parties with the rules 

of conduct to report to the Bank their status as a 

“related party” in carrying out transactions with 

the same and govern the authorisation process for 

such transactions in order to guarantee that they 

have been carried out correctly in substantial and 

procedural terms.

Procedures for price-sensitive 

announcements 

This consists of a detailed set of procedures for the 

Board of Directors and its committees regarding 

the handling and external communication of pricesensitive 

information regarding the Bank and the 

Group (ie, information that may affect the Bank’s 

share performance). In fact, the publication of such 

information requires specifi c authorisation and 

must be communicated to the market and press 

agencies in accordance with the related CONSOB 

regulations. In the light of the legislative changes, 

especially with reference to the Market Abuse 

Directive and in compliance with related CONSOB 

regulations (see CONSOB Regulation no 6027054 

of 28 March 2006), with a meeting resolution of 25 

July 2006, the Bank implemented a new “Resolution 

of the BPM Group on reporting obligations as 

per Article 114 of the Finance Act” regarding the 

Group’s internal procedures aimed at guaranteeing 

confi dentiality of price-sensitive information (as 

defi ned in Article 181 of the Finance Act) during the 

lapse of time from the start of the various activities 

to when the market reporting obligations arise, 

as well as at ensuring a timely and non-selective 

disclosure of the information. 

Register of insiders and related rules 

In compliance with the provisions contained in 

article 115-bis of Legislative Decree no. 58/98, 

the Bank has created a Register of persons with 

access to price-sensitive information relating to 

BPM and any third-party issuers by virtue of their 

employment or profession or the job carried out. 

The Register has two main purposes: 

1. to raise the awareness of those involved of the 

value of information and hence to stimulate the 

development of suffi cient internal procedures such 

as to reduce the phenomenon of market rumours; 

2. to assist the competent authorities (meaning 

in this case CONSOB and the judicial system) in 

carrying out investigations seeking to identify 

market abuses (meaning both the abuse of insider 

information and market manipulation). 

The Bank has adopted a special set of internal 

procedures for managing this Register, which, by 

defi ning roles, responsibilities and rules of conduct, 

is designed: 

• to ensure the precise observance of the 

requirements contained in article 115-bis of 

Legislative Decree no 58/98; 

• to control the circulation of price-sensitive 

information, ensuring observance of the duty of 

confi dentiality; 

• to ensure uniform, fair representation of the 

price-sensitive information and prevent it from 

being disclosed in a selective fashion (meaning 

its disclosure to certain persons beforehand, like 

shareholders, journalists or analysts), tardily or in 

an incomplete or inadequate manner; 

• to ensure compliance with the rules on “market 

disclosure” contained in articles 114 and 181 of 

Legislative Decree no 58/98. 

Group Regulations 

The Group Regulations contain the organisational 

structure and rules for governing the companies 

falling under the control of BPM, in line with Bank of 

Italy guidelines and the demands of strong, prudent 

management (see the subsequent paragraph on 

“Governance of the Group”). 

Code of Ethics 

This represents a clear statement of the values that 

the Bank recognises, accepts and espouses and 

the set of responsibilities that it assumes internally 

and externally. The observance by employees of 

the general standards of conduct contained therein 

is fundamentally important for the Bank’s proper 

operation, reliability and good reputation. 

61

Management structure 


As part of its 2004-2006 Strategic Plan, BPM 

remodelled its organisational structure. More 

specifi cally, the new organisational structure has 

sought to: 

• reorganise the Internal Auditing Department 

structure (previously Technical and Operating 

Controls Department) in order to improve the 

selection of the activities referred thereto as a 

consequence of the various legislative changes and 

of the new controls defi ned within the ambit of the 

Internal Control Model. The role of the Department 

was therefore strengthened to become the structure 

entrusted with evaluating the overall functionality of 

the control system at Group level and the defi nition 

of the internal auditing methods and evaluation of 

their application were increased; 

• remodel the structure of the Information 

Communication Technology Department, with 

the aim to improve the level of effi ciency and 

effectiveness of the Group’s IT System, to develop 

projects with high impact for the company and 

to progressively integrate the IT functions of the 

companies within the Group. These measures 

called for stronger staff structures in order to better 

control the development of the strategic projects 

and improve line organisation and to respond 

to the issue of “development” by regrouping IT 

applications to better meet business needs and the 

issue of “infrastructure” by separating the moment 

when the service is provided from the study/ 

evolution of the systems; 

• reorganise the central structures so that may be 

more streamlined and rationalised by: 

– reducing the number of Departments and Services 

and therefore the number of direct dealings of 

General Management; 

– optimising the results of the “Rationalisation of 

central Back Offi ces” project within the ambit of 

credit and litigation; 

– regrouping certain functions in order to maximise 

synergies.

BOARD 

OF DIRECTORS 

EXECUTIVE 

COMMITTEE 

SUPERVISORY 

COMMITTEE 

* Group governance function 

COMMITTEES 

Management Committee 

Commercial Policies 

and Communication Committee 

Liquidity Committee 

Projects Committee 

Management Financing Committee 

Committee for Classification of 

Non-performing loans 

Credit Policies Committee 

Personal data processing Committee 

GENERAL 

MANAGER 

CO-GENERAL 

MANAGER 

EXTERNAL 

RELATIONS 

OFFICE 

MANAGEMENT OF 

INTERNAL AUDITING 

STRATEGIC 

PLANNING 

DEPARTMENT 

FINANCIAL CONTROL 

AND RISK MANAGEMENT 

DEPARTMENT 

TAX 

SERVICE 

* Corporate 

Affairs Function 

GENERAL AFFAIRS 

OFFICE 

ADMINISTRATIVE 

AND OPERATIONAL 

DEPARTMENT 

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER 

RESOURCES 

AND CONTRACTUAL POLICIES 

DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER 

AFFAIRS 

CORPORATE 

FINANCE 

SERVICE 

CENTRAL 

BUYING SERVICE 

ACCOUNTING 

SERVICE 

COMMERCIAL 

DIVISION 

* Financial 

reporting function 

* Personnel 

function 

OPERATIONAL 

DEPARTMENT 

AND BACK OFFICE 

LEGAL 

DEPARTMENT 

ORGANISATION 

DEPARTMENT 

HUMAN 

RESOURCES 

DEPARTMENT 

INFORMATION 

COMMUNICATION 

TECHNOLOGY 

DEPARTMENT 

LENDING 

DEPARTMENT 

FINANCE 

DEPARTMENT 

CORPORATE 

DEPARTMENT 

MARKETING 

DEPARTMENT 

COMMERCIAL 

NETWORK 

MANAGEMENT 

* Legal 

function 

* Organisation 

function 

* ICT 

Function 

* Credit 

function 

* Finance 

Function 

* Marketing 

Function 

63

General Manager 

This position is responsible for achieving the 

strategic and profi tability goals established by the 

Board of Directors, assisting with their defi nition. 

He is head of the company’s management team and 

exercises the functions of guidance, co-ordination 

and control over activities and resources in order 

that all the transactions undertaken by the Bank 

meet economic and profi table criteria. 

He prepares the reports designed to provide 

the Board of Directors with full knowledge and 

governability of the business. 

He drafts proposals relating to development 

plans and budgets for submission to the Board of 

Directors. 

He oversees the implementation of an adequate 

system of internal controls, ensuring that due action 

is taken with regard to fi ndings emerging from 

inspections by the internal control function and 

ratifi ed by the Board of Directors. 

He maintains relationships with the principal 

national and international credit and fi nancial 

institutions, with the supervisory and regulatory 

authorities, with institutional investors and with the 

Bank’s top Customers. 

He chairs the Management Committee, whose job is 

to co-ordinate policy and management and to pass 

down instructions in line with the strategies and 

goals established by the Board of Directors. 

Co-General Manager 

This position is responsible for specifi c areas 

decided by the General Manager, at present 

credit and commercial operations, the latter with 

particular reference to the subsidiary banks. 

General Management Offi ce - Staff 

This function oversees external communications by 

the Bank and Group. 

It oversees Group-wide risk management activities 

relating to credit, market and operational risks. 

It monitors and supervises the group system of 

internal controls. 

It provides the General Manager’s offi ce with 

support in planning and operational control of the 

Bank and the Group, ensuring effective monitoring 

of costs. 

It assists the General Manager’s offi ce in defi ning 

the Group’s development strategies, in identifying 

the competitive positioning goals for the different 

areas of business and in defi ning the mission of 

subsidiary companies. 


Deputy General Manager - Business 

This function ensures that the Bank’s fi nancial and 

commercial policies are defi ned in keeping the 

strategies set by the Board of Directors. 

It ensures the achievement of income statement/ 

balance sheet targets for the retail and corporate 

markets by defi ning specifi c commercial and 

marketing plans and overseeing international 

activities. 

It guarantees the achievement of the Bank’s 

fi nancial policy goals relating to the management 

of securities, foreign exchange dealing and other 

currency transactions. 

Commercial Division 

This ensures that company strategies are achieved 

in relation to the retail and SME market by defi ning 

suitable commercial and marketing initiatives 

designed to reach the expected economic/balance 

sheet goals. 

It is responsible for the overall defi nition of the 

portfolio of products and services for Customers, 

as well as for planning and implementing specifi c 

marketing measures. 

It manages and develops the entire Division, 

monitoring the commercial performance of the 

different Customer segments and identifying 

any measures needed to correct the policies 

undertaken. 

It is responsible for achieving income statement/ 

balance sheet goals and development goals 

relating to Customers that operate through “direct” 

distribution channels (namely the Internet, the call 

centre and fi nancial advisors). 

Deputy General Manager - Resources and 

Contractual Policies 

This function ensures that human resources are 

managed as a strategic part of the Group’s overall 

design in accordance with the policies laid down by 

the Board of Directors. 

Once a year it defi nes general or special personnel 

plans with reference to recruitment, terminations, 

internal transfers, training, remuneration and 

incentives for submission, in agreement with the 

General Manager’s offi ce, to Board approval. 

It prepares, in conjunction with the Human 

Resources Department, the related operating plans 

in application of decisions taken by the Board. 

It defi nes the next year payroll costs for each 

Department/Service. 

In conjunction with the Human Resources 

Department and through negotiation with the 

trade unions, it defi nes company rules governing

personnel issues and problems. 

It ensures that contractual requirements and 

disciplinary measures are applied. 

It ensures that internal notices and communications 

are circulated. 

At the command of the Board of Directors and in 

agreement with the General Manager’s offi ce, it 

co-ordinates and reviews the personnel policies of 

subsidiary companies. 

It acts as a liaison for the General Manager’s offi ce 

for defi ning organisational development and 

property management policies. 

Administrative and Operational Support 

Division 

This division provides support functions to the 

General Manager’s offi ce and secretarial and 

administrative support to the Board of Directors. 

It sees to the Bank’s corporate compliance, 

maintains institutional relationships with the 

regulatory authorities and looks after requirements 

needed prior to and subsequent to the Bank’s board 

meetings. 

It sees to the corporate and legal co-ordination of 

the Bank’s equity investments. 

It proposes and agrees with the General Manager’s 

offi ce the policies for effi cient fi nancial reporting 

and control of all corporate events. 

It is responsible for preparing the draft fi nancial 

statements, overseeing the related administrative 

and accounting process, and for compliance with 

tax and statutory requirements. 

It enacts the strategies announced by the Board of 

Directors and the goals contained in the Strategic 

Plan relating to the preparation of the annual 

fi nancial report, including the Group’s consolidated 

report. 

It oversees buying policies and expenditure in 

accordance with the provisions contained in the 

Budget Spending and Buying Regulations. 

It is responsible for the management and custody of 

valuables. 

It oversees the Group’s administrative co-ordination. 

It provides operational and administrative services 

to the network and the necessary support to credit 

intermediation and securities administration 

activities. 

It oversees the recovery of non-performing loans 

and the provision of the related legal advice. 

Credit and Information Communication 

Technology Functions 

These functions report directly to the General 

Manager’s offi ce. 

The Credit Function evaluates and approves all 

types of lending that go beyond local limits, and, 

using separate structures, it constantly monitors 

credit positions, ensuring the governance of credit 

risk. 

The ICT Function uses information technology as a 

means of innovation and change, by planning and 

managing the Group’s information system. 

65

Governance of the Group 


The enhancement of the value and the strategies 

of the BPM Group, like those of its member 

companies, are promoted by Banca Popolare di 

Milano in its role as Parent Bank which: 

• defi nisce gli obiettivi delle singole società, 

che vengono recepiti dai rispettivi Consigli di 

Amministrazione e Direzioni, della cui realizzazione 

gli stessi diventano pienamente responsabili; 

• presidia in modo coordinato gli specifi ci mercati e 

aree d’affari in cui il Gruppo opera; 

• ottimizza il livello di redditività del capitale 

sia delle singole società che del Gruppo nel suo 

insieme e controlla le componenti di rischio 

originate dalle diverse aree di attività del Gruppo; 

• fornisce supporti operativi a livello di Gruppo 

(informatica, processi ed acquisti) che per loro 

natura, se accentrati, si prestano al conseguimento 

di rilevanti economie di scala e di scopo. 

The Group Regulations establish the model of 

governance and control, setting out general rules of 

conduct, the areas of competence and responsibility 

and the means of co-ordinating the different 

companies through instruments such as: Group 

Directives, Prior Authorisations and Committees. 

Among the latter, a central role is played by the 

Parent Bank’s Management Committee – whose 

job is to co-ordinate policy and management 

and to hand down instructions in line with the 

strategies and goals established by the Board of 

Directors - and the Group Management Committee, 

which required to provide effective control of the 

entire Group’s exposure to risk and co-ordinated 

management of the more important operating 

issues. 

In order to make co-ordination activities more 

effective, subsidiary company representatives also 

attend the Parent Bank’s management committees 

working in specifi c areas, such as: 

• the Commercial Policies and Communication 

Committee, which co-ordinates the Bank’s 

commercial policies with reference to channels, 

products, communication, commercial promotion 

and pricing; 

• the Liquidity Committee, which decides operating 

limits for the active management of assets and 

liabilities with a view to maximising income, while 

nonetheless seeking to minimise interest and 

exchange rate risks; 

• the Credit Policies Committee, which decides 

the Bank’s lending policies and examines the loan 

book in order to improve the quality of the risk 

and determine the amount of provisions against 

possible loan losses;

• the Projects Committee, which has the job of 

overseeing the budget and major projects for 

change and innovation, as well as the principal 

investments in Information and Communication 

Technology (ICT); 

• the Personal Data Committee, which oversees 

the related activities and co-ordinates the work 

of company managers to ensure that company 

applications comply with national and EC laws in 

this area. 

The Committee’s decisions must be adopted and 

implemented by the Group’s individual companies. 

The Parent Bank has issued a set of compulsory 

“Group Instructions” for this purpose, under 

which its central functions exercise operational 

co-ordination and control in their specifi c areas of 

responsibility. 

In fact, certain transactions or signifi cant 

transactions by subsidiary companies – like for 

example amending their articles of association 

and internal regulations – require specifi c “Prior 

Authorisation” from the Parent Bank. 

67

System of Internal Controls 

over the Group 


In keeping with the general principles and 

guidelines issued by the regulatory authorities, 

specifi cally the Bank of Italy’s Supervisory 

Instructions, the BPM Group’s “System of Internal 

Controls” consists of the set of rules, procedures 

and organisational structures that seek to 

ensure compliance with company strategies and 

achievement of the following goals: 

• effectiveness and effi ciency of processes 

(administration, production, distribution); 

• safeguarding asset values and providing 

protection from losses; 

• reliability and integrity in all accounting and 

management information; 

• compliance of transactions with the law, 

supervisory requirements and the Group’s policies, 

plans, rules and internal procedures. 

The system is therefore based on the assumption 

that: 

• control is an integral part of everyday operating 

procedures; 

• persons are identifi ed to be in charge of structures 

and processes and they effectively monitor the 

activities for which they are responsible; 

• there is a clear separation of duties between 

those involved in operations and those involved in 

control activities, so as to ensure (both in form and 

in substance) the right level of objective criticism 

between manager and controller; 

• the system is effi cient and effective. 

Control activities are carried out at all hierarchical 

and functional levels of the organisational 

structure. All company functions and structures are 

required to exercise control over the processes and 

operations under their responsibility according to 

the responsibilities and duties set out in the Bank’s 

Functional Rules and Group Regulations. 

Since BPM adopts rules and models that extend 

to all its subsidiaries, this activity involves it 

classifying risks at a group level, defi ning limits 

on their assumption (including on the basis of 

risk-return analysis) and the criteria for their 

measurement and assessment, always within a 

group logic. 

These limits are then defi ned and updated by the 

Board of Directors of each company in such a way 

that is in line with the Group’s risk management 

policies as set out by the Parent Bank. 

Within this ambit, the subsidiaries must implement 

the directives handed down from the Parent Bank

with the goal to manage and monitor all the risks 

within its remit, avoiding any action that is not 

in line with the Group’s parameters. In addition, 

the subsidiaries co-operate with and assist the 

Parent Bank to ensure that all the directives and 

procedures are properly carried out and complied 

with by the subsidiaries. 

In terms of the System of Internal Controls, the 

Internal Auditing Department of the Parent Bank 

makes sure that the subsidiaries behave in such a 

way that is in line with the instructions received, 

and performs periodic assessments on each 

company. 

If the subsidiaries have autonomous internal control 

structures, the Internal Auditing Department of the 

Parent Bank will also co-ordinate and supervise 

local internal audits. 

69



Economic Report 

The Economic Report is the section of the 

Social Responsibility Report, which presents 

the BPM Group’s fi nancial performance and 

represents the principal link with the Group 

Annual Financial Report. The calculation 

and reclassifi cation of Value Added clearly 

presents the economic effect that the Group’s 

business has had on certain important types 

of stakeholder.

BPM GROUP ECONOMIC REPORT 

73 Key fi nancial highlights 

• Principal balance sheet and income statement highlights 

• Reclassifi ed consolidated balance sheet 

• Balance sheet ratios 

• Employee effi ciency ratios 

• Profi tability ratios 

76 Value Added 

• Calculation of value added 

• Analytical distribution of total gross value added

Key fi nancial 

highlights 

Volume of business 

Direct deposits (consisting of amounts due to 

Customers, debt securities in issue and fi nancial 

liabilities designated at fair value through profi t 

and loss) were Euro 29,354 million, 19.3% higher 

than at December 2005. Within this item, there 

was signifi cant growth in terms of amounts 

due to Customers, which reached Euro 20,808 

million, up by Euro 3,655 million (+21.3%), of 

which approximately Euro 2.0 billion referred to 

the issue of securities against securitisation of 

performing real estate mortgage loans entered 

into by institutional clients. The issue of new bond 

loans continued and in 2006 reached Euro 1.8 

billion, of which Euro 1.3 million formed part of the 

Euro Medium Term Notes (EMTN) programme. The 

growth in volumes was refl ected in the development 

of the direct deposits market share, which rose to 

2.04% in December 2006 from 1.98% in December 

2005. 

At the end of 2006 the overall aggregate of indirect 

deposits from Customers reached Euro 39,614 

million (+6.8% over the end of 2005). Assets under 

administration rose signifi cantly to Euro 18,884 

million (+13.4%) as a combined result of the 

placement of bond loans issued by third parties and 

favourable market trends. 

Assets under management stood at Euro 20,729 

million, up by 1.4% over 2005, despite the negative 

net deposits, a phenomenon that affected the 

market as a whole, of Euro 521 million, of which 

Euro 390 million related to mutual funds. These 

latter dropped by 2.2% compared with 2005. The 

market share of funds managed by Bipiemme 

Gestioni SGR and Bipiemme Fund Management 

amounted to 2.12%. Insurance-sector reserves and 

asset management grew respectively by 5.0% and 

14.5% over the end of the previous year. 

The upward trend of loans continued and at 31 

December 2006 reached Euro 26,313 million 

(+16.5% over the end of 2005) thanks to the growth 

of medium- and long-term technical forms, which 

showed a 26.5% increase in the mortgage sector. 

Also up from 2005 were mortgage loans, which rose 

to Euro 4 billion, with businesses, mostly those 

operating in the residential building sector, having 

a signifi cant impact. The positive trend of loans 

pushed the relative market share in December 2006 

to 1.95%, up from 1.89% in December 2005. 

An analysis of asset quality shows a percentage of 

total net impaired assets at 1.9% of the total loan 

portfolio, a further improvement from December 

2005 (2.4%). The ratio between net non-performing 

loans and loans reached an outstanding level 

(0.5%) even better than December 2005 (0.7%). The 

level of coverage of doubtful loans rose to 44.9% 

from 41.3% in December 2005, as did that of nonperforming 

loans, up to 70.7% from 67.5% in the 

previous year, and among the highest in the Italian 

banking system. 

Net equity, comprehensive of profi ts for the year, 

reached Euro 3,359 million, up by Euro 424 million 

over December 2005 (+14.4%). Tier 1 capital ratio 

reached 7.21% while total capital ratio amounted to 

10.44%. 

From an economic standpoint, BPM Group ended 

the year with an operating profi t of Euro 695.1 

million, up by 35.3% thanks in large part to a 

rise in operating income (+13.7% over the end 

of 2005), which more than compensated for the 

3.0% increase in operating costs and resulted in a 

lower cost-income ratio, which at the end of 2006 

amounted to 60.6%, signifi cantly lower than the 

previous year (66.9%). 

Operating profi ts reached Euro 1,764.7 million 

(+13.7%), within the aggregate: 

• net interest income amounted to Euro 916.1 

million (+20.9%) benefi ting from the growth of 

Customer business (particularly in the medium- to 

long-term segment) and the improved spread with 

Customers; 

• net income from services, including all revenue 

net of net interest income, amounted to Euro 848.6 

million, up by 6.9% over the same period in the 

previous year. Net fee and commission income 

climbed by 10.8% to Euro 613.7 million, refl ecting 

increases in “management, brokerage and advisory 

services” commissions, mostly due to the higher 

commissions on security placement and asset 

management. We point out that within net fee and 

commission income a positive effect derived from 

the de-consolidation of Bipiemme Vita equal to Euro 

15.6 million. 

Operating costs amounted to Euro 1,069.6 million, 

up by 3.0% compared with December 2005. In 

detail, we point out that: 

• the growth in personnel expenses (+Euro 34.6 

million, +5.3%) to Euro 687.9 million refl ects the 

73

Euro 18 million increase laid down by the National 

Collective Labour Agreement, increased provisions 

to funds (Euro 5.6 million), as well as the higher 

share of profi t allocated to employees of the 

Parent Bank (Euro 5.1 million), which assimilates 

the changes introduced by the new wording of 

Article 47 of the articles of association. The total 

employees of the Group (including personnel with 

other types of contracts in force) as at 31 December 

2006 amounted to 8,391, down by 54 employees 

compared with the same period in 2005; 

• the decrease in administrative expenses and 

amortisations (-0.8%), together equalling Euro 

381.7 million, refl ects the positive effects of the 

rationalisation of the IT segment and the condition 

renegotiation with the main suppliers. 

Therefore, operating income of BPM Group 

amounted to Euro 695.1 million, with a 35.3% 

increase over December 2005, thanks to excellent 

revenue performance. 

Total provisions came to Euro 162.8 million 

(+43.1%), with net adjustments to loans and other 

fi nancial asset-side items equalling Euro 124.2 

million, the Euro 26.3 million rise of which was 

mainly due to higher adjustments on loans to 

Customers, to which Euro 38.6 million in provisions 

to risks and charges were added, Euro 18.9 million 

of which was affected by the closing of the Parmalat 

recovery procedures. 

After reporting non-recurring profi ts, included in 

the item profi ts from equity and other investments 

equal to Euro 105.1 million – of which Euro 71.9 

million were attributable to profi ts deriving from 

the transfer of 50% of Bipiemme Vita to Fondiaria– 

Sai Group and Euro 34.7 million of which were 

attributable to the capital gains deriving from the 

sale of the “Galfa” property – the gross profi t from 

current operations climbed to Euro 637.4 million, up 

by 54.6% over December 2005. 

After recording income tax for Euro 233.5 million 

(levied at a 36.6% tax rate) and net of Euro 5.2 

million in profi ts from minority interests, the net 

profi t in 2006 amounted to Euro 398.7 million, up 

53.9% over 2005. 

The Group’s net profi t came to Euro 301.5 million, 

net of the aforementioned extraordinary operations. 

74 � social responsibility report > economic report > key fi nancial highlights 

Balance sheet highlights 


Balance sheet and income statement 

highlights 

2006 2005 Pro-forma 

Total assets 

Total fi nancial 

loans 

40,181,057 34,896,491 

(Customers and banks) 30,088,874 24,826,223 

Loans 

Total Customer 

26,312,649 22,585,310 

deposits: 68,968,072 61,707,283 

- direct * 

- indirect 

(assets under management 

29,354,399 24,612,848 

and securities in custody) 39,613,673 37,094,436 

Equity 

Income statement highlights 

3,358,992 2,935,416 

Net interest income 

Net interest and other 

916,055 757,779 

banking income 1,764,675 1,551,657 

Net income from services 848,620 793,878 

Operating costs 

Profi t from current 

1,069,555 1,037,937 

operations before tax 

Profi t for the period pertaining 

637,402 412,376 

to the Parent Bank 398,680 258,980 

* Includes amounts due to Customers, debt securities in issue 

and fi nancial liabilities designated at fair value through profi t 

and loss.


Reclassifi ed consolidated 

balance sheet 


Cash and balances with central banks 199,757 177,626 

Loans 

Financial assets designated at 

fair value through profi t and 

30,088,874 24,826,223 

loss and hedging derivatives 7,068,503 7,080,027 

Fixed assets 1,479,917 1,531,915 

Other assets 1,344,006 1,280,700 

Total assets 

Due to banks and due 

40,181,057 34,896,491 

to Customers 25,448,119 21,862,251 

Debt securities in issue 

Financial liabilities held for 

5,624,722 4,749,751 

trading and hedging derivatives 3,984,195 3,906,596 

Other liabilities 1,643,525 1,404,301 

Minority interests 121,504 38,176 

Capital and reserves 2,960,312 2,676,436 

Net profi t for the year 398,680 258,980 

Total equity and liabilities 40,181,057 34,896,491 


Employee effi ciency ratios 


Number of employees* 

Total Customer deposits/ 

3,136 2,674 

indirect) / Number of employees * 

Direct deposits / 

8,219 7,306 

Number of employees * 

Payroll/ 

3,498 2,914 


Operating income/ 

38.98% 42.10% 

Number of employees * 

Profi t from current operations 

210 184 

before tax/Number of employees* 76 49 

* Including other personnel (114 employees at 31/12/2006 and 109 

employees at 31/12/2005) 

Employee effi ciency ratios 

Loans /Number of employees 

Total Customer deposits/Number of employees ** 

Direct deposits/Number of employees 

These three ratios refl ect the bank’s productivity: they show that for 

every employee there is an average of Euro 3,136 thousand in loans to 

Customers and Euro 8,219 thousand in total deposits, of which Euro 3,498 

million relating to direct deposits. The higher these ratios the greater the 

bank’s effi ciency in the sense of its ability to generate funding and hence 

loans per employee. 

Payroll/Operating income 

This ratio expresses the proportion of net income from the core business 

that is absorbed by payroll costs. 

Operating income/ Number of employees 

This ratio expresses the net income from the bank’s core business per 

employee. 

Profi t from current operations before tax/Number of employees 

This ratio expresses the profi t from the bank’s current operations per 

employee. 

Balance sheet ratios 

2006 

2005 Pro-forma 

Equity*/ 

Loans 

Equity*/ 

11.25% 11.85% 

Direct deposits 10.08% 10.87% 

* Equity at the end of year, excluding net profi t for the year just ended 

Balance sheet ratios 

Equity/ Loans 

This ratio indicates the percentage of gross loans to Customers, which is 

covered by equity and expresses the degree of the bank’s solvency. 

Equity/Direct deposits 

This ratio expresses the degree of the bank’s independence from third-party 

sources of funding. The higher the ratio, the greater the bank’s level of 

independence from outside sources of funding. 

Profi tability ratios 


ROE (Return On Equity) 13.5% 9.7% 

ROA (Return On Asset) 

Net income from services/ 

1.0% 0.7% 


Net income from services / 

92.6% 104.8% 


Administrative expenses 

48.1% 51.2% 


Administrative expenses 

106.4% 124.0% 


Operating costs/ 

55.3% 60.6% 

Operating income 60.6% 66.9% 

Profi tability ratios 

ROE (Return On Equity) 

This is the ratio between net profi t and equity. It represents the return on the 

investment of the bank’s own capital. 

ROA (Return On Assets) 

This is the ratio between operating profi t and total assets; it is very important 

for assessing the effi ciency with which a bank generates its earnings; it 

specifi cally refl ects the ability of its assets to generate income. 

Net income from services/Net interest income 

Represents the amount of net interest income derived from net income from 

services. 

Net income from services/Operating income 

This ratio reports the amount of net interest income (net income from the 

bank’s core business) derived from net income from services. 

Administrative expenses/Operating income 

Represents the amount of operating income absorbed by administrative 

expenses. 

Operating costs/Operating income 

Represents the amount of operating income that is absorbed by its operating 

costs. 

75

Value Added 

The calculation of Value Added (defi ned as the 

difference between gross revenue and the costs 

of consumption incurred for its production) is 

based on reclassifying the annual consolidated 

income statement. It presents the accounting 

data in a different format in order to underline 

Interest and similar income 1,583,274 1,462,447 

Fee and commission income 688,483 626,968 

- dividend and similar income 54,410 62,931 

- net trading income 54,595 37,330 

- net hedging gains (losses) 297 -2,385 

Profi t (loss) from transfer or repurchase of: 3,862 27,017 

a) loans -3,329 24,856 

b) fi nancial assets available for sale 6,189 1,674 

c) fi nancial assets held to maturity 0 0 

d) fi nancial liabilities 1,002 487 

- net gain (loss) from fi nancial assets and liabilities designated at fair value through profi t and loss 17,044 9,357 

Other operating income (charges) 142,731 128,642 

Profi t (loss) from equity investments 82,345 30,931 

TOTAL NET INCOME 2,627,041 2,383,238 

Interest expense and similar charges -667,219 -704,668 

Fee and commission expense -74,739 -73,278 

Other administrative expenses (net of indirect taxes 

and donations and gifts) 

-275,597 -274,757 

Net impairment charges: -124,154 -97,875 

a) loans -120,918 -88,198 

b) fi nancial assets available for sale -2,356 -4,017 

c) fi nancial assets held to maturity 0 0 

d) other fi nancial transactions -880 -5,660 

Net charges to provisions for risks and charges -38,622 -15,867 

TOTAL CONSUMPTION -1,180,331 -1,166,445 

GROSS CORE VALUE ADDED 1,446,710 1,216,793 

Gains/Losses on disposal of investments 36,392 11,112 

TOTAL GROSS VALUE ADDED 1,483,102 1,227,905 

Net adjustments to property, plant and equipment -44,620 -44,166 

Net adjustments to intangible assets -43,732 -47,525 

TOTAL NET VALUE ADDED 1,394,750 1,136,214 

* For the purposes of consistent comparison, 2005 data have been reposted considering Bipiemme Vita and using the equity method instead of 

the line-by-line method. Furthermore, modifi cations were made following the new interpretation of accounting principles and clarifi cations on 

the instructions issued by the Bank of Italy for drawing up fi nancial statements. 

76 � social responsibility report > economic report > value added 

the relationship with stakeholders. In fact, the 

calculation of Value Added makes it possible to 

represent the Group’s ability to create wealth 

and distribute it to the various stakeholders who 

interact with it in their different ways. 


Calculation of Value Added 

2006 2005*


Analytical distribution of total gross value added 

2006 2005* 

TOTAL GROSS VALUE ADDED 

Distributed between: 

1,483,102 1,227,905 

MEMBERS - Dividends paid 145,262 62,255 

MINORITY INTERESTS - Profi t (loss) attributable to minority shareholders 5,187 5,850 

HUMAN RESOURCES 687,882 653,321 

Payroll: 687,882 653,321 

- direct 441,855 420,253 

- Indirect 

- Costs associated with equity-based 

219,413 211,828 

payments 26,614 21,240 

PUBLIC BODIES/INSTITUTIONS (Central and local government) 298,773 213,836 

Indirect and capital taxes 65,238 66,290 

of which: - Central government 60,279 61,244 

- Local authorities 4,959 4,515 

- Non-resident central governments 0 531 

Income taxes for the year 233,535 147,546 

of which: - Central government 162,881 103,471 

- Local authorities 68,865 39,305 

- Non-resident central governments 1,789 4,770 

COMMUNITY 4,228 4,227 

Donations and gifts 4,228 4,227 

ENTERPRISE SYSTEM 341,770 288,416 

Unallocated earnings 253,418 196,725 

Net adjustments to property, plant and equipment 44,620 44,166 

Net adjustments to intangible assets 43,732 47,525 

(*) For the purposes of consistent comparison, 2005 data have been reposted considering Bipiemme Vita and using the equity method instead 

of the line-by-line method. Furthermore, modifi cations were made following the new interpretation of accounting principles and clarifi cations 

on the instructions issued by the Bank of Italy for drawing up fi nancial statements. 

77

distribution of total gross value added 2006 

46.38% 

0.35% 

0.29% 

9.79% 

distribution of total gross value added 2006-2005 

1,483,102 

+ 20.8% 

total 

gross 

value 

added 

1,227,905 

+ 5.3% 

687,882 653,321 

+ 18.5% 

+ 39.7% 

341,770 

288,416 298,773 

213,836 

human 

resources 

enterprise 

system 

Human resources 

The portion of Value Added attributable to Personnel represents 

46.38% of the total and includes direct costs, indirect costs 

(social security charges and non-wage related costs) and the 

share of earnings allocated to employees. 

Enterprise system 

This represents the portion of Value Added (23.04%) reinvested 

in the Group in terms of unallocated earnings retained in 

reserves, and the depreciation and amortisation of property, 

plant and equipment and intangible assets. 

Public bodies and Institutions 

These are income taxes for the year and indirect and capital taxes 

paid by the Group to central and local government and represent 

20.15% of Value Added. 

public bodies/ 

institutions 

78 � social responsibility report > economic report > value added 

20.15% 

23.04% 

+ 133.3% 

145,262 62,255 

members/ 

shareholders 

dividends paid 

minority 

interests 

portion 

of consolidated 

net profit 

Human resources 46.38% 

Enterprises system 23.04% 

Public bodies 

Institutions 20.15% 

Members/shareholders 

Dividends paid 9.79% 

Minority interests - Portion of 

consolidated net profit 0.35% 

Community 0.29% 

– 11.3% + 0.0% 

5,187 5,850 4,228 4,227 

community 


1,400,000 

1,200,000 

1,000,000 

800,000 

600,000 

400,000 

200,000 

2005 

2006 

Members/Shareholders (dividends paid) 

These are the profi ts distributed to Shareholders of the Parent 

Bank and represent 9.79% of Value Added. 

Minority interests (portion of consolidated net profi t) These 

represent the portions of net profi t earned by group companies 

that are attributable to their minority shareholders and amount 

to 0.35% of Value Added. 

Community - these refer to donations and gifts to local 

communities in which the Group operates (BPM allocates 3%* 

of its annual net profi t to good causes) and represent 0.29% of 

Value Added. 

(*Modifi ed with the articles of association reform approved on 15/2/2007)

details of the taxes and duties paid by 

the BPM Parent Bank 

During the course of 2006 the total cost to Banca 

Popolare di Milano for taxes and duties payable to 

central and local government was more than 243 

million. 


Income taxes for the year 

2006 2005 

Central government: 

IRES 

Local authorities: 

89,145 75,388 

IRAP 

Non-resident central governments : 

Local taxes of foreign 

52,855 29,317 

branches – 3,295 

Total 142,000 108,000 


Indirect taxes and duties 

2006 2005 

Central government: 47,439 48,745 

Stamp duties 

Stock transfer stamp 

36,123 36,697 

duties 328 391 

Flat-rate tax 9,775 10,610 

Other taxes and duties 1,213 1,047 

Local authorities: 3,336 3,483 

Local property tax 

Other local taxes 

1,620 1,613 

and duties 1,716 1,870 

Total 101,550 104,456 

79


BPM Group Social Policies 

report 

This is the section of the Social Responsibility 

Report which contains a qualitative and quantitative 

description of the main effects of the 

bank’s business with regard to its different 

types of stakeholder and highlights the consistency 

between decisions taken, strategies 

and stated values.

BPM GROUP SOCIAL POLICIES REPORT 

83 Stakeholders of Banca Popolare di Milano 

85 Customers 

107 Members and Shareholders 

127 Personnel 

141 Suppliers 

147 Community 

155 Environment 

159 Communications

Stakeholders of 

Banca Popolare di Milano 

bpm 

The relationships that Banca Popolare di Milano 

has with its stakeholders are characterised and 

enriched by its co-operative structure which gives 

priority to the local area and its now recognised role 

of being the engine of economic, social and cultural 

growth in the places in which it is present. 

A long-standing protagonist in the areas in which 

it operates, Banca Popolare di Milano associates 

its success with the cohesion and growth of the 

stakeholders with which it deals and bases its 

development strategy on improving relations with 

them. 

personnel community 

customers 

environment 

bpm 

suppliers 

members and 

shareholders 

media 

In fact, it considers that “social responsibility” 

– meaning a corporate culture of attention to its 

stakeholders and social dialogue with them – must 

permeate its strategic and operating policies and 

support and direct a modern, distinguishing vision 

of being a bank: solid and progressive, co-operative 

and competitive, effi cient and in mutuality with the 

territory, local and capable of dealing with business 

and opportunities from globalised markets. 

83

the Parent Bank BPM 

Customers


BPM believes in the importance of continuously 

listening to the “markets”, taking into account not 

just its players but also the community, the territory 

and the factors that infl uence its development. 

It is through a constant process of listening that 

measures can be taken that effectively service the 

needs of households and companies. 

The structure of reporting these activities also 

refl ects this conviction: the results of feedback 

are presented fi rst as the basis for reporting the 

measures taken and undertakings for the future in 

respect of Customers. 

86 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > customers

Customer feedback 

In 2006, feedback was received from more than 

8,800 Customers. 

listening 

SUMMARY OF FEEDBACK IN 2006 

Topic Customers concerned Number Methodology Frequency 

Customer Satisfaction Individuals 4,000 Telephone 

interviews 

Customer Satisfaction Small 

Businesses 

Reasons for decision and user 

experience 

Reasons for and expectations 

of conto@me 

people 

trends 

economic situation 

Support in developing households and private, 

public and social enterprises. 

Accessibility, efficiency and integration of the distribution channels. 

Transparent communcation. 

Customer protection, prevention and solving of problems. 

New individuals registered 

to use We@bank 

Individual account 

holders of conto@me 

1,500 Telephone 

interviews 

Annual 

since 2005 

Annual 

since 2005 

3,300 E-mail questionnaire Continuous 

50 Focus group Ad hoc 

8,850 

service 

initiatives 

87

listening 

% Customers by age range 

< 18 

From 19 to 25 

From 26 to 45 

From 46 to 65 

1% 

2% 

People 

Trends 

Economic situation 

4% 

4% 

36% 

36% 

34% 

34% 

� 2006 

� 2005 

Over 65 

25% 

24% 

0 25 50 

88 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > customers 

Customer satisfaction 

The systematic reporting of Customer Satisfaction 

(CS) seeks to measure “perceived” quality, in 

other words quality as an element of the Customer 

experience in using the bank’s products or services. 

With a view to growing “Customer care” and 

continuous improvements in business performance, 

the reporting of CS therefore represents an 

essential step towards the correct functioning of 

the overall organisation. Accordingly, BPM has 

continuously monitored CS with a view to evaluating 

the quality of the services provided to individual 

and SME Customers. 

Objectives: The survey was carried out in order to 

identify the current perceived level of service and 

priorities in terms of marketing activities designed 

to increase the level of satisfaction. 

Procedure: 2006 marks the second phase of CS 

monitoring. It is therefore possible to analyse 

the trend over time of the main CS indicators. 

Monitoring activity in 2006, unlike in 2005, not 

only involved BPM, but also two other banks of the 

Group, Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria and Banca 

di Legnano.

Individual Customer Results 

The overall satisfaction of BPM’s individual 

Customers remained stable over 2005 and was still 

higher than the system, even if there was a slight rise 

in general satisfaction with the system. 

Relational factors scored well, refl ecting the fact that 

its personnel are the bank’s real strength. 

The product area scored less well, except for the 

Internet banking service. None of the indicators 

varied substantially over 2005. 

The areas in which Banca Popolare di Milano enjoys 

the best reputation relate to the transparency and 

maintenance of its promises. 

satisfaction 

reputation 

Staff 

Branch 

Current account 

Corporate banking 

Investments 

Overall satisfaction - BPM figure 

Overall satisfaction - Industry figure 

Maintains undertakings to customers 

Has a transparent relationship 

Is attentive to customer interests 

Corporate Customer Results 

The survey carried out with Corporate Customers 

confi rms the Individual Customer results. Corporate 

Customer satisfaction exceeded general satisfaction 

with the system, despite the fact that this latter is 

on a slight up rise. 

Personnel, branches and the corporate banking 

service all scored well. The other products/services 

reviewed did less well. Also in this case 2006 results 

remained substantially stable with respect to 2005. 

The score for “Reputation” was broadly identical to 

that for Individual Customers, a sign that the bank 

enjoys a consistent reputation regardless of the 

type of Customer. 

corporate customers 

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 

% very much in agreement + pretty much in agreement (marks from 6 to 10) 2006 2005 

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 

% very much in agreement + pretty much in agreement (marks from 6 to 10) 2006 2005 

94.1% 

94.2% 

91.3% 

92.0% 

80.8% 

81.3% 

92.0% 

94.2% 

90.0% 

88.2% 

88.3% 

87.7% 

86.4% 

83.0% 

86.3% 

86.3% 

88.3% 

83.7% 

76.6% 

75.6% 

listening 

89

Findings of other research 

Individual users of Internet banking 

The research carried out during the course of 2006 

with Individual Customers examined the more 

important aspects of choosing and using the We@ 

bank Internet banking service for the fi rst time, 

as well as focused on analysing the experience, 

attitudes and know-how of on-line users (conto@me 

account holders). 

First-time use 

A questionnaire was automatically sent out to all 

newly-registered members, through which it was 

possible to examine the user’s registration process, 

reasons for requesting the service, support received 

and interest in various functions. It emerged that 

Customers opt for Internet banking mostly for 

greater autonomy and control, while factors such as 

cost and access to functions seemed to play a lesser 

roll. 

Attitudes toward and expectation of conto@me 

Research has confi rmed that users mainly choose 

Internet banking services because of lower 

costs and because they seek greater autonomy/ 

independence. For this reason routine banking 

transactions can be carried out on line. 

Conto @me is more cost-effective and practical than 

its competitors and, more importantly, it enjoys 

greater reliability thanks to its tangible presence 

throughout Italy and the support it has from such 

a trustworthy and solid banking group. Indeed, 

in choosing an on-line account, it is important 

for users to know that behind it lies a “physical” 

banking group and not merely an image. 

The Customer-bank relationship is one of the main 

differences between traditional banks and on-line 

banks. 

The link that connects an on-line bank with its 

Customers is defi ned through an impersonal 

relationship: the no-frills, direct relationship 

is also undoubtedly reliable and advantageous 

and characterised by greater effi ciency and 

transparency. 


BPM.SET BPM. SET 

Laboratorio Territoriale PMI 

Laboratori locali sullo Sviluppo delle Economie Territoriali 

per le PMI 

As also highlighted in BPM’s current Strategic Plan, 

to develop, the Bank must increasingly focus its 

attention on the fact that Italian SMEs feel the need 

for growth. 

This is a highly important and especially complex 

strategic objective as Italian SMEs must on the one 

hand deal with a globalised economy and on the 

other must remain deeply rooted in their territory, 

ie, remain connected to their resources and socioeconomic 

ties. 

What’s more, these same territories, understood 

as complex network systems, compete for human, 

fi nancial and technological resources in order to 

develop. Each territorial area follows a path towards 

growth that is highly specialised and differentiated 

and this inevitably translates into a demand for 

personalised services (even fi nancial services). 

Thus it is vital to adopt further mechanisms in order 

to receive feedback on the economic, social and 

cultural dynamics of territorial areas. If correctly 

structured, these mechanisms make it possible to 

maximise innovation and relations between the 

Bank and local businesses. 

It is with this premise that BPM is defi ning a project 

aimed at launching labs within territorial areas 

that reinforce the bonds between the Group and 

its territory through “agendas for sustainable local 

development”.


response to 

customer 

feedback 

number of customers 

2006 

2005 

Support in developing 

households and private, 

public and 

social enterprises 

920,085 

928,497 

0 30 60 

% Customers by age range 

< 18 

From 19 to 25 

From 26 to 45 

From 46 to 65 

1% 

2% 

4% 

4% 

Women 50.6% 

Men 49.4% 

Women 50.5% 

Men 49.5% 

36% 

36% 

34% 

34% 

� 2006 

� 2005 

Over 65 

25% 

24% 

0 25 50 

Services for Customers 

As a result of gathering Customer feedback BPM 

has implemented a number of measures in support 

of households and enterprise in terms of offering 

them new products and services and of developing 

the quality of the relationship. 

Individuals and households 

BPM offers a wide range of products and services 

to “Individual” Customers, whose number exceeds 

920,000 evenly divided between men and women, 

in order to support their long-term projects 

involving savings, pensions or other expenditure. 

Choose your own account 

and try it out for 6 months 

July 2006, this initiative is transparent and caters 

to Customer needs by allowing new Customers to 

acquaint themselves with BPM free of charge for 6 

months. 

Essentially, the initiative enables new Customers to 

“try out BPM” and open an account free of charge 

for 6 months. 

During this time, the user has free access to 

services linked to the account, such as bank 

transfers and ATM withdrawals. Furthermore, 

charges for stamp duties on the current account or 

on any securities in custody are all incurred by BPM. 

At the end of the trial period, any Customers 

deciding not to keep their account with BPM will not 

incur any expenses for closing the account or the 

custody of any securities opened. 

After 6 months, Customers deciding to keep the 

account open will be subject to the standard terms 

and conditions for the account illustrated during the 

sales negotiations. 

The initiative is applicable to accounts with different 

uses and new Customers may choose the type of 

account that best responds to their needs: 

1. Conto Compilation, an account for young people; 

2. Service Line, a choice of accounts that only cost 

Euro 1 a month; 

3. Globalconto Line, an all-inclusive account; 

4. Flexiconto, an account that rewards cash 

holdings. 

To foster relations with new Customers during 

the 6-month trial period, feedback on Customer 

satisfaction is obtained through the BPM Call Center 

so that any critical situations can be immediately 

remedied. 

91

Elimination of costs for closing accounts 

opened by categories of socially disadvantaged 

persons 

From February 2006, and therefore before the 

Bersani Decree, BPM decided to eliminate costs for 

closing certain current accounts. 

This benefi t is geared toward helping groups of 

disadvantaged Customers. The initiative involves 

accounts dedicated to young people (Conto 

Compilation for Customers over and under 18 years 

of age), the elderly (GlobalConto Senior), foreign 

citizens (Conto Extraordinario small e large), lowcost 

accounts (Il conto - Servizio bancario di base 

and Conto Service1) and on-line accounts (Conto@ 

me). 

Services for foreign citizens 

The goal is to facilitate the assimilation of foreign 

citizens into the Italian social fabric, giving them 

access to fi nancial services and showing the value 

BPM gives to diverse cultural identities. BPM’s 

commitment in 2006 was carried out on two fronts 

through: 

A) the proposal for a specifi c offering, the 

Extraordinario line; 

B) the development of new multi-ethnic service 

methods through the activation of multilingual call 

centres and Extraordinario Points. 

Foreign Customers 

by country of origin 

2006 2005 

Eastern Europe 8,181 7,318 

Rest of Europe 2,303 2,148 

Africa 7,912 7,686 

Asia 8,194 7,857 

South America 5,725 5,484 

Rest of the world 923 856 

Total 33,238 31,349 


A) Extraordinario Line 

Immigrant citizens have fi nancial needs that grow 

as their level of social integration grows. Within 

this context, BPM proposes an offering made up of 

various solutions at differing cost levels. To satisfy 

immigrants’ needs to send money abroad, BPM 

offers an inexpensive, fast and safe way for them 

to send money abroad to loved ones from all BPM 

branches thanks to arrangements between BPM and 

many foreign banks in the state of origin. BPM also 

offers international prepaid credit cards without 

cardholders being required to open an account. 

Cardholders can also make payments in Italy 

and abroad and withdraw money from ATMs. The 

offering has been expanded to encompass three 

types of current accounts available at reasonable 

costs and differentiated based on the services 

included. 

For Customers wanting to start up a business 

or develop an already existing one, BPM offers 

Extraordinario Business, a product aimed to satisfy 

all business management needs. 

Brochures are available at all BPM branches and 

have been translated into eight different languages 

besides Italian: Arabic, French, Spanish, Filipino, 

Romanian, Portuguese, English and Chinese. Multilanguage 

information is available on the website 

www.bpm.it or by calling the toll-free number 

800.100.200 where multi-lingual phone operators 

are on-hand to respond in French, Arabic, Romanian, 

Spanish and English.

B) Extraordinario Points 

To provide further assistance with understanding 

products and services, BPM offers immigrant 

Customers the chance to interface with a mothertongue 

operator via a video-consultancy service. 

The service is currently available in six branches: 

three in Milan, one in Saronno, and one in Bologna 

and Rome. Customers can book a video-consultancy 

service at the self-service area located in each of 

the six branches or by calling the toll free number 

800.100.200. 

BPM received two awards for its commitment to foreign 

citizens: 

1. the Sodalitas Social Award, fi rst place in the category 

“Socially responsible fi nancial initiatives” “for having 

successfully offered a complete banking service package 

linked to various phases of local integration for immigrants 

that encourages their economic citizenship”; 

2. the WelcomeBank Award, issued by Fondazione Cassa di 

Risparmio di Biella ed Etnica. 

Support for immigrant enterprises 

In 2006, BPM continued its collaboration with 

ASIIM – Association for the Development of 

Immigrant Enterprise in Milan – by offering 

support and initiatives such as surveys on the 

needs of immigrant entrepreneurs and the 

opening of an “Immigrant enterprises point” (at 

the Milan Chamber of Commerce and through the 

website www.imprenditorimmigrati.it) aimed at 

helping immigrants start up or develop their own 

businesses in Italy. 

For 2007 and with the contribution of Members, 

the Association has planned to set up a training 

programme for aspiring entrepreneurs available free 

of charge. 

Video-consultancy area 

Multi-language 

presentation 

service 

initiatives 

93

100% mortgage 

For fi rst-home buyers who do not have initial 

capital, BPM proposes a new solution for 100% 

fi nancing for up to a maximum amount of Euro 

350,000. BPM provides a renegotiable fi xed-rate 

mortgage combined with a fi xed-rate guarantee for 

the fi rst fi ve years and the opportunity to afterwards 

modify the fi nancing plan at pre-defi ned conditions. 

Photovoltaic loans 

This project is designed to encourage the 

production of electrical energy through photovoltaic 

systems (which transform solar energy into 

electrical energy) and was created following 

Legislative Decree of 28 July 2005, issued by the 

Ministry of Productive Activities in concert with 

the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial 

Protection. 

Households and businesses intending to install or 

boost pre-existing photovoltaic systems are eligible 

for fl oating-rate fi nancing for up to Euro 150,000, 

repayable in up to 10 years. 

In light of the new (“energy saving”) fi nance law, in 

the fi rst half of 2007 BPM will develop specifi cally 

designed products for businesses, condominiums 

and individuals wishing to use environmentallyfriendly 

technologies and systems and save on 

energy consumption. 

Offers to students: “Un C@ppuccino per un PC” 

An agreement was entered into with the Ministry 

for Innovation and Technology, in concert with the 

Ministry of Education, Higher Learning and Research 

and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to offer 

fi nancing to Italian university students called “Un 

C@ppuccino per un PC”. Thanks to the agreement 

students can receive loans without having to 

provide any accessory guarantees. 

This project is among many initiatives that BPM 

makes available to students, more specifi cally 

in the ambit of masters and specialisation 

courses, through specifi c agreements with the top 

universities in Lombardy. 

Consumer credit guarantee fund 

Following an agreement with the Ministry of 

Productive Activities, in 2006 BPM issued fi nancing 

for the purchase of goods or services for families 

whose annual income (according to the household 

income indicator, ISEE) is less than Euro 15,000. 

Financing is guaranteed for up to 50% through a 

specifi c guarantee fund. 


Ethical funds - Investments in companies 

conscious of the environment and the 

protection of human rights 

BPM Group is co-founding partner of Etica Sgr (a 

company promoting “Responsible Values” ethical 

funds and belonging to the Banca Popolare Etica 

Group). 

Etica Sgr is the only Italian asset management 

company specialised in exclusively promoting 

socially responsible mutual funds. 

Etica Sgr is the fi rst Italian asset management 

company that actively exercises shareholder rights 

on social and environmental issues by attending the 

general meetings of listed companies in which the 

funds invest. 

In 2006, its fourth year on the sustainable fi nance 

market, Etica Sgr promoted the placement of the 

new fund “Responsible Share Values”. 

For every Euro 1,000, fund subscribers donate Euro 

1 to a fund that guarantees microcredit projects in 

Italy. The fund is used by Banca Etica in partnership 

with local entities and charities.

Distribution of the Italian Ethical Fund Market*: Position of Etica Sgr 

Others – 436 (22.3%) 

Pioneer – 669 (34.2%) 

(*) Calculation by Etica Sgr based on Assogestioni data, December 2006. Only funds classifi ed as 

“ethical” by Assogestioni have been calculated. 

in thousands of Euros 

Contribution of the BPM Group to total 

assets managed by Etica SGR 

Assets managed 

BPM Group 70,212 33.36% 

Other 140,234 66.64% 

Total 210,447 100.00% 

Etica Sgr – 210 (10.8%) 

Eurizon – 641 (32.8%) 

Performance of fund guaranteeing 

microcredit projects 

Total assets 

managed 

2004 90,000 48,000 

2005 185,000 105,000 

2006 264,000 114,000 

euro 

Used for microcredit 

projects 

service 

initiatives 

95

Companies 

Products for companies 

Also in 2006 BPM, often in partnership with 

local trade associations and institutes, provided 

fi nancing solutions for companies to help them 

solve business challenges, such as: 

- Short-term debt consolidation: 

The project iis geared towards 

helping craftsmen consolidate their short-term 

debts. The initiative was launched in association 

with the Craftsmen Union of the Province of Milan 

with fi nancing backed by guarantees from the 

Lombardy Craftsmen Co-operative for Guarantees. 

Its purpose is to raise awareness among craftsmen 

that they can transform surplus short-term debts 

into medium-term debts. 

- Equity adjustment: The project, in conjunction 

with the Milan, Varese and Como Chambers 

of Commerce, aims to help companies adjust 

their equity after investments and company 

restructurings. 

- Usury prevention: BPM has kicked off the 

arrangement with the local prefecture to promote 

fi nancing in order to prevent usury. The initiative 

seeks to provide fi nancing to companies, 

presented by guarantee consortiums or authorised 

associations, that are burdened with fi nancial 

hardships and request assistance through a 

guarantee set up using public anti-usury funds. 

- Investments in economically depressed areas: 

BPM has entered into an agreement with Cassa 

Depositi e Prestiti to manage Law no 488, the 

instrument whereby companies are given a large 

portion of sinking fund and low-interest loans. 

This project envisages loans aimed at fostering 

investment in depressed areas by companies with 

the help of the Ministry of Economic Development 

in part through sinking funds and in part thorough 

interest accounts. 


BPM serves 98,465 small companies and 9,430 medium 

and large companies (an ever-growing fi gure), of which 

around 74% in Lombardy. 

- Low liquidity: To help companies deal with low 

liquidity issues following the differing methods for 

allocating post-employment benefi ts for employees, 

BPM has set up a post-employment benefi t fund 

that provides a two-fold form of fi nancing. The fi rst 

part of the fi nancing has a term of 11 months at 

highly attractive rates, while the second covers the 

fi rst three years, with repayment after fi ve. 

Small Businesses 

2006 2005 

Skilled trades 22% 21% 

Services 24% 21% 

Industry 17% 18% 

Commerce 14% 14% 

Agriculture 3% 3% 

Other 20% 23%

Entities and Associations 

BPM for the non-profi t sector 

Collaboration activities in the non-profi t sector led to 

a rise in 2006 in the offering of products and services 

for the non-profi t sector. 

In 2006 membership to the website 

www.faresolidale.it increased by 68%. The website 

was redesigned and the new version was launched 

in May 2007, offering associations the chance to 

present up to 6 projects and use state-of-the-art 

online fund collection instruments. 

During the course of the year, the ON LINE 

DONATIONS service has increased its membership 

and now has an added service expressly set up by 

BPM called FRECCIA WEB Solidale whereby nonprofi 

t associations can collect funds on-line. 

In 2006 BPM took part in several nation-wide 

and, in keeping with its logic as a local area 

bank, local initiatives. The initiatives included 

TUTTAUNALTRACOSA and Stramilano. 

The non-profi t sector in BPM* 

2006 Number 

of Customers 

2005 Number 

of Customers 

Social co-operatives 205 211 

Associations and other Entities 3,920 1,465 

Foundations 185 169 

Religious entities 538 547 

Total 4,848 2,392 

* In 2006, through an analysis conducted, the segment was 

better defi ned to include associations as well as other nonprofi 

t entities such as committees, research institutes and 

organisations for senior citizens. 

service 

initiatives 

97

SERVICE 

INITIATIVES 

Accessibility, effi ciency 

and integration of 

distribution channels 


Commercial network 

Territorial coverage 

BPM continued to pursue its territorial expansion 

activities also in 2006. In line with the bank’s 

mission to keep its strong local roots and constantly 

improve service, BPM’s distribution policy involved 

the pursuit of a widespread network with heavy 

coverage especially in the areas in which BPM’s 

presence is deeply rooted and where a direct 

knowledge of the area facilitates a proactive 

approach in Customer relations. 

New branch model 

In 2006, BPM continued its efforts to modernise 

and render the internal areas of its branches 

more functional by providing better security and 

improving Customer-Bank relations. 

Self-service area set up for new and advanced procedures. Typical work area equipped with automatic cashiering services for safe cash management

On-line channel 

We@bank 

In its six years of existence, the We@bank service 

has earned noteworthy results in terms of its 

widespread Customer use. More than 25% of BPM 

account holders are registered to use the We@bank 

service and on average, in the 12 months of 2006, 

more than 130,000 transactions took place each 

month through this on-line service (payments, stock 

market trades and transactions in funds). 

These results place We@bank at the top end of 

the market in terms of Customer penetration. The 

important goals established when the We@bank 

service was created have been achieved. 

Ever-wider Customer penetration and more intense 

use of the services offered remain the permanent 

objectives of the We@bank service. To reach these 

goals, projects were designed in 2006 to improve 

and complete the offering of products and services 

available on We@bank. 

We@bank’s growth does not stop here. We@bank 

has entered into a new phase as an operational 

channel as well as a Customer relations and sales 

channel. This latter objective arises from the 

experience gained by Customers in using on-line 

channels in general. 

We@bank has already started to change in this 

directions by redesigning the part of the website 

accessible to the public, made available on 1 July 

2006. In 2007 the private area will be completely 

redesigned keeping these new perspectives in 

mind. 

We@bank results for BPM 

In 2006 31,157 Customers registered to use We@ 

bank, a sharp increase over 2005 of 20%. At 31 

December 2006, 182,457 Customers signed up for 

access to BPM’s Internet Retail service (+ 13% over 

the previous year). 

With regard to the use of the We@bank service, we 

point out that: 

• a monthly average of more than 92,000 users 

access the private areas of the website (via a login 

and password), up from 77,500 in 2005 (+18%); 

• on an annual basis, the total number of active 

Customers who used the service at least once 

reached 130,560 compared to 111,954 in the 

previous year, resulting in a 17% increase. The total 

number of active clients accounts for 72% of the 

total clients registered with the service against 70% 

at the end of December 2005 and 69% at the end of 

December 2004; 

• these clients accessed the We@bank website a 

total of 9,481,985 times (+ 20 % over 2005), with an 

average of 72 logins/Customers in twelve months 

(more than 6 logins per month per active Customer). 

With regard to banking operations, we point out 

that: 

• 9,605,119 information requests (current account 

balances, transactions, instruction results etc) were 

made, up 20% over 2005; 

• Customers giving bank instructions rose from 

62,640 in 2005 to 79,066, up 26%; 

• the number of instructions (bank transfers, bank 

slips, automatic transfers, payments against notice, 

etc) totalled 1,131,608, up by 31 % over 2005; 

• on-line trading again reached record highs in 

2006 with 406,927 stock exchange transactions 

performed compared to 325,313 in 2005 (+25%). 

This result is slightly higher than that of the overall 

Italian market performance. Indeed, the average 

daily trading percentage on the Italian Stock 

Exchange in the same period was 21% higher than 

the previous year, reporting a growth of the market 

share as well; 

• transactions on funds have reached signifi cant 

levels with 25,667 transactions carried out in 2006 

(purchases, sales and switches) compared with 

18,722 in the previous year (+37%). Market trends 

have fuelled this growth, but they are surely not the 

only reason for this phenomenon. Since 2005 this 

140.000 

116.000 

93.000 

70.000 

1.100.000 

900.000 

700.000 

500.000 

300.000 

Active We@Bank Customers 

83,260 

99,518 

130,560 

2003 2004 2005 2006 

424,869 

641,800 

111,954 

We@Bank Banking Instructions 

861,868 

1,131,608 

2003 2004 2005 2006 

99

sharp increase has been the result of more intense 

usage of more sophisticated services on the part of 

the Customers and therefore greater maturity in the 

use of We@bank 

Accessible We@bank 

Accessible We@bank is the version of individual 

Customer home banking service devoted to the 

otherwise abled. 

This service makes it possible to navigate and 

use the principal functions involving the giving of 

instructions and requesting of information already 

available in the “traditional” version of We@bank, 

by using special technology to allow these functions 

to be used by the otherwise abled. 

Its various features include the possibility of 

modifying the viewing mode, enlarging the 

characters or increasing the contrast, and the 

possibility for the blind to use a specifi c screen 

reader to read web pages. 

During 2006 over 7,289 Customers used Accessible 

We@bank involving a total of more than 62,010 

logins and 7,748 instructions. 

On-line security 

The public portion of the website has been made 

even more secure with the application of an https 

scheme that protects data through encryption. 

In general terms, security of the private area of the 

website has been strengthened through the use of 

a second password (see image below) previously 

used to confi rm all instructions placed in the private 

area. 

Lastly, use of the second password has been 

optimised through the request of only 2 codes 

so that as a result the possible combinations are 

widened. 


inLineaNet 

In 2006 the number of Customers and instructions 

rose sharply, even in light of the legislative changes 

brought about by the Bersani Decree, which requires 

all businesses to use on-line instruments. The 

number of new users of this service totalled 15,068, 

for a total of 48,618 Customers, equal to 49% of the 

total business Customers, up 10% from 2005. 

The number of F24 forms collected in 2006 totalled 

234,758 against 94,858 in 2005, up 247%. 

On-line Documents 

The “On-line Documents” service has been active 

since March 2004 and is available to both individual 

Customers using We@bank and corporate Customers 

using inLineaNet. The On-line Documents service 

allows users to receive accounting documents that 

the bank would normally send via post directly online 

inside a personal fi le within the private area of 

the website. These documents refer to: 

• banking transactions such as bank transfers, 

account transfers; 

• the sale and purchase of securities; 

• other types of transactions such as automatic 

transfers, reversals, collections; 

• bank statements and securities in custody; 

• summary documents from 1 January 2007. 

The service continues to be very successful. The 

percentage of Customers signed up for the service 

as at 31 December 2006 grew by 69% compared with 

December 2005. Accounts registered for the service 

equal more than 87% of active Customers using 

Internet services (monthly fi gure at December 2006) 

and more than 52% of all existing Customers (for 

branch 599 Customers, the percentage exceeds 70%). 

Figures for On-line Documents services 

We@bank + inLineaNet 

2006 2005 

Accounts registered for the service 143,300 98,000 

Bank statements produced 1,100,000 500,000 

Documents produced 7,100,000 3,200,000 

Saving by Customers (in euro) 1,430,000 1,250,000 

Figures for inLineaNet 

2006 2005 

Average active Customers in a month 44,696 24,790 

Total no. site accesses 5,005,690 4,142,591 

Total no. information requests 5,170,895 4,245,279 

Total no. instructions 13,051,805 6,364,934


response to 

customer 

feedback 

Transparent 

communication 

Awareness of Patti Chiari 

2006 2005 

I am aware of the initiative 44.20% 44.20% 

I have only heard of it 38.15% 38.45% 

I am well aware of the initiative 6.05% 5.75% 

I am not aware of the initiative 55.80% 55.80% 

Guide 

to the initiative 

for the Customer 

October 2006 

Source: Patti Chiari Consortium 

List of services regulated 

on current account 

available at branch 

Half-year monitoring 

of closing periods 

(report on periods 

available 

at branches from 

June 2007) 

December 2006 

Patti Chiari 

Banca Popolare di Milano has adopted from the 

outset the eight initiatives taken as part of the project 

sponsored by ABI (Italy’s Banking Association) with 

the goal of improving bank-Customer relationships, 

by basing Customer engagement on the values 

of clarity, fairness, ease of understanding and 

comparability of the various choices on offer. 

After obtaining quality certifi cation in 2004 for each 

of the 8 initiatives, BPM maintained this status in 

the three-year period from 2005 to 2007 thanks to 

its correct provision of the 8 services, confi rming 

its commitment to introducing the transparency 

principle to the market. 

In addition, BPM has adhered to the initiative within 

the ambit of PattiChiari called Cambio Conto, which 

aims to provide greater information on procedures 

regarding the mobility of Retail Customers in relation 

to current account products (in application of the 

Bersani Decree) through a process that is clear, 

simple and effi cient, thereby guaranteeing: 

• a list of services regulated on the account being 

closed/transferred; 

• the automatic transfer of collections; 

• the monitoring of timing for closing the account. 

By the end of 2007, the initiative will ensure that all 

services linked to the account are fully transferred. 

In order to understand and monitor knowledge of 

the project, in 2006 BPM asked Customers whether 

they are aware of Patti Chiari as part of the wider 

Customer Satisfaction survey. The data reported in 

the table below show how awareness of the initiative 

has improved among those who have already heard 

of it, while more attention should focus on informing 

people who are not aware, the percentage of which 

remains unchanged. 

Automatic transfer 

of charges managed 

by the automatic 

transfer service 

February 2007 

Automatic 

transferability of all 

services activated 

on the account 

December 2007 

101

Patti Chiari 

Controversial markets 

Law no 185/90 governs the exchange of arms within the context of foreign defense policy and its compliance with the 

Banca 

fundamental 

Popolare 

principles 

di Milano 

of 

ha 

the 

aderito 

Italian 

sin 

Constitution. 

dall’inizio 

alle otto iniziative realizzate nell’ambito del progetto 

promosso dall’ABI con l’obiettivo di migliorare 

i rapporti 2006 report allo sportello, on the technical improntando operations il dialogo of BPM: 

con 1. la The clientela application ai valori of our di chiarezza, policy of July correttezza, 2005, which does not entail taking part in fi nancing transactions that concern the 

comprensibilità 

exportation or 

e 

importation 

comparabilità 

of arms, 

delle 

resulted 

offerte. 

in 2006 in a further signifi cant reduction in the number of collections (14 

compared with 31 in 2005) and the related volumes authorised (Euro 18,216,000 compared with Euro 43,638,000 in 2005). 

Dopo aver ottenuto nel 2004 la certifi cazione di 

qualità In 2006 per the ciascuna payment delle of a 8 brokerage iniziative fee previste, of Euro 1,576,000 BPM was authorised and Euro 771,000 was collected within the context of 

ha mantenuto an inter-governmental tale riconoscimento co-production anche programme per il 2005 for which no prior authorisation is required. 

grazie ad una corretta erogazione degli 8 servizi, a 

riconferma dell’impegno nell’attivazione dei principi 

2. Product recipient countries suffered a decrease and were: France, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, USA, India and Turkey 

di chiarezza sul mercato. 

receiving a very small provision. 

Per comprendere e monitorare la conoscenza 

del 

Although 

progetto, 

underlining 

BPM ha inserito 

the controversial 

la rilevazione 

and complex 

della 

issue of relations between banks and the activities governed by Law no 

notorietà di Patti Chiari presso la propria clientela 

185/90, BPM has revealed that in 2007 it intends to further dramatically reduce its technical operations by applying even more 

all’interno dell’indagine più complessiva sulla 

Customer restrictive Satisfaction. 

and selective criteria than those contained in Law no 185/90, both for products and for recipient companies. 

I dati 


riferiti 

also 

alla 

confi 

tabella 

rms that 

comporteranno 

around January 2008 

un continuo 

it will produce a report on 2007 and will continue its long-standing practice 

sforzo nelle attività di informazione, individuando 

of organising a meeting with important NGOs and with Banca Etica. On this occasion BPM will also make known by when it 

nel contempo gli strumenti più idonei per 

comunicare intends to con defi le nitively diverse leave tipologie this market. di clienti. 

2004 – 2006 technical operations trend 

year ministerial authorisations amount authorised for collection hgfsrsreagfssgsgsfss 

2004 n, 32 euro 57,946,000 

2005 n, 31 euro 43,638,000 

2006 n, 14 euro 18,216,000 

102 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > customers


response to 

customer 

feedback 

Customer protection, 

prevention and 

solving 

of problems 

Handling of complaints 

Complaints represent an important opportunity 

for listening and responding to Customers, with a 

view to maintaining the quality of the service and 

overall satisfaction of Customers. They are handled 

by the Complaints Offi ce, which usually resolves the 

problems directly, so that Customer recourse to the 

Ombudsman is minimal. 

A total of 2,325 complaints were received during the 

course of 2006, almost all of which in writing. This 

number is lower than in 2005. Complaints on the 

charging of interest have been nearly eliminated, 

while some complaints remain on securities that 

in the past few years have gone in default. There 

has been a slight increase in complaints in the 

tax segment, especially in relation to F24 forms. 

New complaints have arisen following the changes 

brought about by the Finance Act, particularly with 

regard to successions. 

Complaints by type 

2006 2005 

Accounts 624 560 

Investment products 595 666 

Financing products 355 814 

Payment and collection services 581 475 

Insurance policies 36 43 

Miscellaneous 134 142 

Total 2,325 2,700 

103

COMMITMENTS: steps taken and new objectives for improvement 

Objectives for improvement set out 

in the 2005 Social Responsibility Report 

Development of projects in support of young families and 

atypical workers. 

Accessibility to credit. 

100% mortgage. 

Development of the multi-ethnic bank with initiatives 

specifi cally targeted at the immigrant population. 

Multi-lingual call centre operators. 

Multi-lingual corners in branches. 

State of play 

at the end of 2006 

J 

J 

Development of a project to strengthen ties with the nonprofi 

t sector/social economy. 

Implementation of specifi c measures. 

Basel 2 project to assist SMEs with this transition. 

Establishment of loans to fund development. J 

Supplementary retirement savings project aimed at both 

workers and companies. 

Training/ Information activity. 

Start of continuous monitoring of Customer Satisfaction. 

Second survey. 

Extension to other banks in the Group. 

Rationalisation and simplifi cation of range of products 

and services. 

Continuation of the review process. 

Territorial social dialogue workshops” with “players” and 

companies. Organisation of the fi rst “round tables” on 

certain key topics concerning the bank/markets relationship. 

Territorial social dialogue workshops” with “players” 

and companies. Organisation of the fi rst “round tables” 

on certain key topics concerning the bank/markets 

relationship. 

J 

J 

J 

J 

J 

K 


Steps taken 

• Procedural analysis has been started. 

• The 100% mortgage project has been 

realised and marketed. 

• 8 mother-tongue operators speaking French, 

Arabic, Romanian, Spanish and English have 

been hired for BPM call centres. 

• Video-consultancy areas have been set up in 

6 BPM branches. 

• The product and service offerings and 

online fund collection services have 

been changed. 

• Collaborations with trade associations 

to introduce fi nancing solutions to help 

businesses competative markets have 

continued. 

• The initiative has been launched. 

• The second edition of monitoring has 

been realised. Since 2006 it has been 

extended to other banks of BPM Group, 

for a total of 6,600 Customers involved. 

• The simplifi cation of the Product 

Catalogue has continued and has 

resulted in the signifi cant decrease 

of type of current accounts offered to 

Customers, with a view towards greater 

transparency and effi ciency for the sales 

network. 

• The line of products created and 

marketed is constantly being widened. 

• A project feasibility study has been 

drafted. Financing for the phases 

foreseen for 2007 and 2008 are still 

being evaluated.


Objectives for further improvement Outlook for 2007 

Monitoring of Customer Satisfaction. • Research on SME and individual 

Customers widened to improve 

knowledge on these segments, even 

in terms of needs and expectations. 

Development of the multi-ethnic bank with initiatives specifi cally targeted at the 

immigrant population. 

• Collaborative relationships built 

with the most important ethnic 

communities in Italy. 

• Training provided to foreign 

entrepreneurs, in partnership 

with ASIIM – Associaion for the 

Development of Immigrant Enterprise 

in Milan. 

• Examination of specifi c projects aimed 

to integrate multi-ethnic personnel 

into branches and create multi-ethnic 

loan brokers. 

Simplifi cation of Customer-bank relations. • Methods for accessing services 

simplifi ed. 

105

The Parent Bank BPM 

Members and 

Shareholders 

107


BPM is committed to dealing with its Members and 

Shareholders in accordance with its mission and 

guiding principles. More specifi cally, it intends to 

pursue the following key objectives: 

• to create value over time for all its Members and 

Shareholders as a result of rigorous, business 

management that, by ensuring a solid capital 

base, produces a constant growth in earnings, 

productivity, development and control of risks; 

• to strengthen its identity as a leading co-operative 

bank known for its wide, diverse membership base 

unifi ed around its mission; 

• to seek a model of governance fi rmly tied to the 

principle of responsibility and transparency that 

allows the different components of its membership 

base to be represented. 

108 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > members and shareholders

An overview 

Co-operative banks represent an important player in 

terms of their territorial presence and the role they 

play in developing local business. 

In recent years they have signifi cantly increased 

their importance within the Italian banking industry, 

while at the same time taking on the challenge of 

change with a series of aggregations and transformations. 

These changes have not signifi cantly changed their 

business models – which continue to be a territorial 

banking one – while their co-operative format 

has facilitated a kind of development that respects 

traditional relationships between the bank, Customer 

and community, by fostering “proximity” to the 

Customers concerned. 

In this way the benefi ts of our country’s economic, 

social and legal tradition are brought to the fore. 

In this context BPM is committed to satisfying the 

expectations of its Members and Shareholders 

by implementing with constancy and graduality a 

banking model that is ever more effi cient, solid and 

profi table and socially responsible, which seeks to 

help local enterprises to grow, thereby offering a 

perspective of long-term value to their investment. 

analysis of share capital made up of 415,034,231 shares (distribution per agggregations and relative % of shareholding) 

Partner Shareholders - 4.02% ** 

holding 16,674,760 shares 

Other Shareholders - 32.20% 


* Institutional Investors and Large Shareholders with more than 100,000 shares. 

** Partner Shareholders (3.42% CM-CIC Group - 0.59% Fondazione Cassa Risp. Alessandria) 

Large Shareholders - 8.41% * 


Institutional Investors - 55.37% * 

109

Institutional Investor Shareholders (54,73%)* 

Total: 279 with 227,136,546 shares 

Italian residents: 53,049,663 shares 

Foreign residents: 174,086,883 shares 

Large Shareholders (7.01%)* 




Shareholder 

composition 

analysis of share capital consisting of 415,034,231 

shares held by 90,818 members and shareholders 

Partner Shareholders (1.41%)** 


Other Shareholders (13.32%) 

Total: 40,185 

with 55,275,778 shares 

Institutional Investor Members (0.65%)* 




* Includes only Large Shareholders and Institutional Investors with more than 100,000 shares 

** Partner Members and Shareholders (3.42% C.I.C. Group - 0.59% Fondazione Cassa Risp. Alessandria) 

110 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > members and shareholders 

BPM is a limited co-operative company whose share 

capital consists of shares listed on the Milan Stock 

Exchange in the S&P MIB segment; it combines 

the characteristics of a partnership with those of a 

limited company in compliance with the complex 

rules that regulate the market. 

Its co-operative nature (which treats the 

relationship between people as fundamental 

and focuses on developing mutuality between its 

Members) combined with the recourse to capital 

markets determines and infl uences its shareholder 

and corporate structure; in fact, this consists of a 

large number of small individual Shareholders and 

a smaller number of Large Shareholders, Partner 

Members/Shareholders and Institutional Investors 

who hold a signifi cant portion of share capital. 

The breakdown of shareholdings by type and 

size shows that BPM has been able to grow while 

continuing to be a co-operative and at the same 

time to acquire a large number of professional 

investors among its Members and Shareholders 

who mainly invest in the Bank’s stock on a medium/ 

long-term basis. 

More specifi cally, the strategy of seeking alliances 

with partners interested in long-term investment 

and commercial agreements, has led BPM to make 

cross-shareholdings with Fondazione Cassa di 

Risparmio di Alessandria and the group headed up 

by Federale du Credit Mutuel Centre Est (C.I.C.). 

Based on the information received by BPM 

and disclosures to CONSOB, at 30 June 2007, 

the following shareholders held “signifi cant 

shareholdings”: 

Total Members 50,319 (55.40%) No. Shares 97,662,922 (23.53%) 

Total Shareholders 40,499 (44.60%) No. Shares 317,371,309 (76.47%) 

Other Members (18.88%) 

Total: 50,288 with 78,359,363 shares 

Partner Members (2.60%)** 




Large Shareholder Members (1.40%)* 


Italian residents: 5,819,879 shares

Share capital 

for Large Groupings 

2006 

Number Shareholding 

Grouping 

Foreign Funds 108 76,483,356 

Italian Funds 16 8,485,665 

Total Funds 124 84,969,021 

Foreign Pension Funds 32 15,766,373 

Italian Pension Funds 0 0 

Total Pension Funds 32 15,766,373 

Total Funds and Pension Funds 156 100,735,394 

Accredited Foreign Investors 86 82,863,522 

Accredited Italian Investors 42 46,218,300 

Total Accredited Investors 128 129,081,822 

Total Institutional Investors* 284 229,817,216 

Foreign Strategic Partners 11 14,205,673 

Italian Strategic Partners 1 2,469,087 

Total Strategic Partners 12 16,674,760 

Large Foreign Shareholders* 8 10,399,074 

Large Italian Shareholders* 41 24,508,040 

Total Large Shareholders 49 34,907,114 

Total BPM employees 8,614 11,900,055 

Total BPM GROUP employees 243 129,295 

Other Shareholders 

Total other shareholders and 

81,616 121,605,791 

Total employees 90,473 133,635,141 

Total Members and Shareholders 90,818 415,034,231 

* Includes only Large Shareholders and Institutional Investors 

with more than 100,000 shares 

Declarer Direct shareholder 

Julius Baer Invest. 

Manag. LLC 

Caisse Federale du 

Crédit Mutuel Centre 

Est Europe (CM-CIC 

Group) ** 

Share % of 

share capital 

Julius Baer Invest. 

Manag. LLC 2.058 

Adepi, Placinvest, 

Cicor, Cic 

Partecipations, 

Credit Industriel 

et Commercial 

SA, Sofi Holding3, 

Gestunion3, Acm Vie 

SA, Acm MUT, Iard 

3.42 

Amber Capital LP Amber Capital LP 2.160 

Credit Suisse Group 

JP Morgan Chase & Co. 

Corporation 

Credit Suisse 

International, Credit 

Suisse Securities, 

Credit Suisse 

Jp Morgan Securities 

Limited 

2.552 

2.675 

** CM-CIC Group holds a convertible bond loan maturing in 2009 and 

composed of 25,568,181 convertible bonds with a ratio of 1 share per bond 

with a unitary value of Euro 7.04. 

Restriction on share ownership and terms 

of admission to Membership 

Article 21 of the BPM articles of association and 

article 30 of the Banking Act1 specify limits on 

share ownership. As a result of reports received 

from intermediaries in relation to payment of 

the 2005 dividend, BPM has served notice on 20 

shareholders that they have exceeded the 0.50% 

shareholding limit. 

The admission of new Members is also governed 

by the articles of association and by a specifi c 

resolution concerning “rules for the admission of 

Members and management of the relationship” 

which: 

• confi rms the establishment of the “Members’ 

Relations Commission”, comprising Directors with 

powers to review applications for membership 

admission and to exclude Members; 

• defi nes requirements and procedures for the 

admission of new Members. Admission depends 

on the prospective Member’s effective espousal 

of the Bank’s aims, its objective interests and its 

co-operative spirit. This requirement is deemed 

to be satisfi ed if the application is presented by a 

Shareholder with a minimum holding of 100 shares 

and is accompanied by a written undertaking to 

maintain this number of shares over time; 

• establishes the conditions and procedures for 

cancelling a Member; 

• outlines the criteria for maintaining the Register of 

Members and Register of Shareholders; 

• defi nes the procedures for granting any special 

treatment or benefi ts to Members. 

1 Article 30 of the Banking Act: “No shareholder’s interest may 

exceed 0.50% of the share capital. As soon as it becomes aware 

that this limit has been exceeded, the Bank serves formal notice 

of the breach on the shareholder concerned. The excess shares 

must be sold within a year of such notice; after this deadline, 

the related rights pertaining to these shares are acquired by the 

Bank until their disposal. 

The above-mentioned limit does not apply to mutual investment 

funds; the relevant limits in such cases are those imposed by the 

rules of the fund concerned”. 

111

Membership is cancelled if Members breach 

their contractual obligations to the Bank, while 

membership is forfeited if a Member no longer owns 

any shares. For the purposes of correctly presenting 

its shareholder base, once a year BPM cancels all 

those names from its Register of Members who are 

no longer owners of its shares. 

In a co-operative company, Customer Members/ 

Shareholders and Employee Members/ 

Shareholders are a fundamental part of the 

shareholder base: in fact both categories are tied 

to the Bank not only by the fact that they have 

invested in its shares, but also by the nature of the 

Customer and Employee relationship that binds 

them to the co-operative. 

Customer Members, with the multitude of 

transactions undertaken in the normal course 

of banking business, and Employees, by virtue 

of the services performed for Customers, have 

theoretically confl icting interests, which actually 

complement one another and converge in the 

general interest of the business. 

Territorial distribution of Members and Shareholders 

Members 

Shares Shareholders 

The analysis of Members/Shareholders by geographical area shows a shareholder base that is consistent with the Bank’s territorial roots, which 

are concentrated in Lombardy. 


The number of membership admissions 

and cancellations/forfeitures 

2006 2005 

Members admitted 735 545 

Applications rejected – – 

Memberships cancelled 14 8 

Memberships forfeited 4,650 4,159 

Customer and Employee Members and Shareholders 

Customers Total Employees Total 

No. Members and 

No. No. Members and 

No. No. Members and 

No. 

Shareholders of shares Shareholders of shares Shareholders of shares 

Individuals 38,112 52,590,079 8,614 11,900,055 46,726 64,490,134 

Companies/Entities 403 1,660,251 403 1,660,251 

Total 38,515 54,250,330 8,614 11,900,055 47,129 66,150,385 

Customer Members/Shareholders account for 42.40% of total shareholders, while Employee Members/Shareholders (including under-age children 

represented) amount to 9.48%, and respectively represent 13.07% and 2.87% of the capital. 

Area 

Milan and Province 31.053 52,682,855 10,622 65,574,495 

Lombardy 9,777 16,216,729 6,509 10,129,617 

Latium 2,160 1,968,015 2,179 7,263,178 

Apulia 1,168 1,007,326 1,352 670,398 

Emilia Romagna 3,271 8,545,644 5,205 4,984,253 

Piedmont 1,343 4,822,854 2,670 8,578,077 

Other regions and abroad 1,547 12,419,499 11,962 220,171,291 

Total 50,319 97,662,922 40,499 317,371,309 

Shares

Value creation and return 

on capital employed 

The creation of value for Members and Shareholders 

and all other stakeholders takes place in a 

harmonious balance of interests and on the basis 

of a gradual development strategy designed to 

safeguard the Bank’s profi tability and assets. The 

amount of assets, the outlook for earnings and the 

ability of management are fundamental determinants 

of enterprise value; in the case of a listed company 

like BPM this value is refl ected in the market value 

of its shares. Following the success of its ambitious 

2004/2006 strategic plan, BPM further increased its 

credibility. Today is considered a solid, well-managed 

and trustworthy group. BPM’s outstanding business 

performance is also refl ected in the performance of 

its stock price, which from 2004-2006 rose more than 

150% from Euro 5.2 at the end of 2003 to Euro 13.1 

at the end of 2006, ranking among the highest in the 

period. The growth in dividends for shareholders 

is another aspect linked to the Group’s higher 

profi tability; in the three-year period dividends grew 

from Euro 0.12 to Euro 0.35, an increase that amounts 

to an average return of 3.3%. 

After the strong progress already made in 2005 

(+41%), BPM stock turned in yet another positive 

performance in 2006, enjoying an increase of over 

42% and fl uctuating between a minimum of Euro 8.93 

on 13 June and 

a maximum of Euro 13.4 on 20 December. An average 

of more than 3.3 million shares were traded per day, 

with a peak of over 15.8 million on 17 May 2006. 

The extraordinary shareholders meeting of 15 

14.00 

13.00 

12.00 

11.00 

10.00 

9.00 

8.00 

7.00 

6.00 

5.00 

4.00 

Bpm Stock price performance 

Number of shares in issue 

Last offi cial price 

415,034,231 415,034,231 

for the year 

Maximum offi cial price 

13,138 9,246 

for the year 

Minimum offi cial price 

13,40 9,74 

for the year 

Stock capitalisation 

8,93 6,35 

at year’s end 5,452 3,847 

Equity (in thousands of Euros) 


2,960,312 2,935,416 


Declared dividends 

398,680 258,980 

(in thousands of Euros) 145,261 62,255 

Earnings per share (Euros) 0.96 0.62 

Price/Earnings (P/E) 1 13.7 14.8 

Dividends per share 0.35 0.15 

Yield per share 3.31% 1.62% 

Equity per share (euro) 7.13 7.07 

Price/book value (P/BV) 2 1.84 1.31 

1 P/E indicates the ratio between the market price of the 

company’s shares and its earnings per share. 

2 P/BV indicates the ratio between the market price of the shares 

and the value of the company’s equity reported in its fi nancial 

statements (book value) divided by the number of shares. 

02-01-04 

03-03-04 

05-05-04 

05-07-04 

02-09-04 

02-11-04 

04-01-05 

04-03-05 

06-05-05 

07-07-05 

07-09-05 

07-11-05 

06-01-06 

08-03-06 

11-05-06 

11-07-06 

11-09-06 

09-11-06 

35000000 

30000000 

25000000 

20000000 

15000000 

10000000 

5000000 

0 

2006 2005 

February 2007 resolved on a free increase of share 

capital from Euro 3 to Euro 4 of the nominal value of 

the share by extracting the amount from the reserves. 

113

BPM ratings 

Another important aspect relates to 

communications and dealings with rating agencies 

who help, through their research and opinions, to 

strengthen the bank’s image with investors and 

savers. 

These relationships are vitally important because 

they are meant to ensure that rating agencies have 

a clear picture of the business’s strategy, thanks to 

direct contact with its top management. 

Through their periodic meetings with such agencies, 

the bank’s top and senior management has sought 

to provide a constant source of information on the 

BPM Group’s activities and strategies. Throughout 

the year “conference calls” are set up, especially 

when presenting the results for the period, a 

Strategic Plan or during special events that are very 

important for the future strategies and economicfi 

nancial prospects of the Group. 

BPM allows itself to be rated by the leading rating 

agencies every year. In 2006, the three agencies 

indicated below confi rmed their rating. 

Rating agency * Long-term 

debt 

Short-term 

debt 

Outlook 

Moody’s A1 P-1 stable 

FitchRatings A F1 stable 

Standard & Poor’s A- A-2 stable 

*data updated as at 31/07/2007 

Key: 

Medium- Long-term 

Standard & Poor’s: A-; Strong capacity to pay interest and principal, but a certain sensitivity to the adverse effects of change in circumstances 

or change in economic conditions. 

The “+” or “-” sign indicates the relative position in the rating scale. 

Moody’s: A1; Medium-high quality bonds. The factors guaranteeing principal and interest are adequate but there are elements of skepticism on 

their ability to remain as such in the future. The numbers from 1 to 3 indicate the position within the rating class (3 being the worst). 

Fitch: A; The rating signifi es a low expectation of credit risk. The current capacity to honour fi nancial commitments is considered to be strong. 

However, this ability may be vulnerable as a result of changes in economic circumstances; the “+” or “-” sign indicates the relative position in 

the rating scale. 

Short-term 

Standard & Poor’s: A-2; Satisfactory ability to honour fi nancial commitments on their due date. The level of safety is less high for securities 

rated as A (A-1 is the highest level; A-3 the lowest level). 

Moody’s: P-1; The issuer has a strong capacity to settle its obligations in the short term. 

Fitch: F1; F2; Good quality of credit. A satisfactory capacity to honour fi nancial commitments in the short term, but the margin of safety is not as 

high as in the case of higher ratings (F1 highest level; F3 lowest level). 

Outlook 

Positive means that the rating could increase - Negative means that the rating could decrease - Stable means that the rating is not likely to 

change - Development means that the rating could increase or decrease. 

114 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > members and shareholders

Participation and 

satisfaction of Members 

Participation in the general meeting is a privilege of 

Members and represents an important occasion for 

meeting and exchanging ideas, but above all it is a 

time when every Member can affect the company’s 

management through the debate and vote on the 

appointment of its Directors, through the approval 

of its fi nancial statements and through the other 

ordinary and extraordinary decisions that fall to the 

Members by law. 

In the case of BPM – a co-operative with widely-held 

shares – this participation is even more important 

since all the Members carry equal weight and 

importance. In fact, every Member has one vote 

regardless of the number of shares held and, in 

order to ensure that all members can effectively and 

properly exercise their rights – foremost of which 

the right to take the fl oor on the matters being 

discussed – the Bank communicates the principal 

dates and events in its corporate calendar promptly, 

clearly and transparently. 

The orderly conduct of general meetings is 

governed by a set of Regulations for General 

Meetings while controls on the proper formation of 

the meeting are performed using a modern, tried 

and tested organisational set up and one of the 

best available software packages for running such 

meetings. 

General meetings report a good attendance 

every year and the introduction of the list voting 

system, of proxies and the right of minorities 

to be represented, has increased participation, 

strengthening the special type of corporate 

democracy that characterises the Bank’s 

governance. 

In compliance with the law and its articles of 

association, the Bank has always encouraged 

the widest and most informed participation at 

its general meetings. During 2006 it developed a 

special technical/organisational procedure making 

it possible to issue in real time – and at all the 

Bank’s branches (irrespective of the branch where 

the securities are deposited) – the document 

needed for admission to the general meeting. This 

document is a further concrete example of how 

committed the Bank is to encouraging and making 

it easier for its Members to participate in the Bank’s 

corporate life and general meetings. 

In keeping with the principles and values that 

have characterised the Bank’s co-operative model, 

BPM has initiated a series of measures designed 

to encourage dialogue with its Members and 

Shareholders and their involvement in the various 

activities promoted by the Bank. These measures 

envisage specifi c forms of communication and 

dialogue as well as the “Members Value Line” 

– reserved exclusively for Members/Customers 

– which provides benefi ts on bank products and 

services. During 2006, the “Linea” service was 

widened on the basis of the results emerged from 

the dialogue and feedback initiatives. 

Participation in Ordinary Meetings 

by type of Members 

2006 2005 

In person By proxy In person 

By proxy 

BPM Employees 1,301 156 960 58 

BPM Group Employees 43 5 45 – 

Under-age Children of BPM Employees - 493 – 398 

Under-age Children of BPM Group Employees - 5 – 5 

Total Employees 1,344 659 1,005 461 

Total Other Members 1,430 1,924 803 864 

Grand total 2,774 2,583 1,808 1,325 

Total Voters 5,357 3,133 

115

The value of communicating 

Members’ involvement in the corporate life 

and the interest of shareholders in knowing 

strategic decisions and management data are 

vital elements to effi cient communication. As a 

listed company BPM conducts its dealings with 

Members, Shareholders and the fi nancial market 

in full compliance with the rules requiring it to 

communicate on a continuous, fair and transparent 

basis that guarantees parity of information to all 

concerned. 

To improve communication, the Bank has long used 

specifi c methods and channels for informing and 

communicating with its Members and Shareholders 

such as: 

• the Social Responsibility Report, as a method 

of informing, communicating and reporting to its 

stakeholders (in the case of Members also with the 

involvement of the Members’ Associations); 

• the letter to Members and Shareholders, as an 

effective instrument for communicating once a 

year the main events affecting the Bank and its 

performance; 

• the Bank’s website with a specifi c section devoted 

to “Shareholders and Members” and another 

dedicated to institutional investors. 

The Members Offi ce is responsible for handling 

relationships with Members and Shareholders 

through use of the website www.bpm.it (Members 

and Shareholders section), the toll free number 

800 013 090 and, in partnership with the External 

Relations Department and Institutional Investors 

Relations Department, the annual letter to Members 

and Shareholders. 

The Members Offi ce also manages the desk devoted 

to Members and Shareholders located in the new 

“Bezzi” Service Centre in Via Massaua 6, Milan. 

One-to-one meetings 

and/or conference calls 

Contacts with Institutional Investors and Brokers 

Road Show 

Meetings held 

with groups of investors 

Presentation to the fi nancial community 

and Conference Call 

One to One Investors present 

2005 162 66 68 174 470 

2006 129 47 84 462 722 


Relations with institutional investors 

The Investor Relations function handles fi nancial 

communication with analysts and institutional 

investors in accordance with the following goals: 

• to ensure timely, accurate reporting that allows 

users to form a correct opinion of the company’s 

economic-fi nancial performance and prospects; 

• to maintain a high level of knowledge about the 

BPM Group in Italy and abroad, and if possible to 

raise it; 

• to seek constant development of relationships 

with institutional investors. 

In order to achieve these goals BPM adopted a 

precise programme of communication during 2006; 

this programme involved periodic meetings with 

the fi nancial community at the time of presenting 

the annual and interim results. A series of road 

shows were also planned with the aim of presenting 

BPM to the main international fi nancial markets. 

The subsequent table summarises the number and 

nature of the various encounters taking place in 

2006. 

In 2006, the presentation of the 2007-2009 

Strategic Plan held last July marked a particularly 

important event. To illustrate the Group’s economicfi 

nancial strategies to investors, last July a 

conference call was set up to present the plan that 

enabled the most important analysts/investors in 

Italy and abroad to interface with top management. 

Afterwards, meetings with Italian investors were 

organised as well as an international road show 

whose destinations included London and the main 

US fi nancial markets. 

This table clearly shows the attention given to and 

shown by institutional investors in BPM. On the one 

hand there were over 130 direct visits to the Bank 

by leading analysts/domestic and international 

Total

investors, while on the other BPM organised 

periodic meetings/conference calls with the Italian 

and international fi nancial community. 

Banca Popolare di Milano dedicated 17 days in 2006 

to international road shows, making a total of over 

131 contacts. The main destinations were London, 

Edinburgh, Paris and Frankfurt in Europe and New 

York and Boston in the United States. 

BPM also organised meetings in Milan with leading 

Italian fund managers to raise awareness of the 

BPM Group on the domestic market. 

In 2006, visits by “Ethical Funds” continued and 

which, with their emphasis on sustainable growth, 

are destined to become an increasingly important 

stakeholder in the future, thereby confi rming the 

interest of this category of investors in BPM. 

The Investor Relations function uses a wide range 

of instruments in its activities, some of which 

aimed at all Members and Shareholders, others 

at specifi c categories of investors. Among these 

is the Bank’s website (www.bpm.it), in addition 

to the aforementioned letter sent out to Members 

and Shareholders at least once a year and usually 

involving a comment by the Chairman and one by 

the General Manager. 

The Investor Relations page contains a good deal 

of useful information for investors: staff members, 

the fi nancial calendar for the year, press releases, 

all the presentations to the fi nancial community, 

fi nancial reports and the corporate governance 

report. This section provides an up-to-date record of 

easily consulted documents, information and news. 

The website is constantly updated both in terms 

of technology and content, allowing anyone to 

have access to information and economic-fi nancial 

fi gures in real time and thus fully satisfying the 

legal requirements regarding the publication of 

such data. 

Italy 8% 

Growth 

44% 

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS 

Top 50 institutional investors – 

portion of share capital per geographical area 

Ireland 6% 

Germany 8% 

France 23% 

Other 4% 

Swiss 14% 

Source: Thomson Financial – 

Top 50 institutional investors at March 2007 

Top 50 institutional investors 

percentage by type of investment 

GARP 27% 

UK 19% 

US 18% 

Index 6% 

Value 

23% 

VALUE style of management is based on effective value 

and tends to privilege investment decisions based on the 

analysis of company fundamentals. It is an investment 

strategy that selects company stocks that are undervalued 

by the market and whose price is low compared to the 

company’s level of dividends, profi ts and accounting value. 

GROWTH style of management is based on growth and 

tends to privilege companies with a high potential of 

development that can offer innovative technologies. 

It is an investment strategy that selects stocks with a 

high potential for increasing value and mainly based on 

expectations of profi tability of the products and services 

offered and thus on the value of a company regardless of 

traditional parameters of analysis. 

GARP (Growth At a Reasonable Price): investment in stocks 

that offer an attractive prospect for growth and value ratio. 

The main goal is to identify “underestimated” earnings 

within the stock market and choose a stock whose price 

does not yet fully refl ect its potential. 

INDEX management strategy has the sole objective of 

replicating market performance without trying to obtain 

high performance. The main advantage is lower costs, 

possibly even much lower than the costs of so-called 

“active” funds. This difference is due to lower management 

costs. 

117

Participation of 

Employee-Members 

BPM’s co-operative nature and special type 

of governance encourages share ownership 

by its Personnel: this occurs with the utmost 

transparency, in compliance with existing laws and 

the BPM articles of association which, under Article 

47 (modifi ed by the Extraordinary Shareholders’ 

Meeting of 15 February 2007) also sets aside 5% 

of gross earnings for all employees, delegating 

to the Board of Directors the forms and methods 

of payment. The Board may attribute all or part 

of the sum to the Bank’s shares at the reference 

value calculated as the average market price of 

the company’s shares identifi ed 30 days prior to 

allocation. 

As part of measures to maximise the principle of 

participation by Employee-Members and in keeping 

with the goals of enhancing the Bank’s specifi c 

model of governance, its Board of Directors voted 

in April 2007 to distribute the earnings due to 

employees in the form of shares. Employees were 

then given the option to confer these shares on the 

“BPM employees share ownership scheme for 2004- 

2009”. 

The table below reports the performance of the fi rst 

three years of the scheme. 

Employee share ownership scheme 

2006 2005 2004 

Entitled employees 6,686 6,785 6,890 

Registered employees 4,691 5,112 5,104 

Shares assigned 2,021,659 2,395,774 3,256,457 

% of share capital 0.487 0.577 0.784 

Shares conferred 

through scheme 8,727,058 8,295,686 6,570,430 

Members’ 

Associations 


The articles of association give minorities the 

right to be represented on the Bank’s corporate 

bodies and provide for a list voting system for 

the appointment of such bodies. This encourages 

Members to group together into “Associations” 

which present lists of candidates for election as 

representatives on the Board of Directors and Board 

of Statutory Auditors. 

The Bank engages with Members’ Associations, 

receives complaints and proposals, and, in 

compliance with rules governing the right of 

information required for listed companies, it 

extensively reports its fi gures and other relevant 

information. 

There are three associations which played an 

important role in the general meeting of May 2006 

and which are represented on the Board of Directors 

and Board of Statutory Auditors: the Friends of 

Banca Popolare di Milano Association, the Together 

for Banca Popolare di Milano Association and the 

Non-BPM Staff Members Committee. 

The following presentations prepared by the 

associations themselves (without any editing by 

the Bank) are reproduced in order to get a better 

idea of their characteristics and goals and who they 

represent.

Friends of Banca Popolare di Milano 

Banca Popolare di Milano is a co-operative that has had strong worker participation ever since it was set up. In this 

way employee-members have been able to make a constant contribution to the good results and growth of their 

company through share ownership and the sharing of strategic decisions, as well as through the vital contribution 

of their work and professional ability. 

The Bank’s specifi c corporate form and the one-man-one-vote voting system have allowed employees to increase 

their scope of action and competence over time: through their representative association they are able to put 

forward their own candidates for a place on the Board of Directors. 

The Friends of BPM Association set up in April 2003, as a replacement for the previous representative bodies, 

welcomes the family, friends, Customers and employees of BPM Group companies to its membership. 

Activities in 2006 

Following elections in November 2005 to re-appoint the offi cers, at the end of January 2006 the Association’s 

Chairman, the Governing Council and the Control and Guarantee Committee were elected. 

After the bodies were set up, the governance and articles of association working parties continued their activities. 

The governance working party provided useful information and analyses on the new investment protection law. 

In addition, it examined the progress of the European Commission’s violation procedure on the presumed clash 

between the company rules of co-operative banks and the free movement of capital and the establishment of 

businesses in Europe. Receiving constant attention from the Association’s governing council, the issue was closed 

at the end of the year with the hope that it will be archived. 

The articles of association working party presented a series of ideas for widening the Association’s representation 

to include family, Customers, retired employees and more specifi cally employees of the Group. 

The issue of widening participation has become a topical one also in view of the general meeting held in May when 

the offi cers were re-appointed and which many of the co-operative’s Members attended. 

The Association presented a list of candidates to hold offi ce which obtained the majority vote with 42% of the 

votes and resulted in the election of 16 Directors, among which the chairman and 2 deputy chairmen. Although 

good results have been achieved, one of the main objectives is still to increase Members’ attendance in meetings 

as a highly meaningful sign of participatory spirit. 

With a view to encouraging attendance of Members-Employees, the results achieved by the “share allocation to 

employees scheme” are particularly satisfying. In its third year of application, more than 4,600 employees with 

more than 8,700,000 shares conferred their shares on the scheme (2.10% of the Bank’s share capital). 

During the last few months of 2006, the Association carefully examined the changes made to the articles of 

association for the wording of Article 47 (changing the distribution of earnings) and discussed the matter in 

depth with association members. (The amendment of Article 47 was approved in the extraordinary shareholders’ 

meeting of 15 February 2007, editor’s note). 

The association has more than 7,300 members. 

119

120 

Together for Banca Popolare di Milano 

Introduction 

The “Together for Banca Popolare di Milano” Association was formed as a result of the decision by the 

extraordinary general meeting (held on 19 December 2002) to revise the articles of association with the purpose of 

“enhancing the role of the different shareholder groupings as members of the Board of Directors... omissis”. 

This revision was viewed as being necessary to create BPM Membership Associations into which active, organised 

members could group themselves. With the introduction of the list voting system for the appointment of the Bank’s 

corporate offi cers, this change would provide representation for minority shareholders. 

Another reason leading BPM to make this signifi cant change in its model of governance was the need to allow 

different groupings of Members to defi ne and exercise their role. 

The Association’s promoters also aim to encourage the formation of a group that would equally embrace the 

participation of retired BPM employees and member Customers alike, in an effort to overcome any feelings of 

antagonism, which clearly are not in the Bank’s best interest. 

Formation of the Association 

A group of former retired employees of Banca Popolare di Milano, all of whom long-standing Members of the Bank, 

organised the formation of the “Together for Banca Popolare di Milano” Association with the purpose of: 

• protecting the interests of its Members by bringing them into line with those of the entire body of Members; 

• making its members take an active role in the life of Banca Popolare di Milano, directing its conduct and decisions 

in order to safeguard and enhance the co-operative banking model and its specifi c legal and corporate form; 

• identifying potential candidates to hold offi ce in Banca Popolare di Milano and BPM Group companies; 

• engaging with the Board of Directors and other governing bodies of Banca Popolare di Milano with a view to 

fostering the widest agreement of interests within the membership base; 

• collaborating with other Associations with a similar purpose. 

Mission 

The Association’s purpose detailed in its articles of association (article 3) has been accompanied by a specifi c 

“mission” statement identifying the following goals: 

• to work actively so that the Board of Directors does its utmost to safeguard and protect the Bank’s history and 

social tradition, also representing fundamental factors for enhancing and defending the co-operative. Another 

commitment resulting from this goal is the encouragement of every initiative, by the Bank itself or others, 

designed to enhance the co-operative banking culture in its widest sense. 

• as a representative body of a group of BPM Members, working to safeguard and enhance the investment of its 

own Members, to review the Bank’s progress and the economic-fi nancial context in which it operates in order to 

understand and focus its growth strategies in order to maximise returns. 

The Association seeks to maintain an institutional relationship with the BPM Board of Directors, under the 

presumption that the latter will undertake to keep the Association regularly informed about the results of the 

Bank’s ordinary activities. The Association expects a similar undertaking in respect of extraordinary facts and 

events, although with due time allowed for making suffi cient refl ection on the issues involved.

The Association’s governing council undertakes in respect of its members: 

• to provide constant, transparent information on a regular basis and using a format that fosters awareness and 

motivation in its members; 

• o prepare the list of candidates for the Board of Directors, the Board of Statutory Auditors and Board of 

Arbitrators of Banca Popolare di Milano. To identify candidates to hold offi ce in companies belonging to the 

BPM Group, who have the required experience and skills and demonstrate loyal and staunch support for the 

Association’s goals. 

As far as banking and growth policies are concerned and bearing in mind developments in the economic 

environment and industry as a whole, the Association still fi rmly believes in the principles that must guide 

a co-operative locally-based bank which gives priority to the social and economic problems of its traditional 

stakeholders. 

The Association is fully aware that the Bank’s good performance depends inexorably and decisively on full 

respect for the independence and role of the different corporate bodies and so it is committed to consistently 

and loyally observing this prerequisite, hoping that this approach will be adopted by other corporate bodies. 

Activities of the Association 

Since its establishment, the Association has been confi rmed as the second-largest grouping of members 

participating in the Bank’s general meetings. 

In 2006, for the latest re-appointment of the corporate offi cers, the Association obtained 31% of the ballot. As 

a result, it has representation among the corporate offi cers in offi ce from 2006 to 2008 through the following 

representatives chosen by the Association itself: 

Board of Directors Enrico Airaghi and Luca Caniato 

Executive Committee Enrico Airaghi 

Board of Statutory Auditors Paolo Troiano (auditor) and Giorgio Zoia (alternate auditor) 

The Association has always acted to forge a strong bond with its members in terms of organisation and 

information. In recent years, close attention has been paid to the problems arising at Community and national 

level on the legal status of co-operative banks. 

On a broader spectrum, in terms of the effect globalisation has had on the Italian banking system in recent 

years, the Association has been responsible in being open to constructive dialogue on the projects proposed 

by the Bank’s Board of Directors on grouping initiatives. It is the Association’s belief that against the activism of 

competitors BPM should now and in the future be committed to fi nding suitable solutions that will enable it to 

emerge as a winner in the face of market challenges, obviously without compromising the values that BPM has 

always upheld in its relations with members and within its local areas. 

Registered offi ce 

Together for Banca Popolare di Milano 

can be reached at: 

Address: via Giuseppe Mazzini, 11 – 20123 Milan 

Tel.: 02 8050 9134 – Fax: 02 7700 6149 

Website: www.assoinsieme-bpm.it 

E-mail: info@assoinsieme-bpm.it 

The Association has more than 3,000 members. 

121

122 

Non-BPM Staff Members Committee 

Nature, purpose and organisation 

The Non-BPM Staff Members Committee was formed in 1993 at the initiative of Piero Lonardi, a professional 

accountant from Milan, and fi ve other founding members, in order to defend the interests of Members of Banca 

Popolare di Milano and to ensure that they were adequately represented on the Bank’s governing bodies. This 

association particularly addressed the category of Customer-Members and Customer-Savers. 

The Committee has its registered offi ce in Via Pietro Mascagni 15, Milan and operational base in Via Mazzini 11, 

Milan. 

The nature, purpose and organisation of the Committee, as stated in its articles of association, can be summarised 

as follows: 

• it is an association of a voluntary nature that does not seek profi t; 

• Members and Shareholders of Banca Popolare di Milano may join it. 

The Association’s aims are: 

• to safeguard and promote the image, role and economic and fi nancial interests of Banca Popolare di Milano; 

• to represent Members of Banca Popolare di Milano, and particularly those Members who are not employees, 

safeguarding their interests and representing their opinions with the bank and all institutions, public and private 

entities, including through discussion and collaboration with all other BPM Members and its Board of Directors; 

• to promote initiatives and activities that satisfy the aims described; 

• to safeguard and defend the bank’s role and co-operative spirit, encouraging the participation of all its Members 

in its corporate life, seeking the utmost transparency in corporate communications and in the conduct of general 

meetings. 

The Committee’s constituent bodies are as follows: 

• the general meeting of Members; 

• the Executive Committee (consisting of fi ve members); 

• the Chairman; 

• the Deputy Chairman; 

• the Treasurer; 

• the Secretary. 

Members: 3,900 

The Non-Employee Members Committee can be reached at: 

Address: via Giuseppe Mazzini, 11 – 20123 Milan 

Tel.: 02 7700 3997 

Web: www.comitatosocibpm.it 

E-mail: adesioni@comitatosocibpm.it

listening 

Listening to 

Members 

and Shareholders 

Through an external company BPM conducted 

a motivational and psycholinguistic Qualitative 

Survey, which involved: 

– in 2005, BPM shareholders and Customer/ 

Members 

– in 2006, BPM shareholders and non-Customers/ 

Members 

The surveys explored the following areas: 

• relations with the bank: meaning and experience, 

services, type and brand; 

• the features, image and company policy; 

• the meaning of being Members/Shareholders as 

Customers and non-Customers; 

– focus on the experience, meaning and 

opportunity 

of being Members/Shareholders; 

– focus on reasons for/interest in 

being classifi ed as Members/Shareholders; 

• BPM commercial profi le: experience, products 

and services; 

• experience in respect of BPM: interest, 

communication, expectations and future scenarios, 

optimisation of relationship with BPM as current or 

potential Customers. 

• evaluation of certain items of the “Members 

Value Line” (non-Customers) offering as well as 

prospects, initiatives and offers to classify the 

relationship with BPM. 

Focus groups were set up by a psychologist and the 

results of at-home and telephone interviews are 

reported below. 

The banking sector under development and 

opportunities for BPM 

The surveys aimed at receiving feedback from 

the different target groups show convergent 

results. Important developments are taking place 

in the current banking sector that feature strong 

competitor-driven factors not devoid of risks, but 

also new opportunities for banks. 

Trends towards bank bundlings and mergers and 

evolutions towards large aggregations that are more 

effi cient and evolved, but at the same time more 

anonymous and foreign to the Customer, leaves 

ample space for relationships and business. 

A growing number of Customers prefer direct 

dealings, displaying a greater inclination for 

disloyalty. 

BPM is the only large bank that the Milanese still 

have after losing Cariplo: this heritage of credibility 

and image is based on a solid and historic presence 

and a strong emotional link with targets. 

123

From the sample of interviewees it emerges 

that BPM could capitalise on several recognised 

competitor values and assets by: 

• reinforcing its tradition, historical presence and 

strong roots within the local area of Milan and in 

Lombardy; 

• proposing itself as an alternative option to the 

levelling out and globalisation of the large banking 

groups; 

• creating a stronger link between BPM and the 

current success of We@bank; 

• giving value to the role of Member and 

membership. 

BPM enjoys a positive image with non-Customer 

Shareholders/Members, which it could further 

exploit by expanding its presence in “large cities 

and regional areas”. 

From Shareholders to Members: two targets 

deserving value and involvement 

Shareholders (Customers and Non-Customers) 

The bond between BPM and its shareholders could 

be improved and tightened through specifi c actions 

in which BPM: 

• provides specifi c information and enacts 

management policies aimed at stabilising stock 

value/return; 

• creates a strong and advantageous link between 

being a Customer, Shareholder and the holding of 

shares and distinguishing features for BPM stock 

buyers; 

• involves Shareholders by making them 

direct targets of membership proposals, special 

promotions, sponsored cultural events and mostly 

through personalised communication on share and 

investment performance and the Bank’s future. 

Members (Customers and Non-Customers) 

Non-Customer Members show openness and 

interest towards BPM, but they need to be 

stimulated and receive suitable offers. 

It is necessary to highlight Members’ opportunities 

and rights and make this status visible and tangible. 

Members are an important resource for BPM and 

can be more involved in initiatives in which from 

potential stand-by Customers they become effective 

Customers; it is necessary to make membership an 

advantageous and “rewarding” opportunity through 

an attractive Programme. 

A specifi c scheme for Members 

The interviewees ask for greater communication, 

information and products and services that convey 

BPM’s image as a bank that pays attention to its 

Shareholders and Members and that is unique and 


open to dialogue. Interviewees also suggest that 

BPM set up a “Member Family” scheme and, for 

non-Customers, a fi rst-time membership benefi t 

package. 

Other signifi cant fi ndings 

Members’ Profi le 

Both BPM Customer and non-Customer Members 

tend to be older and have an above-average level of 

education. They are often unmarried, in tune with 

the media, cultured and they love to travel, go to the 

theatre and visit exhibitions. 

Shareholders’ Profi le 

Both Customer and non-Customer Shareholders are 

in many ways similar to Members, however they 

tend on average to be younger, have larger families 

and have differing relationships with the media. 

They enjoy spending their free time with their 

families and playing sports. 

For both Shareholders and Members BPM continues 

to be viewed as reliable, trustworthy and effi cient, 

a bank that is independent and deeply rooted at 

local level. However, non-Customers underscore 

BPM’s lack of innovation and tendency to follow 

the standardisations established within the Italian 

banking scene. 

Very few Shareholders are aware that they can 

also become Members and at any rate when asked 

directly Shareholders do not show particular 

interest in becoming Members as they are 

uninformed on what exactly the proposal offers. 

Indeed, they are unaware of the one-man-one-vote 

mechanism and in general of the participation rights 

reserved to Members of co-operative banks. 

Non-Customers seem to base their reasons for not 

becoming Customers on on-going relationships they 

have consolidated with other banks (often due to 

the convenient location of that bank’s branches). 

Customer and non-Customer Shareholders are in 

any event fully satisfi ed with their investment. 

Everyone agrees on and confi rms the validity of a 

proposal/scheme aimed at increasing loyalty (of 

Members/Shareholders) and they suggest that an 

advisor be designated to Members/Shareholders. 

Non-Customers have indicated that the Bank needs 

to increase its “vitality” in involving Shareholders 

and Members, while Customers do not shun 

benefi ts on commonly-used bank products.



in the 2005 Social Responsibilities Report 

State of play 


To continue to seek alliances with investors with a 

long-term investment horizon. J 

To seek other methods of participation in share 

capital. K 

Increase in number of communications to Members 

and Shareholders (divided by different Targets). J 

Finalisation of organisational aspects to facilitate 

even greater participation of Members. J 

Advancement of the Project and the Members Value 

Line. J 

Steps taken 

• Dealings with various investors 

interested in long-term 

investments have continued. 

• The feasibility of operations 

inherent to fi nancial instrument 

have been verifi ed. 

• Communication project for 

Members has been drawn up: 

under examination by the Projects 

Committee. 

• An electronic secret voting 

system has been created. The 

decentralisation of meeting 

notices has been fi nalised. 

• The Products basket has been 

updated. 

Enhancement of the Investor Relations offi ce. J • The offi ce has been enhanced. 

Monitoring and ultimate reporting of the results 

achieved by the 2004-2006 Strategic Plan. J 

Improvement of the Members and Shareholders section 

of the website www.bpm.it to encourage dialogue and 

communication (activation of the website). 

More feedback and dialogue with Shareholders, 

Members and Member Associations (new edition 

of Member surveys extended to non-Customer 

Members/Shareholders). 

Objectives for further improvement 

K 

J 

Better payout for Members/Shareholders. J 

• A detailed report has been 

produced on the activities 

included in the Social 

Responsibility Report. 

• An analysis on the changes made 

to the website format is underway. 

• A survey has been carried out on non- 

Customer Members/Shareholders and 

the fi ndings have been processed in 

order to have an overall picture of the 

relationship between the Bank and 

Members/Shareholders. 

Outlook for 2007 

• Changes to the articles of 

association and the realisation of 

the 2007-2009 Strategic Plan. 

125


Personnel 

127


During 2006 BPM continued to remain loyal to its 

tradition of internal unity and a strong team spirit. 

These are values that underpin BPM’s personnel 

policies, to which the staff - in their dual role as 

employees and shareholders - respond in terms of 

maximum commitment to achieve a high level of 

productivity. 

128 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > personnel

Improving and 

innovating in the name 

of continuity 

Over the years, the fact that BPM is a co-operative 

bank has translated into a climate of staff 

participation and involvement in the life of the 

Bank. 

Participation and involvement that express 

themselves in two distinct areas, namely: 

• dealings with the shareholders: as they are able 

to intervene together with all the other members in 

Shareholders’ Meetings, enabling them to take part 

in a number of important business decisions; 

• industrial relations: based on respect for each 

others’ roles and on the concepts of transparency, 

information and sharing, which have had a very 

positive impact on internal welfare. 

In addition to the value of belonging to the cooperative 

world, which still has all of its ability 

to exert a positive infl uence over the corporate 

climate, BPM has begun to add other values that are 

able to renew the spirit of responsibility, in line with 

the 2004/2006 Strategic Plan. 

The intention is to encourage, foster and reward, 

more and more, values based on meritocracy, 

career planning, results orientation, widespread 

leadership, taking an entrepreneurial attitude 

to one’s work, professional ethics and accepting 

responsibility. 

With a view to greater integration, the Bank’s 

Deputy General Manager Human Resources 

Department (whose functions include HR 

management, planning, development and 

administration) has launched a Group coordination 

project which, in addition to the progressive 

centralisation of personnel management for all 

Group companies, aims to ensure consistency in 

their HR policies, which includes more suitable 

approval procedures for strategic matters. 

129

An overview 

130 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > personnel 

As the 2004-2006 Strategic Plan came to an end, 

the Bank had achieved its cost containment goals 

by reducing the number of employees. 

At year-end, employees numbered 6,315 (86 

fewer than in 2005), mainly due to the partial 

limitation of personnel turnover (171 hires with 

257 resignations) after incentives were offered to 

employees to leave the Bank, affecting 68.5% of 

total resignations. 

New hires included experts (11.7%) and transfers 

from other group companies (5.3%). Fixedterm 

contracts accounted for 20.5% of the new 

employment contracts. 

In addition, 69% of the newly-hired employees 

were assigned to the Local Sales Areas, in which 

66.3% of the Bank’s employees work. 

Women made up 39.2% of new employees. 

However, as in previous years, the percentage of 

women employees increased, reaching 42.1%, as a 

result of the lower number of women who resigned 

compared to men (15.2% of resignations). 

At year-end 39.2% of new employees were 

university graduates, 19.4% of total employees, 

slightly up on the previous year. 

Allocation by structure 

2006 2005 

Men Women Men 

Branch network 2,169 1,804 2,212 1,797 

Headquarters 1,110 590 1,146 544 

Struttura intermedia 338 92 357 98 

Outside the structure 38 174 54 193 

Total 3,655 2,660 3,769 2,632 

Breakdown by level 

2006 2005 

Men Women Men 

Managers 94 3 103 5 

Offi cials 1,709 626 1,773 573 

Clerical 1,852 2,031 1,893 2,054 

Total 6,315 6,401 

Women 

Women

The average age of incoming employees was 29.3, 

while the overall average age of all employees was 

42.8 (40 for women and 44.8 for men). 

Part-time contracts accounted for 14.6% of all 

employment contracts. Prior year trends were 

confi rmed in this respect, with an increase in 

part-time arrangements in both absolute terms 

and as a percentage of total employees, with a 

decrease in open-ended part-time contracts. The 

only turnaround in these trends was the reduction 

in the number of men who work part-time (from 65 

to 59). 

The average employment period went from 17.7 

to 17.9 years, as the average number of years 

employees held a position before a promotion rose 

from 3.9 to 4.3. 

12.7% of employees were promoted, with 65% of 

these promotions relating to branch personnel. 

Overtime hours continued to decrease (-11%) 

along with the accrual of compensatory time off 

(-8.5%), although the decrease in overtime hours 

could be due to the fact that in July 2006 the bank 

implemented the directives of the national labour 

agreement and stopped remunerating fi rst and 

second level offi cials for overtime. 

New hires 2006 2005 

Number of new hires 171 160 

Type of contract 2006 2005 

No. of permanent employees 5,356 5,432 

No. of fi xed-term employees 35 54 

No. of part-time employees 924 915 

Total 6,315 6,401 

Type of part-time contract 2006 2005 

Vertical part-time 59 60 

Horizontal part-time 827 824 

Cyclical part-time 38 31 

Turnover 

Balance in 2005 6,401 

New hires 171 

Resignations 257 

Balance in 2006 6,315 

Breakdown of employees by age 

2006 2005 

Men Women Men 

Women 

< 30 282 296 286 323 

31-35 389 452 455 579 

36-40 439 621 577 658 

41-45 614 495 550 442 

46-50 624 532 729 490 

> 50 1,307 264 1,172 140 

Totale 3,655 2,660 3,769 2,632 

Clerical 

Breakdown by length of service 

Offi cials Managers 

Men Women 

Men Women 

Men 

Women 

< 5 years 269 229 68 13 8 0 

5 - 10 years 844 907 454 113 15 0 

11 -15 years 142 121 50 26 3 0 

16 – 20 years 249 404 352 204 7 1 

21 – 25 years 61 107 101 50 3 0 

> 25 years 287 264 684 219 58 2 

Total 1,852 2,032 1,709 625 94 3 

131

Vacation not taken decreased on 2005 (-1.9%), 

affecting a smaller percentage of employees 

(77%), with an average of 5.8 days per person. 

Overall, the average number of vacation days 

accrued but not taken for all employees dropped 

to 4.4. 

Absences remained substantially in line with the 

previous year and included ordinary time off, 

extraordinary time off and sick leave, affecting 17% 

of workdays. 

In 2006, 18,321 days of training were offered 

to 5,074 trainees, with an average of 3.6 days 

per person. In addition, 15,628 days of training 

activities (85.3% of total days) were organised for 

branch personnel. 

Resignations 21 11 1 33 

Transfer 15 6 3 24 

Termination 2 3 11 16 

Retirement 57 91 12 160 

Other 10 12 2 24 

Total 105 123 29 257 

Staff qualifi cations 

Clerical Offi cials Managers 

Men Women Men 

University degree 

(long course) 


252 439 319 153 47 2 1,212 

(short course) 5 7 – – – 12 

High school diploma 1,106 1,311 1,322 447 46 1 4,233 

Middle school certifi cate 127 107 26 7 1 268 

Primary school certifi cate 362 168 42 18 590 

Total 1,852 2,032 1,709 625 94 3 6,315 


Clerical 

Type of resignations 

Offi cials Managers 

Women Men Women 

Overtime 

No. of hours 

2006 

Total 

2005 

Clerical men 48,648 54,135 

women 25,846 27,919 

Total 74,494 82,054 

Time bank 

No. of hours 

2006 2005 

Clerical men 17,157 20,662 

women 16,302 16,095 

Total 33,459 36,757 

Total

Employee training and 

qualifi cation to meet 

Customer and market 

demands 

BPM continues its approach to developing the 

Bank’s human resources through continuous 

training programmes that are designed not only to 

improve employees’ professional skills, but also 

to accompany them along specifi c and targeted 

career paths. These initiatives, which include HR 

planning with a view to developing the potential of 

each employee to the full, aim to achieve four main 

objectives: 

• to encourage professional growth on the part of 

all employees; 

• to prepare replacement charts for various 

positions, especially key positions; 

• to facilitate the achievement of results required 

by the market through overall professional 

improvement; 

• to offer Customers more qualifi ed professional 

support and assistance. 

Moreover, the move towards greater integration 

between the various Group companies is activating 

a number of synergies, while fostering an exchange 

of skills, raising the level of know-how as a result. 

Training by category 

2006 

Course content 

No. of hours 

2005 

2005 

Managers Total population 97 108 

No. of days 380 520 

Offi cials Total population 2,335 2,346 

No. of days 5,037 7,026 

Clerical Total population 3,883 3,947 

No. of days 12,580 15,092 

Total Total population 6,315 6,401 

No. of days 18,321 22,694 

2004 

Procedures 27,503 73,018 

Management skills 12,270 8,538 

Sales and marketing 18,926 16,485 

Professional skills 35,050 37,875 

New hire training 13,500 12,662 

Remote training 13,898 9,058 

Languages 5,860 7,650 

Seminars & other initiatives 7,963 4,506 

Total 134,970 169,792 

A total of 5,074 people were involved in training courses with an 

average of 3.6 days’ training per head. 85.3% of all training was 

given to branch personnel. 

Bonus system 

The Bank’s remuneration system was improved 

during 2005 with the introduction of an incentive 

scheme designed to act as a greater stimulus to 

achieve more and more ambitious results. 

The scheme only pays the full amount of the 

bonuses if the Bank reaches the targets laid down 

in the budget. The results can be adjusted for the 

impact - positive or negative - of extraordinary 

events or transactions that were not foreseen in 

the budget and which take place during the year in 

question. 

The incentive scheme can be split into two parts: 

• Network/head offi ce incentives. Per quanto 

riguarda le strutture di rete commerciale l’indice 

di riferimento per la misurazione dei risultati è il 

“margine di intermediazione”; 

• Network incentives. The portion to be allocated 

to this part is added to the network/head offi ce 

incentive and is only foreseen for those operating 

units of the distribution network that achieve 

results that are above average for units of their 

size. 

The incentive scheme is also meant to reward 

the following aspects, in additional to the results 

achieved: 

• the care taken in accepting risk versus the 

clientele; 

• Customer satisfaction; 

• respect for the rules as a way of guaranteeing 

the quality of the relationship with the internal/ 

external Customer. 

Ongoing rationalisation of structures and of 

procedural aspects has made it possible to reduce 

overtime considerably. 

Average gross pay by 

category 

2006 2005 

Managers 159,647 160,978 

Offi cials 58,974 63,882 

Clerical 36,643 36,686 

Promotions 2006 2005 

Promotions as % of total 

employees 

12.7% 15.0% 

133

Respect for diversities, 

protection of minorities and 

equal opportunities 

By adopting a Code of Ethics, BPM has undertaken 

to avoid all forms of discrimination: ethnic origin, 

nationality, sex, age, physical disabilities, sexual 

orientation, political or trade union opinions, 

philosophical ideas or religious convictions are not 

grounds for discrimination as far as the Bank is 

concerned. 

The number of female employees at BPM has been 

rising steadily in recent years. Anche nel 2006 si è 

avuta una lieve crescita della presenza femminile 

(2.660 donne, 28 in più rispetto al 2005), che 

costituisce il 42,12% dell’organico complessivo. 

Moreover, a policy of equal opportunities fi nds 

concrete application in promotions, economic 

incentives and other forms of recognition, which 

refl ect the proportions of men and women present 

in the workforce. 

Staff breakdown by gender 

2006 2005 

No. % No. 

Men 3,655 57.88 3,769 58.88 

Women 2,660 4.12 2,632 41.12 

Total 6,315 100.00 6,401 100.00 

Assunzioni suddivise per sesso 

2006 2005 

No. % v 

Men 104 60.82 93 54.70 

Women 67 39.18 67 45.30 

Total 171 100.00 160 100.00 


% 

%

BPM company welfare 

services 

For some time, BPM has implemented company 

welfare policies aimed at improving the 

environment in the workplace and employees’ free 

time, while helping them fi nd a more satisfying 

balance between work and family. It has also 

focused on integrating health and social security 

issues in its policies, recognising the importance 

of offering these services to employees to motivate 

them and help foster a sense of belonging. 

In addition to traditional management services, 

BPM has developed a variety of social tools and 

initiatives, such as “ARES Bipiemme”, “Cassa 

Mutua di Assistenza del Personale” and “Fondo 

di Previdenza Bipiemme”, in addition to the new 

company creche and social outreach service for 

employees going through family-related diffi culties. 

ARES Bipiemme 

ARES Bipiemme is a co-operative company created 

for BPM employees and retirees to promote 

recreational, cultural and social services and 

activities to improve the quality of their free time 

and create a positive balance between work and 

family. 

The Bank supports these activities by providing 

funding, suitable space and dedicated personnel 

so that ARES can organise events on its own behalf 

(summer camps and specifi c events for Christmas 

and Easter). 

ARES is based in Milan, with different 16 sections, 

each targeting a specifi c interest, and more than 

2,500 members (from a Literary Salon to the group 

of Silver Retirees), and branches in Rome, Bologna 

and Foggia. 

ARES has 9,116 members (6,578 employees of 

BPM and its Group companies, along with 2,538 

retirees), in addition to their family members who 

enjoy its services, for a total of 33,244 people, 

making ARES the largest of its kind in Italy. 

In 2006, ARES Bipiemme carried out activities and 

provided services to its members and their families 

(sale of products, travel organised for groups and 

individuals, day trips, ticket sales for the theatre 

and concerts, magazine subscriptions and public 

services, etc.) worth roughly Euro 2,000,000. 

Social solidarity activities and those to support 

international cooperation through funding from 

its members and the Bank included initiatives and 

projects totalling approximately Euro 150,000 in 

2006. 

The summer camp service brought 575 children of 

employees together to enjoy a delightful holiday in 

special structures in Italy and abroad. 

2006 was also 

ARES Bipiemme’s 20th anniversary. 

To commemorate the occasion, it launched an intense 

schedule of activities, which began in 

November 2006 with a successful cabaret 

show, and continued with a backpack sent 

to all members, along with a coupon to 

purchase books. A Spring Festival is also 

planned for June. The festivities will end in 

September 2007 with a touring show from Milan to 

Foggia, with stops in Bologna and Rome. 

The members’ involvement in the twentieth anniversary 

is a sign of their appreciation of this co-operative, 

which has kept up with the times while holding 

on to its co-operative and collaborative spirit, 

positively infl uencing the Bank’s company welfare 

system. 

Cassa Mutua di Assistenza 

for employees 

Cassa Mutua di Assistenza (CMA) is a non-profi t 

association of volunteers made up of Banca 

Popolare di Milano employees and retirees. Its 

purpose involves: 

• providing health assistance through participating 

doctors and structures to integrate and improve the 

National Health Service; 

• providing economic assistance in addition to that 

offered by the National Health Service in accordance 

with legislative measures; 

• encouraging health education by promoting 

research into the early diagnosis of diseases and 

their causes, including those that relate to the 

workplace; 

• providing geriatric health assistance through 

targeted initiatives. 

Cassa Mutua di Assistenza provides services to its 

135

members and their families. Its activities are based 

on the principle of mutual insurance stated in it’s 

articles of association, which govern its activities 

and characterises the Bank’s co-operative roots. 

At 31 December 2006, Cassa Mutua di Assistenza 

had over 9,500 members and more than 7,900 

benefi ciary family members, with total assets of 

over Euro 9,800,000. Proceeds exceeded Euro 

14,000,000, with expenditure for services of more 

than Euro 12,000,000. 

Fondo di Previdenza Bipiemme 

This is a pension fund set up for all Bipiemme Group 

company employees. 

It operates as a non-profi t fund for the purpose of 

providing pensions in addition to those under the 

mandatory social security system. 

The fund receives contributions from the Bank and 

employees under specifi c agreements signed with 

the trade unions. 

At 31 December 2006, there were 6,231 active 

workers participating in the plan, divided 

into management segments. Participants can 

periodically decide the rate of their contribution. 

The fund has net assets of over Euro 297,000,000. 

Company creche 

In September 2006, “Il Giardino di Bez” company 

creche was opened for some 35 children ranging in 

age from 0 to 3 years. 

The creche was created at the Bank’s service 

centre in Via Massaua 6 - Milan, setting a 

signifi cant precedent for the redevelopment of the 

neighbourhood. 

After the work was completed with the creation 

of modern, comfortable working areas, the Bank 

completely reclaimed a large green area for public 

use. 

The creche is also open to families in the area; of 

the 35 children who attend, 14 are from families in 

the neighbourhood. 

The Bank’s decision to open the service to the 

community is part of its solution to helping bridge 

the gap between actual needs and the scarcity of 

creche services in Milan, and throughout Italy. In 

2007, the Bank will sign an agreement with the 

Milan Municipal Authorities to guarantee a quota of 

slots. 

The structural and educational project, which 

involved the Bank’s structures for nearly three 

years, is up-to-date with the most modern and 

innovative practices in pedagogy today. 


For example, the creche: 

• is a pedagogy project that focuses on the 

harmonious development of each child and the 

child’s relationship with his/her family; 

• the choice of colours is based on chromo-therapy 

studies; 

• the curtains depict stories of animals and plants 

that tie in well with the rest of the environment and 

are, in and of themselves, pedagogic-educational 

elements; 

• some of the furnishings have been created madeto-measure 

for the creche, including a labyrinth, a 

curved mirror, mirror prisms and a sensory board; 

• all educational and other staff members have 

been hired under open-ended contracts. They were 

trained in Reggio Emilia, Italy’s most renowned 

school in this fi eld, and one of the most cutting 

edge in pedagogy. 

In addition, the creche has a modern kitchen 

managed by a professional chef. The menu not 

only meets legal dietary requirements but also 

uses organic products supplied by companies that 

promote fair trade.

The Mobility Manager and Social 

Responsibility 

The position of Mobility Manager, introduced with 

the Decree of the Ministry of the Environment on 

27 March 1998 (Ronchi Decree) is part of a new 

approach to employee mobility, implementing 

solutions that reduce pollution and traffi c. 

Accordingly, this is an important social 

responsibility issue. 

Companies with more than 800 employees are 

required to have a Mobility Manager. The law does 

not fi ne companies that do not fi ll the position, but 

BPM believes it is important to deal with this issue. 

The Mobility Manager’s most important strategic 

and operating tool is the Commuter Plan, a survey 

of employees’ commutes on which the Bank has 

based a series of initiatives aimed at: 

- reducing the use of private vehicles; 

- reducing commuting costs; 

- decreasing the risk of accidents; 

- ensuring more regular commute times; 

- reducing traffi c-induced stress. 

These initiatives can have a positive impact on 

company productivity, while helping decrease city 

pollution. 

In addition to providing benefi ts for employees, 

solutions have been studied to help Customers and 

the public at large. For instance, these solutions 

include possibly using large “interchangeable” 

car parks where Customers can park their cars to 

then take the underground into the city centre, or 

participating in the fi nancing of public works to 

improve the road system. 

With respect to these issues and goals, in 2006, 

BPM began contacting a leading consultancy 

company to conduct a survey on employees’ 

commuting habits in 2007 and prepare the 

Commuter Plan. 

Industrial relations 

As mentioned previously, BPM intends to stand 

out as a work environment that gives employees 

a strong sense of belonging to a team. The Bank 

therefore implements HR management policies 

in a system of relationships with the trade union 

representatives that are based on mutual respect, 

transparency, information and sharing. 

If, on the one hand, BPM’s co-operative model 

permits important forms of participation by 

employees at Shareholders’ Meetings as well 

as profi t-sharing, as foreseen in the articles of 

association, on the other hand, it has also made 

it possible to develop trade union relations in a 

spirit of respect for each party’s respective roles 

and autonomies. Negotiations are always open 

and inclusive, without degenerating into cases of 

corporative privilege; they also envisage forms 

of information and consultation that help avoid 

confl icts. 

This positive climate makes it possible to develop 

trade union negotiations that are able to reconcile 

the interests of the workforce with those of the 

Bank, in line with its strategies and objectives. 

137

Employee feedback 

Upon publication of the 2005 Social Responsibility 

Report, the Bank sent each of its employees an 

extract of the document as an invitation to read the 

complete version, along with a cover letter from the 

Deputy General Manager of Human Resources and 

Contractual Policies and a score card. Employees 

can view the document on the Internet or by 

requesting it in hardcopy from BPM’s General 

Affairs Service Desk (although the Bank encourages 

employees to read the electronic version to prevent 

the excessive use of paper). 

Approximately 250 score cards were returned, many 

with suggestions written in the space provided. 

In short, the results were as follows: 

The suggestions were numerous and varied, without 

signifi cant concentration on any specifi c issues. 

This means that there were interesting areas to be 

considered, but mainly in terms of completing the 

report, rather than substantially changing it. 

Completeness and clarity of the 2005 social responsibility report 

Complete numbers 

Complete information 

Clear presentation 

and language 

Clear organisation 

Poor: 3.0% 

Poor: 5.1% 

Excellent: 9.6% 




Fair: 27.4% 

Sufficient: 18.5% 


Fair: 16.8% 


Poor: 6.6% 

Poor: 2.9% 

Fair: 22.1% 


0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 


75.0% 

50.0% 

25.0% 

0.0% 

75.0% 

50.0% 

25.0% 

0.0% 

How important 

is the social report for the Bank 

2.2% 

Not at all Not very 

much 

Good: 41.5% 

Good: 38.0% 

Fair: 29.9% 

5.9% 

Good: 46.0% 

28.1% 

Some Very 

much 

Good: 52.1% 

63.7% 

How much has the social report increased 

your knowledge of the bipiemme group 

5.1% 

15.4% 

Not at all Not very 

much 

61.0% 

18.4% 

Some Very 

much 

listening




State of play 


Effective governance of the process of inserting 

new hires into the corporate structure. J 

Organisational simplifi cation to improve the Bank’s 

effi ciency and effectiveness defi nizione della 

seconda fase. 

J 

Steps taken 

• The recruitment process was 

confi rmed with an outside 

company in three phases: 1) 

individual interviews; 2) group 

sessions; 3) orientation interviews 

to learn about the candidates’ 

abilities and personality with 

respect to the roles that they 

should fi ll. Assistance after hiring 

with individual interviews to 

provide information on the bank 

and its management policies. 

• The central bank offi ces were 

centralised and streamlined, with 

the discontinuation of foreign 

branches and the reorganisation 

of direct sales channels (online 

and phone banking). 

Revision of administrative functions in favour of the 

commercial area defi nizione della seconda fase. J • RACE Project test phase launched. 

Improvement in the system of internal 

communication. K • Analysis. 

Governance of Corporate Social Responsibility K 


• Refl ections on social responsibility 

governance methods.. 

Outlook for 2007 

Mobility Management. • Survey of employees’ commute to 

prepare the Commuter Plan and 

develop the Mobility Management 

project. 

(estimated duration: three years) 

139


Suppliers


Banca Popolare di Milano has undertaken to 

make the process of buying goods and services 

more effi cient, using professional buyers with 

state-of-the-art tools and methods. All of this by 

establishing and maintaining clear and lasting 

relationships with suppliers based on mutual 

respect and benefi t. 

142 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > Suppliers

An overview 

In 2006, the Bank had dealings with 2,998 

suppliers, 57 of which are resident abroad. I nuovi 

fornitori sono stati 375 pari al 13% del numero 

totale. Nel corso dell’anno si è assistito ad una 

contrazione, seppur minima, del numero dei 

fornitori dovuta principalmente all’incremento di 

fatturato indirizzato sui fornitori strategici. 

The following tables give a breakdown of suppliers 

and orders placed on the basis of the type of goods 

and services requested and their geographical 

location. 

Of the 1,902 suppliers in the “North-West Italy” 

area, 1,760 are located in Lombardy (92% of North- 

West Italy and 59% of the whole of Italy). 

2006 2005 

Amount No. of suppliers % No. of suppliers % 

Up to 100,000 € 2,602 86.79 2,635 86.85 

From 100,001 to 500,000 € 283 9.44 287 9.46 

From 500,001 to 1,000,000 € 51 1.70 58 1.91 

Over 1.000.000 € 62 2.07 54 1.78 

Total 2,998 100.00 3,034 100.00 

2006 2005 

Type No. of suppliers Orders No. of suppliers Orders 

Property expenses 445 75,435,450 503 63,006,503 

Technologies 213 133,653,243 258 164,879,964 

Services 2,340 142,486,235 2,273 135,941,005 

Total 2,998 351,574,928 3,034 363,827,472 

2006 2005 

Area % No. of suppliers % of orders % No. of suppliers % of orders 

North-West Italy 63.44 80.05 61.15 77.41 

North-East Italy 10.47 7.41 11.83 4.67 

Central Italy 14.88 8.39 16.41 12.27 

Southern Italy 8.61 1.99 8.21 1.74 

Islands 0.70 0.61 0.59 0.24 

Abroad 1.90 1.55 1.81 3.67 

Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 

Supplier selection system 

The Bank handles relationships with suppliers 

through the Procurement Department, a centralised 

service that has purchasing lines of governance that 

feature: 

• widespread use of on-line competitive tenders 

to guarantee negotiating transparency, equity and 

speed; 

• where possible, two suppliers for each type of 

goods or services, so as to ensure over time product 

quality, timely delivery and environmental protection, 

limiting the risk of depending on just one supplier; 

• a deliberate effort to create long-term relationships 

by signing Framework Agreements that last for 

several years. 

In carrying out its functions, the Procurement 

Department pursues the following objectives with 

ethical and transparent conduct: 

• a commitment to treat suppliers fairly; 

• fair competition without discrimination with a view 

to creating long-term commercial relationships; 

• a willingness to include on the list of possible 

suppliers all those who are able to guarantee 

the right level of professionalism, as part of a 

wider policy of reducing the overall number of 

counterparties; 

• the establishment of a formal List of Suppliers; 

• a search for quality, at a suitably high level 

according to the specifi cations; 

• transparent costs in line with the quality provided; 

• development of rating systems over time. 

2006 2005 

Province No. of suppliers % No. of suppliers % 

Bergamo 71 4.03 69 4.06 

Brescia 42 2.39 39 2.29 

Como 55 3.13 60 3.53 

Cremona 23 1.31 21 1.23 

Lecco 80 4.55 69 4.06 

Lodi 18 1.02 14 0.82 

Milan 1,302 73.97 1,274 74.90 

Mantua 2 0.11 4 0.24 

Pavia 70 3.98 66 3.88 

Sondrio 1 0.06 0 0.00 

Varese 96 5.45 85 5.00 

Total 1,760 100.00 1,701 100.00 

143

The SIRF Project - Sustainability and Integrity 

in Dealings with Suppliers 

During the year, BPM continued to process 

information within the SIRF 

Project, by fi lling out a specifi c 

questionnaire on its supplier 

policies (general policies, regulations, processes 

and controls). 

Avanzi Sri Research checked and analysed the 

fi ndings of the questionnaires by comparing 

them with those of other project participants. 

This comparison showed a few critical issues 

and, accordingly, areas for improvement (e.g., 

with respect to risk identifi cation and mapping, 

transparency and communications). The Bank is 

committed to adopting the necessary rules and 

implementing the appropriate tools to address 

these areas for improvement in the new version 

of its Code of Ethics, which is currently being 

prepared. 

Disputes 

Suppliers are paid within the contractual terms, 

based on clear and detailed agreements, with the 

result that disputes are minimal. 

144 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > Suppliers 

General principles and Guidelines of the SIRF Project 

Integrity of the relationship 

The purchasing process has to reconcile, at the one time, 

the search for maximum competitive advantage with the 

granting of equal opportunities to each existing or potential 

supplier. In handling relationships with existing and 

potential suppliers, companies undertake to adhere to the 

principles of legality, transparency, fairness and honesty. 

Companies do not intend to gain competitive advantages 

from suppliers based on irresponsible behaviour. 

Traceability of the procurement process 

The entire procurement process has to be easily 

reconstructed at any moment in time according to methods 

and for periods laid down in specifi c procedures. 

Supervision of the procurement chain 

Infringements by suppliers of the rules on safety and 

health in the workplace, protection of the environment and 

public health and international principles envisage suitable 

penalty mechanisms that aim, among other things, to avoid 

crimes against the Public Administration or environmental 

disasters. To this end, specifi c clauses are included in all 

procurement contracts. 

Separation of duties 

The unit that requests the supply and the one that 

stipulates the contract have to be completely separate and 

belong to different reporting lines. 

Rotation of purchasing staff 

Purchasing staff are periodically rotated to perform other 

duties, providing this is compatible with organisational 

requirements and with certain exceptions that are regulated 

by specifi c procedures.

IMPEGNI: initiatives completed and new goals for improvement 

Improvement goals set out 


Creation of a Group Procurement Department: 

Increase in the number of contracts handled 

centrally. 

State of play 


J 

Completion of the supplier reporting system. J 

Commitment to promote the adoption of the SIRF 

Guidelines also by the Bank’s own suppliers. K 

Initiatives completed 

• Issuing of a specifi c measure 

with diversifi ed budget limits 

for each Group company, over 

which the Parent’s Procurement 

Department must be used. This 

led to an increase of over 60% in 

the number of deals negotiated. 

• The reporting system was 

completed. 

• Comparison activities continued 

on the SIRF project, with the 

Group’s participation in fi lling out 

a specifi c questionnaire surveying 

supplier policies. 

Objectives for further improvement Developments foreseen in 2007 

Adoption of SIRF guidelines in the Code of Ethics. 

• Adoption of rules and tools 

identifi ed through the study and 

discussion as part of the SIRF 

project, to be included in the 

new edition of the Code of Ethics 

currently being written. 

145


Community 

147


Since it was founded in 1865, Banca Popolare 

di Milano has been committed to supporting 

culture, solidarity and art in the areas in which 

it operates through non-banking cultural 

initiatives. 

BPM has chosen to collaborate with regional 

entities, associations and foundations, 

promoting specifi c lines of work and identifying 

areas for development to consolidate 

relationships between public bodies, individuals 

and companies. 

148 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > community

An overview 

Because it is a co-operative bank of people and 

not capital, BPM has always sought to focus on 

people, their abilities, commitment and work, 

without overlooking their needs, weaknesses and 

imperfections. 

In over one hundred and forty years, the Bank has 

put the genuine before the abstract, actual work 

before mere statements of intent, and without ever 

discriminating, it has understood and prioritised 

values: a warm bowl of soup for the hungry in its 

canteen and the restoration of art damaged by time. 

In accordance with its articles of association, the Bank 

has allocated 3% of earnings to social initiatives. The 

fact that puts ethical choices before fi gures reveals the 

strength, constance and concern it has dedicated to 

social work, a tangible indication of its unique, one-ofa-kind 

approach to the world and its problems. 

At a time when certain elements of security, that 

appeared to be consolidated and defi nitively acquired, 

are giving way to precariousness and unsatisfi ed 

needs, where progress is failing to respond to the 

challenges of new types of poverty and hardship, the 

social activity of a bank that is deeply rooted in the 

economic and productive fabric of society is also of 

undisputed value, one that is able to ignite a glimmer 

of hope in many. 

Social interventions 

2006 

2005 

School 81,700 147,000 

Health 305,000 690,000 

Culture 2,731,732 2,645,000 

Research 146,620 109,000 

Solidarity 1,271,780 855,000 

Associations 203,000 134,000 

Other 533,060 903,000 

Total 5,272,892 5,483,000 

Initiatives by macro area 

(euro) 

(euro) 

2006 

2005 

Institutions against poverty 

and social marginalisation 

1,870,295 1,645,000 

Cultural associations 3,270,597 3,265,000 

Other 132,000 573,000 

Total 5,272,892 5,483,000 

Health 

Old and new health crises, in addition to the rise 

in complex illnesses, require private institutions to 

work hand-in-hand with public bodies to support 

research, prevention and cures, taking on the 

burden of otherwise unsustainable costs. 

At the same time, we see the improvement in the 

quality of life and longer life expectancy, along with 

the inevitable ageing of the population and the 

increasingly growing group of people in need of 

ever more personalised and specifi c structures and 

care, as well as new expertise and awareness on the 

part of social-healthcare workers. 

With this view, social groups have been created to 

fl ank the government and individuals in pushing 

society as a whole to take on a more profound 

sense of collective responsibility. BPM’s has 

been involved since the beginning with an equal 

commitment to all fi elds. 

The Alzheimer ward of the Istituto Palazzolo of 

Milan was completed in 2006, with the Fondazione 

Don Carlo Gnocchi. The Bank’s commitment 

continues with the creation of a new ward for 

vegetative patients over the next few years. 

The new headquarters of the Mario Negri Pharmacological Institute 

149

The Bank’s contribution has made it possible to 

renovate the newborn oncology ward at the De 

Marchi Clinic in Milan, with BPM at the forefront of 

the fi ght against cancer. The Bank also awards new 

scholarships for paediatric oncology studies with 

the l’Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei 

Tumori (National Institute for Cancer Research and 

Cure). 

A signifi cant scientifi c project was carried out at the 

Centro di Medicina del Sonno (Medical Centre for 

Sleep) within the Fondazione Centro San Raffaele 

del Monte Tabor on sleep behaviour disorders, 

RBD, while the operating rooms in the urology ward 

of Milan’s Policlinico received new, sophisticated 

equipment. 

Although they are all within the Milanese area, 

taken together, these projects and donations help 

forge nation-wide synergies, with benefi ts not only 

for local residents, but all patients from other areas 

who come to Milan for diagnosis or treatment. 

BPM is also involved in the fi eld of biomedical 

research by helping to fund the Istituto di Ricerche 

Farmacologiche Mario Negri, which is a centre of 

excellence in the development and enhancement of 

pharmacological active ingredients. 

BPM also collaborates with the Fondazione IRCCS 

Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mangiagalli e 

Regina Elena which, by combining hospital services 

with research and university training, seeks to 

rapidly translate clinical research into medical 

treatment. 

150 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > community 

BPM also provides support for the following 

initiatives: 

Vidas 

This is an association that provides integrated, 

continuous and free home-care for advanced and 

terminally-ill cancer patients; it is also the fi rst 

Italian provider of home-care that relies entirely on 

the private sector. In 2006, Casa Vidas was opened. 

It is a hospice home for patients who cannot be 

cared for at home, but cannot be hospitalised 

either. They are cared for in a safe, modern and fully 

equipped environment to alleviate the burden on 

their families. 

Associazione del Centro Dino Ferrari - Ospedale 

Maggiore Policlinico 

It operates by promoting various cultural 

activities and raising funds to fund the centre’s 

clinical and scientifi c research into muscular and 

neurodegenerative diseases. 

Fondazione Emergency 

This humanitarian organisation was founded 

in 1999. It operates around the world in areas 

struck by war, famine and poverty, providing 

medical and surgical assistance to civilians. It has 

an international staff of emergency healthcare 

workers. BPM is one of the founding members.

Culture 

Again in 2006, Banca Popolare di Milano 

continued to support cultural institutions with 

long-term commitments and individual initiatives, 

in the unwavering belief that culture is not 

extraordinary or a marginal aspect of human 

creativity, but that it is an ever-present and 

changing condition with the vision to encompass 

many directions and different levels. 

These institutions include historic places in 

Milanese culture that meet high standards of both 

artistic quality and professional commitment, as 

well as public and critical interest, such as the 

Fondazione Teatro alla Scala and the Fondazione 

Piccolo Teatro d’Europa. 

The Bank is one of the Founding Members of the 

Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro Sinfonico 

di Milan Giuseppe Verdi and continues to help 

fund this important orchestra and choir, which is 

becoming increasingly well-known and in demand 

internationally. 

Scheduled restoration work continued in the 

Chiesa di San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, 

which BPM has sponsored with a ten-year 

commitment. The work entails recovering the 

vault, organ and wooden crucifix. It is a groundbreaking, 

ambitious project, also in terms of the 

funding. Once completed, the entire architectural 

complex will be returned to its original splendour. 

Part of the restoration of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore 

The Bank also sponsors the Bach Weeks, the 

various cycles of Music and Poetry at San 

Maurizio organised by the Società del Quartetto, 

and La Milanesiana, a summer review of 

literature, music and cinema under the patronage 

of the Province of Milan. 

As part of its cultural commitment to research 

and conserve historical, documentary heritage, 

BPM participates in ISEC – Istituto per la Storia 

dell’Età Contemporanea – of Sesto San Giovanni. 

Its mission is to “study and learn the social, 

political, economic and cultural history of 

contemporary Italy” given the need to remember 

the country’s political and social roots. The third 

volume in the “Classici del pensiero politico ed 

economico europeo del Novecento” (“Classic 

European political and economic though of the 

Twentieth century”) series was published. This 

is a series that offers otherwise obscure essays 

to the public, which deal with issues relating to 

economics, society and politics. 

The Bank’s constant tie to its area continues with 

the Festival di Villa Arconati, organised by Polo 

Culturale Insieme Groane, with the participation 

of Italian and international rock, pop and jazz 

artists and the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli 

concert to honour the pianist’s art and memory, 

held in Bergamo and Brescia, now in its 43th 

edition. 

The most significant events of 2006 included the 

exhibition at the Palazzo Reale “Maestri del ‘600 

e del ‘700 lombardo nella collezione Koelliker” 

and a series of Sunday concerts “Domeniche alla 

Scala” to bring young people closer to the world 

of music. 

Lastly, the Bank supports the Fondazione 

Cineteca Italiana which, with its commendable 

conservation work, saves, restores and digitises 

kilometres of film in its archives, which would 

otherwise be lost over time. 

151

Solidarity 

Modern poverty, immigration issues and the 

diffi culties faced by young people today encourage 

growing marginalisation and create a sharp 

contrast between the daily lives of the unfortunate, 

overlooked by current models, which base societal 

views on the subjective and social value of the 

wealthy, successful and well-known. 

As the international economy cannot ensure 

constant and well-balanced development, and 

as the geopolitical gap between rich and poor 

countries grows, dramatic problems arise, even in 

wealthier nations, requiring the help of not only 

local authorities and the government, but also 

institutions and private associations, to plan and 

coordinate solutions that would otherwise not 

suffi ce. 

The Fondazione Fratelli di San Francesco d’Assisi 

helps the elderly, not necessarily because they 

are alone or in need, but because they are weak. 

It has created a “Custode Sociale” programme to 

constantly provide genuine help with a widespread 

network of assistance and entertainment activities, 

especially during the hot summer months when 

Italian cities and people alone most suffer from 

solitude and abandonment. 

The Casa della Carità “Angelo Abriani” also 

works in this fi eld but with a different focus. It was 

founded by a generous Milanese entrepreneur as 

a project to help people living in diffi cult social 

conditions characterised by weakness, need and 

marginalisation. It seeks to help each guest return 

to a productive life, through the search for a job and 

a home that will ensure genuine independence. 

Together with the Fondazione Attilio e Teresa 

Cassoni, BPM recently completed the Villaggio 

Barona project to redevelop an industrial area 

on the basis of an extensive urban and regional 

redevelopment plan for social purposes. The entire 

neighbourhood will be used to meet the residential 

needs of individuals and families in diffi culty. It also 

includes housing communities and student housing. 

BPM is also active in supporting the CAF, a help 

centre for abused children and families in crisis. It 

is a non-profi t organisation with three independent 

communities working to protect, educate and heal 

the wounds and trauma suffered by children aged 

three to twelve due to maltreatment and abuse. 

The needs and requests for help are many, 


especially for volunteers who over time have 

become highly specialised and professional in all 

social fi elds in which these emergencies arise. 

Although the Bank operates on the basis of 

expenditure priorities and budget, it has always 

tried to support, whenever possible, all worthy 

initiatives, such as Piccolo Cottolengo and the 

Comunità di San Patrignano. 

BPM also helps: 

AVSI Associazione Volontari per il Servizio 

Internazionale, an NGO involved in international 

co-operation which operates in an extremely 

wide fi eld that ranges from the needs of small 

children to professional training and from food 

security to improving urban dwellings. Its activities 

include, more specifi cally, distance support and 

international adoption. 

The aim of Fondazione Banco Alimentare is free 

distribution to charitable entities of essential food 

products donated by major producers, distributors 

and the European Union. It operates thanks to the 

involvement of volunteers who visit the associations 

and institutions that are members of the scheme 

throughout Italy.

Local projects 

Location is not synonymous with participation. 

Those present in a location can either stand 

back and watch or actively take part in their 

community. BPM has opted for the latter, a 

decision that reflects its identity and its way 

of operating directly in the area wherever it is 

located. 

Since the Bank is in Milan and is traditionally the 

bank of the Milanese, it has naturally privileged 

projects in its historic location. One example is 

its official sponsorship of Stramilano, the city’s 

largest sporting event, with race participants 

from all over Italy and abroad running along all of 

Milan’s main arteries. 

As its business grows geographically beyond the 

city and the region, the Bank has adjusted its 

target area accordingly, contributing to significant 

and effective projects in the various areas in 

which it is present: Piedmont, Emilia Romagna, 

Latium and Apulia. However, it is crucial that the 

Bank always maintain a balance and its ability to 

analyse and listen, abilities that have long made 

BPM stand apart, to continue to fully meet the 

needs and expectations day after day that cannot 

be let down. Only in this way can hope, desires 

and ideas become reality. 

“Stramilano” sporting event 

Areas of social outreach 

2006 

Milan 4,667,917 4,854,000 

Province of Milan 174,500 125,000 

Lombardy 214,715 190,000 

Other 215,760 314,000 

Total 5,272,892 5,483,000 

Type of social outreach 

2006 

(euro) 

2005 

2005 

Cultural associations 28 17 

Volunteer associations 76 33 

Patron saints’ celebrations 19 23 

Parishes 84 92 

Sports centres 15 26 

Schools 21 32 

Other associations 73 129 

153




Devote attention to the various initiatives that 

are proposed by institutions and associations to 

strengthen the link with the territory and to give 

concrete help to the needs of the community. 


State of play 


J 


Steps taken 

• In 2006, BPM continued to 

operate with real social, cultural, 

solidarity and artistic projects, 

devoting specifi c attention to local 

needs and development. 

Ensure continuous support to social, cultural, solidarity and artistic projects organised by the institutions and 

associations with which BPM has commitments.


Environment 

155


The Bank now wants to put more and more 

emphasis on environmental matters. 

In particular, BPM intends to: 

• apply good internal practices in its policies for 

energy savings and in the sorting and recycling 

of waste; 

• identify suitable types and methods of credit 

for profi t and non-profi t business that operate 

in the protection and improvement of the 

environment, artistic and cultural heritage, 

urban settings and the countryside; 

• evaluate the possibility of including 

environmental and/or sustainability certifi cation 

as an element of merit in the process of granting 

credit to businesses; 

• devote specifi c attention to the environment 

and to the quality of life in the areas surrounding 

our offi ces. 

The respect that a business has for the 

environment refl ects the respect that people 

who staff and manage the business have for 

the environment. In a social context that has 

achieved mature well-being, environmental 

awareness and the possible, although not 

immediate, effects that environmental-friendly 

policy have on the quality of life, can only grow. 

This increasingly widespread awareness is 

taking on growing importance in corporate 

decisions, although it must be coordinated 

with other effi ciency and competitiveness 

requirements. 

The Bank has established guidelines and 

objectives in the above areas, demonstrating 

the strong commitment of management and 

operating staff to the environment. 

156 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > environment

Steps taken in 2006 

All electricity consumed by BPM for its needs is 

from hydro-electric sources and is “EAUX DE LA 

VALLÉE Energia pura” certifi ed. This is possible 

in part due to the progressive deregulation of the 

market, which allows BPM to choose its supplier 

everywhere it uses electricity, without affecting 

service continuity. To this end, when the electronic 

back-up centre was relocated from Palazzo Galfa 

to Piazza Meda, decisions were made to set up the 

plant and, especially the air conditioning system, in 

a way that would maximise energy savings, while 

exploiting the effects of natural ventilation. 

For the purpose of improvement the effi ciency 

of heating systems, new heating systems were 

installed on the district heating grid offered by local 

consortia. 

Kwh/m 2 

Kwh/m 2 

Use of electricity 

2006 

128 * 126 

50,200 ** 43,400 

*Start-up and inspection of the new Centro Servizi Bezzi 2 contributed to 

increasing total use of electricity. 

**The weather conditions in winter 2006 generated an increase of roughly 

20% on 2005. 

Energy effi ciency goals were also considered in 

the choice of new technological equipment, as 

this concept takes on increasing importance. 

In particular, the new electricity back-systems 

installed at the data processing centres are top 

of the line in terms of energy yield and all new 

monitors installed at workstations have liquid 

crystal displays. 

In addition to electricity, water is increasingly 

becoming an asset to conserve and not waste. 

To this end, the Bank has tested new technical 

solutions to reduce water consumption in its 

technological systems that most use this resource: 

Water consumption per year 

2006 

2005 

2005 

m3 per year 380,150 405,000 

Consumption per head 

(m2 per year/average number of 

employees 

60 63 

large air conditioning systems. To date, the results 

in a system serving the data processing centre are 

positive. The solution will be extended to other 

systems as well. 

The wealth of each of the above goals leaves vast 

areas for improvement in the year to come, also 

through government incentives that have become 

available in the meantime. 

In particular, the Bank is focusing specifi cally 

on saving and producing electricity itself using 

alternative sources, as both an energy user and a 

fi nancer and sponsor of these types of initiatives to 

Customers. 

The creation of photovoltaic fi nancing products 

for companies and individuals, along with the 

“business ecology package” to provide incentives 

to companies that plan to use environmentallyfriendly 

technologies and plants, while reducing 

consumption, meet the objective of identifying 

suitable types and methods of credit for profi t and 

non-profi t business that operate in the protection 

and improvement of the environment, artistic 

and cultural heritage, urban settings and the 

countryside. 

BPM’s commitment to paying specifi c attention 

to the environment and the quality of life in the 

areas surrounding its sites led it to open a public 

playground in 2006, in conjunction with the 

expansion of the Centro Servizi Bezzi and making 

the “Il giardino di Bez” company creche available to 

neighbourhood children in addition to employees’ 

children. 

The production of waste 

2006 2005 

Waste in Kg 

Urban and similar waste** 170,680 145,024 

Spent oil (in litres) 840 4,940 

Non-dangerous waste * 1,094,418 953,739 

Dangerous/Special waste*** 9,474 8,705 

Total 1,275,412 1,112,408,10 

* Paper, cardboard, plastic, toner ** Mixed material packaging 

*** Hygienic waste, batteries, neon 

157




Identify the types of consumption to be monitored 

and to create a database for the extraction of 

information. Fill the database with as much data as 

possible. 

Apply good internal corporate practices in its policies for 

energy savings and in the sorting and recycling of waste. 

Open a channel of communication with employees to make 

them more aware of the problem of environmental impact 

and energy savings. 

Devote particular attention to the environment and 

to the quality of life in the areas surrounding our 

offi ces. 

Identify suitable forms and methods of credit for 

profi t and no-profi t enterprises operating in the 

protection and enhancement of the environment, 

artistic and cultural heritage, urban settings and 

the countryside. 

State of play 


K 

J 

J 

J 

158 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > environment 

Steps taken 

• The energy consumption database 

was improved and IT applications 

were created to monitor consumption. 

• An agreement was signed for the 

purchase of hydroelectric energy to 

cover all of the Bank’s energy needs. 

• The playground built in conjunction 

with the expansion of the Centro 

Servizi Bezzi was opened. 

• The “Il giardino di Bez” company 

creche was opened at the service 

centre for employees’ children and 

neighbourhood children. 

• A photovoltaic fi nancing product was 

created for companies and individuals. 

• A “company ecology package” was 

created to provide incentives to 

companies that plan to adopt 

environmentally-friendly technologies 

and plants while reducing energy 

consumption. 

Evaluate the possibility of including environmental 

and/or sustainability certifi cation as an element of 

merit in the process of granting credit to businesses. K • Feasibility studies. 

Objectives for further improvement Developments foreseen in 2007 

Developing and providing incentives to use and produce energy from 

renewable sources while containing consumption. • Projects were developed in 

collaboration with ESCO (Energy 

Service Company) to improve energy 

effi ciency. 

• Research was conducted into new 

methods of fi nancing based on 

the opportunities created by the 

decrees of the Ministry of production 

activities in relation to energy from 

renewable sources. 

• Energy provisioning policies were 

extended to all Group companies. 

• New lighting systems were created 

using innovative energy savings 

systems.


Communications


Communications is an important tool for BPM 

in its dealings with the various stakeholders, 

including the media and public and private 

institutions. 

The Bank’s communications are guided by 

principles of transparency and clarity, but also 

the quality of relationships. 

As regards the media in particular, through 

periodic contacts BPM guarantees direct and 

timely collaboration with the press, radio 

and television, so as to make the distribution 

of news to the general public as effi cient as 

possible. 

160 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > communications

Communication with the media is a fundamental 

strategic activity because it allows BPM to inform 

the general public about the life of the Bank and 

its subsidiaries. Attention to the media and the 

relationship of mutual trust that has been built 

up over the years allows BPM to participate as a 

leading player in any discussions about the banking 

system. 

The Press Offi ce, which reports to the 

Communications, Press and Public Relations 

Department, operates in continuous contact with 

the media, making sure that any price-sensitive 

information complies with the specifi c rules issued 

by the supervisory authorities. 

COMMITMENTS: steps taken 



Reinforce and intensify relationships with contacts 

with a view to providing clear, timely and transparent 

information on the activities of the BPM Group. 

State of play 


J 

Steps taken 

• Activities continued to forge 

relationships and communicate 

with the media, to ensure clear 

and transparent disclosures on 

BPM’s business. 

161







Group banks 

and principal 

companies


History 

Founded in December 1887, Banca di Legnano 

was created to respond to the fi nancial needs of 

manufacturing industry which in those years was 

taking on a leading role in the economic life of the 

area north of Milan, constituting a major industrial 

hub that has continued to be a constant feature of 

this area up to the present day. 

From the establishment of the Bank to the end 

of the First World War, Banca di Legnano enjoyed 

a period of strong growth, maintaining intense 

relationships with the more important local 

industries and vigorously sustaining the service 

sector and public savings, becoming a dynamic and 

reassuring presence in a region that was developing 

rapidly. 

Neither the Great War nor the events that took place 

immediately afterwards had much of an impact on 

the Bank’s solid progress, as it knew how to handle 

the problems connected with the reconversion 

from a war economy to one of peace, favouring the 

defi nitive consolidation of one of the country’s top 

industrial groups. 

In the years that followed the Second World 

War, Banca di Legnano took an active part in 

the reconstruction and during the economic 

boom contributed towards the development of a 

modern Italian industry. It was at that time that 

Banca Commerciale Italiana became the majority 

shareholder. 

Since 2001, Banca di Legnano has been a part of the 

Banca Popolare di Milano Group. 

In September 2002, Banca di Legnano S.p.A. 

was merged with Fin Partecipazioni S.p.A., which 

changed its name to Banca di Legnano. 

(in millions of Euros) 

Balance sheet and income 

statement fi gures (from the 

reclassifi ed fi nancial statements) 

2006 2005 

Direct deposits (*) 2,604.3 2,415.8 

Loans 2,625.8 2,440.7 

Operating income 215.4 179.6 

Operating costs 

Net income from fi nancial 

-88.7 -86.6 

activities 126.7 93.0 


Equity 

133.8 62.7 

(including net profi t for the year) 1,262.8 1,180.8 

** include amounts due to Customers, debt securities in issue and 

fi nancial liabilities designated at fair value through profi t and loss. 

Mission 

Banca di Legnano is developing its distinctive 

characteristic as a retail bank with a strong mission 

to support the local economy, which makes it the 

bank of reference for retail Customers and for small 

and mid-sized businesses located in the Bank’s 

historical area and neighbouring areas, essentially 

north of Milan. 

Its mission is in line with the Business 

Reorganisation Plan of the BPM Group. 

Strategy 

The Bank’s medium/long-term sales and marketing 

policy follows two main lines of strategy: recovering 

market share and raising effi ciency. 

Recovering market share 

Banca di Legnano is increasingly taking on the 

characteristics of a “network bank”, deeply 

rooted in a well-defi ned area in which commercial 

development is inevitably linked to reinforcing its 

presence in its traditional location by boosting 

market share. 

Attention is paid to all Customer segments - private, 

corporate, public administration, entities and 

associations - by offering products that can satisfy 

their respective needs. 

Increasing effi ciency 

The Bank will pursue this goal through the 

following: 

• quantitative analysis to verify the presence 

of resources in the network and to improve its 

distribution capacity; 

• qualitative analysis of professional roles so as to 

develop suitably personalised training courses. 

Other information 2006 2005 

Indirect deposits (in millions of Euros) 4,039.5 4,023.4 

- of which asset management 2,103.0 2,114.2 

Branches 107 106 

Employees* 819 821 

Customers 227,388 ** 226,324 

- of which individuals 88.58% 87.46% 

- of which companies 11.42% 12.54% 

* employees, including secondment and temporary staff 

** fi gures restated following the reclassifi cation of Customer types in 2006. 

164 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > group banks and principal companies

Governance 



Chairman: Rocco Corigliano 

Deputy Chairman: Giuseppe Coppini 

Deputy Chairman: Maria Martellini 

Directors: Giorgio Bianchini Scudellari, Eugenio 

Crosta, Roberto Fusilli, Francesco Giaretta, Alberto 

Lazzarini, Aldo Mario Mainini, Giuseppe Merlini, 

Leone Spozio, Anna Strazzera, Jean Jacques 

Tamburini, Valerio Tavormina. 

In accordance with art. 25 of the Articles of 

Association, the Board normally meets once a 

month: during 2006, it met 11 times. 


Made up of 5 members: 

Chairman: Rocco Corigliano 

Deputy Chairman: Giuseppe Coppini 

Deputy Chairman: Maria Martellini 

Consiglieri: Francesco Giaretta, 

Leone Spozio. 

The Executive Committee normally meets once a 

fortnight: during 2006, it met 17 times. 


Chairman: Giuseppe Pajardi 

Acting Statutory Auditors: Enrico Castoldi, 

Luigi Doppietti 


in accordance with Decree 231/2001 

Chairman: Valerio Tavormina 

Members: Anna Strazzera, 

Remo De Monte. 

The Bank’s Top Management also takes part in 

various Group Committees, including the Liquidity 

Committee, the Intergroup Committee, the Credit 

Policies Committee and the Commercial Policies and 

Communication Committee. 


2005 Branches ATM POS 

Province of Milan 

Province of Varese 29 19 472 

Province of Como 10 11 96 

Province of Novara 11 11 94 

Other provinces – – 14 

Total 106 116 1,740 

2006 Branches ATM POS 

Province of Milan 55 75 1.042 

Province of Varese 30 19 480 

Province of Como 11 11 97 

Province of Novara 11 11 105 

Other provinces – – 23 

Total 107 116 1.727 

Customers 

The Bank is making every effort to improve 

and enhance its vocation as a “local bank” by 

intensifying contacts and relationships with 

current and potential Customers, institutions and 

associations. The purpose being to interpret the 

emerging needs of its area so that it can satisfy 

them in the best way possible. 

Number of Customers 

by type 

2006 % 2005 % 

Individuals 196,912 86.60 197,929 87.46 

Small business 

Mid-sized and large 

24,295 10.68 22,977 10.15 

companies 

Public 

1,677 0.74 1,223 0.54 

Administration 30 0.01 29 0.01 

Service industry 4,474 1.97 4,166 1.84 

Total 227,388 100 226,324 100 

Small companies by 

business 

2006 % 2005 % 

Agriculture 111 0.45 97 0.42 

Skilled trades 7,108 29.26 6,679 29.07 

Commerce 3,348 13.78 3,250 14.14 

Industry 4,603 18.95 4,740 20.63 

Services 3,601 14.82 3,156 13.74 

Other 5,524 22.74 5,055 22.00 

Total 24,295 100 22,977 100 

165

Products and services 

The products sold to Customers are the same as 

those offered by the Parent Bank. They are created 

to meet the most diversifi ed needs of Customers, 

while improving cross-selling and loyalty targets. 

The portfolio project launched a few years ago was 

recently completed. It ensures individuals receive 

the best advisory services in the fi eld of indirect 

deposits, also through new products created in 

collaboration with the Group’s product companies, 

in terms of both bonds and bankinsurance. 

In the business segment, specifi c attention is 

paid to developing leases, relationships with 

underwriting syndicates and construction fi nancing, 

which have performed particularly well. 

As for services, the Group focused on developing 

electronic products, such as We@bank and 

inLineaNet, in addition to its main traditional 

services (foreign, portfolio, credit and debit cards 

and POS systems). 

In 2006, Banca di Legnano continued its 

strategy of widespread, systematic and periodic 

communication to Customers. Along with their 

monthly statement of account and periodic 

investment statements, Customers receive prompt 

information of a commercial nature, cultural 

proposals and initiatives of a social nature in which 

the Bank was involved during the year. 

Personnel fl ows 

in and out 

2006 2005 

Arrivals 48 32 

Departures1 32 52 

Arrivals less departures 16 –20 

1 retirement and transfers to other Group companies 

Distribution 

by structure 

2006 2005 

% Men Women % Men Women 

Local 

structure 

79.8% 475 170 79% 474 148 

Central 

structure 

20.2% 120 43 21% 117 51 

Total 100 595 213 100% 591 199 

Personnel 

Banca di Legnano has continued to involve its 

employees in its business mission. Training 

and development processes have been further 

strengthened by focussing on personal 

relationships and management of human resources. 

Equal opportunities 

The Bank’s policy is to offer part-time employment 

contracts to women who return to work after 

maternity leave. Furthermore, it carries out cancer 

prevention activities for its female employees. 

Personnel mix 2006 % 2005 % 

No. of employees with 

open-ended contracts 

728 90.09 726 91.90 


fi xed-term contracts 

– – 7 0.89 

No. of part-time employees 54 6.68 39 4.94 

No. of newly hired 

employees 

26 3.21 18 2.28 

Total 808 100% 790 100% 

No. of temps 1 13 

Breakdown by 

position 

Managers 

Offi cials 

166 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > group banks and principal companies 

2006 % 2005 % 

Men 12 1.48 14 1.77 

Women 2 0.24 1 0.13 

Men 279 34.5 272 34.43 

Women 39 4.82 33 4.18 

Clerical 

Men 

Women 

304 

172 

37.62 

21.28 

305 

165 

38.61 

20.89 

Total 808 100 790 100 


2006 2005 

Men Women Men Women 

University degree (long or short course) 114 52 107 46 

High school diploma 

Middle school certifi cate or 

405 143 406 135 

lower high school diploma 76 18 78 18 

Total 595 213 591 199 

Average age of personnel 2006 2005 


Managers 54.92 53.5 53.57 55 

Offi cials 46.94 43.33 46.58 43.70 

Clerical 40.24 37.24 39.80 36.95 

Average 43.68 38.51 43.32 38.16

Training 

In 2006, a signifi cant number of man/days was 

dedicated to training activities, with 4,135 man/ 

days of training, equal to 5.12 days per person. 

The percentage of days dedicated to updates was 

also high, coming in at over two thirds of all training 

activities provided. 


2006 

man/days 

2005 

man/days 

Procedures 3,027 530 

Professional skills 836 2,116 

Seminars & other initiatives 272 190* 

Total 

* fi gure reclassifi ed for consistency with 2006 

4,135 2,836 

Social activities and the work atmosphere 

Recreational activities in the strictest sense are 

“subcontracted” to the CRAL (Circolo Ricreativo 

Aziendale Lavoratori, the staff social club), which 

every year receives signifi cant fi nancial support from 

the Bank. Similarly, the Bank funds the Associazione 

Mutua Integrativa Aziendale. This year saw the 

second edition of a meeting with the Chairman and 

Top Management, during which prizes were awarded 

to all members of staff with a period of service of 

25-35 years; new hires and all of those who retired 

during the year were also invited. 

An annual meeting is held with all of the Bank’s 

pensioners. The 2006 Redundancy Incentive Plan 

allowed retirees to put forward a son or daughter as 

a candidate for a position in the Bank according to a 

special procedure. 

Communications 

To date, a personal interview is the main way of 

communicating with staff and getting them involved 

in the Bank’s commercial strategies and strategic 

guidelines. On particular occasions, when he wants 

to communicate an important matter personally, the 

General Manager has sent a signed letter to each 

member of staff. 

Community 

Banca di Legnano supports cultural, social, sporting 

and solidarity initiatives organised by associations, 

entities and private individuals that operate in the 

Bank’s chosen territory. 

In particular, cultural initiatives in 2006 included 

the continuance of the Bank’s publishing activities 

with a new high-end cultural publication “De Fletu 

Ecclesie” in collaboration with the Fondazione 

Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna. 

These two banks, which differ in terms of location, 

mission and structure, came together to promote 

the publication of one of the most signifi cant works 

by a Legnano resident, Giovanni degli Oldendri 

(known as Giovanni da Legnano), in its entirety. 

“De Fletu Ecclesie” is an extreme testament to the 

moral and legal foundations of a political body that 

was inevitably replaced by a new construction of 

Western Christianity, seeking a more autonomous, 

profi table system of political ethics, heralding 

acerbic dialect that would turn the modern world on 

its head. 

The collaboration of Professor Berardo Pio made the 

publication of this work possible. 

On 10 February 2006, at the headquarters 

of Banca di Legnano, the “Fondazione 

Comunitaria del Ticino Olona” was 

offi cially founded. Banca di Legnano is a 

founding member, along with the Municipalities 

of Abbiategrasso, Legnano and Magenta, the 

Fondazione Cariplo, the Milan Chamber of 

Commerce and the Fondazione Famiglia Legnanese. 

Rocco Corigliano was appointed Chairman of the 

foundation’s board of directors. 

The foundation, which operates in the western part 

of the province of Milan, is non-profi t making. It 

pursues aims that are exclusively those of social 

solidarity, promoting improvements in the quality of 

life in the community by stimulating civil, cultural, 

social, environmental and economic development. 

During 2006, the foundation awarded 313,750 

to 36 projects presented, totalling approximately 

1,000,000 from non-profi t organisations, and 

social associations, local entities and religious 

institutions throughout the area. 

The Bank manages various treasury offi ces of 

municipalities and schools, as well as that of the 

Legnano Civil Hospital. 

(Euro) 

Social outreach 2006 2005 

School, culture and healthcare 189,553 159,141 

Solidarity 15,543 8,850 

Associations 75,880 27,330 

Other 102,985 136,280 

Total 383,961 331,601 

167



History 

Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria was set up by 

Royal Charter on 21 August 1838. 

As part of the reorganisation plan drawn up in 

accordance with Law 218 of 30 July 1990 and 

approved by Ministerial Decree of 23 December 

1991, Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria spun off its 

banking activity with the establishment of Cassa di 

Risparmio di Alessandria S.p.A. 

With effect from 24 September 2004, Banca 

Popolare di Milano holds 80% of Cassa di Risparmio 

di Alessandria, which as a result has become part of 

the BPM Group. 

Mission 

Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria wants to help 

promote the development of the territory in which 

it operates by paying constant attention to the 

needs of local households and businesses, with 

particular regard to SMEs. The Bank’s link with the 

local territory is also being developed thanks to 

the innumerable treasury services provided to the 

Public Administration. 

Strategy 

Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria’s strategy is to 

reinforce and enhance its vocation as a retail bank, 

offering a full range of high quality products and 

services, with a particular eye on global consulting. 

Integration with the BPM Group is playing an 

important role in recovering and consolidating 

profi tability, holding down costs and raising 

effi ciency and productivity. 

• Development of human resources and the 

organisation 

Human resources are an important and strategic 

variable. By means of various interventions of 

corporate reorganisation and synergies with the 


statement fi gures 

2006 


2005 

Direct deposits * 1,790.3 1,759.2 

Loans 1,630.4 1,471.0 


Operating costs -64.8 -64.0 

Net income from fi nancial activities 47.0 34.6 


Equity (including net profi t 

16.7 15.8 

for the period) 165.3 161.5 

* include amounts due to Customers, debt securities in issue and fi nancial 

liabilities designated at fair value through profi t and loss. 

Parent Company, HR management has to tend 

towards a higher level of overall effi ciency that is 

able to raise the Bank’s competitiveness and create 

a greater orientation towards Customers and the 

market. 

• Innovation and technology 

Technological resources are a fundamental tool to 

implement the Bank’s strategies in a balanced way, to 

upgrade all IT procedures to new legal requirements 

and to offer new products in line with state-of-the-art 

technologies that can satisfy the needs of Customers. 

• Marketing and communication 

The Bank strategically revitalises relationships 

with Customers on a continuous basis in sectors in 

which the Bank has been traditionally and historical 

involved, such as private banking (families and 

entrepreneurs, particularly small and mid-sized 

companies); public banking (local public entities and 

institutions); civil banking (non-profi t associations 

and organisations). 

Governance 

(Information updated to 17 May 2007) 



Chairman: Giuseppe Pernice 

Deputy Chairman: Enrico Corali 

Directors: Marco Bertini, Paolo Bianchi, Giorgio 

Bianchini Scudellari, Sergio Guglielmero, Piero 

Lonardi, Giacomo Maranzana, Piero Martinotti, 

Piero Milano, Renzo Giuseppe Patria, Roberto 

Roveta, Bruno Tacchino, Luciano Vandone, Michele 

Zefferino. 

The Board normally meets once a month. 


Indirect deposits (in millions of Euros) 2,353.3 2,179.3 

- including AUM (in millions of Euros) 946.5 922.9 

Branches 84 82 

Employees 576 580 

Customers 112,844 113,872 

- of which individuals 85% 88% 

- of which companies 15% 12% 




Chairman: Giuseppe Pernice 

Deputy Chairman: Enrico Corali 

Directors: Giorgio Bianchini Scudellari, 

Piero Martinotti, Michele Zefferino. 

The Executive Committee normally meets once a 

fortnight. 


Chairman: Enrico Castoldi 

Acting Statutory Auditors: Guido Barberis 

e Antonio Ortolani. 


in accordance with Legislative Decree no 231/2001 

Chairman: Paolo Manzato 

Members: Giacomo Maranzana, Guido Porta, Enrico 

Accomello e Adriano Parrini. 


84 retail branches: 65 in the province of Alessandria 

(head offi ce in Alessandria, 2 area offi ces and 

62 branches); 5 in the province of Asti; 2 in the 

province of Pavia; 4 in the province of Genoa; 5 the 

province of Savona; 3 in the province of Vercelli and 

1 in the province of Cuneo. 

Customers 

Number of Customers 

by type 

2006 % 2005 % 

Individuals 95,510 84.6 96,895 85.1 

Companies 

Public administration 

13,378 11.9 13,135 11.5 

Customers 142 0.1 136 0.1 

Service industry Customers 3,824 3.4 3,706 3.3 

Total 112,844 100 113,872 100 

Personnel 

As part of the process of integrating increasingly 

with the Parent Bank, Cassa di Risparmio di 

Alessandria maintains its HR management 

philosophy based on fairness and transparency in 

all internal communications. 

In particular, the Bank is implementing internal 

policies designed to: 

• consider each employee as a company asset; 

• enhance the skills, professionalism and personal 

aptitudes of each member of staff to ensure the 

Personnel mix 2006 % 2005 % 


open-ended contracts 


519 90.1 503 86.7 

fi xed-term contracts 11 1.9 31 5.4 

No. of part-time employees 46 8.0 46 7.9 

Total 576 100.0 580 100.0 

No. of temps 16 2.8 14 2.4 

Staff levels 2006 % 2005 % 

Managers 

Offi cials 

Men 10 1.7 7 1.2 

Women – – – – 

Men 108 18.8 107 18.4 

Women 52 9.0 55 9.5 

Clerical 

Men 

Women 

152 

254 

26.4 

44.1 

160 

251 

27.6 

43.3 

Total 576 100.0 580 100.0 


Average age of 

personnel 

2006 2005 


University degree (long or short course) 

Middle school 

66 59 66 56 

diploma 190 232 191 235 


lower high school diploma 

11 7 14 7 

Other 3 8 3 8 

Total 270 306 274 306 

2006 2005 


Managers 57 - 56 – 

Offi cials 49 48 50 49 

Clerical 40 40 40 40 

Average 44 41 44 42 

169

growth of the individual and of the Bank as a result; 

• discuss policies with the Parent Bank (both its own 

traditional policies and those being developed in 

the form of synergies); 

• maintain contact and critical comparison with the 

same sectors at the Parent Bank, taking advantage 

of high level professional skills that already exist. 

Members of staff on secondment from the Parent 

Bank have made a decisive contribution in this 

direction. 

Personnel fl ows 

in and out 

2006 2005 

Arrivals 33 50 


Arrivals less departures -4 -9 

1 almost all are due to retirement 

Distribution by 

structure 

2006 2005 

% Men Women % Men Women 

Branch network 71 191 218 71 193 217 

Headquarters 25 76 67 26 80 73 

Outside the structure 4 3 21 3 1 16 

Total 100 270 306 100 274 306 

Training 

The 2006 training plan falls into the Parent Bank’s 

development strategy. Classroom lessons, both 

in terms of traditional training and procedural 

training – continued to focus on sales employees, 

confi rming the Bank’s internal belief that earnings, 

growth and business development are directly 

related to Customer service and the integration 

with the Parent Bank, which will be completed in 

2007, with IT integration slated for November. 

Certain courses grew exponentially on 

previous years, with qualifi ed instructors from 

outside the bank, such as business courses 

(“Foreign commerce”, “Advanced commerce”, 

“Entrepreneurial thinking”, “Insurance”, etc.) and 

development training for network employees. 

In accordance with Law no. 626/94, 70 fi rst aid 

courses were provided to most staff members. 

About 2/3 of employees with the right to receive 

mandatory medical check-ups for the use of 

monitors did. 

In addition, a signifi cant number of employees 

participated in the new FAD courses (the 

Parent Bank’s web platform), on administrative 

responsibilities (Law no. 231) and health and 

safety regulations (Law no. 626). More than 

400 employees took part in these courses. The 

PattiChiari courses were also provided to all 

network employees once again. 

In addition, training activities were provided in 

connection with the distribution of didactic and 

informational pamphlets to all employees on the 

Organisational model as per Law no. 231 and the 

anti-theft guide, as well as updates (handled by 

Marketing) on PattiChiari via the company intranet. 

During the year, new temporary task force training 

continued (16 employees), involving internal 

instructors on more than one occasion (basic 

training, fi eld training and continuous updates). 

Members of staff also took part in various external 

courses, either on the advice of their heads of 

department, or as decided by the staff training 

department. 


170 � social responsibility report > bpm group social policies report > group banks and principal companies 

2006 2005 

man/days man/days 

Procedures 282 131 

Management skills 46 132 

Sales and marketing 470 87.5 

Professional skills 662 548 

New hire training 50 582.5 

Remote training 388 410 

Languages - – 

Seminars & other initiatives 10 26.5 

Total 1,908 1,917.5 

Training by category 2006 2005 

Managers 

Offi cials 

Clerical 

Total 

Total 7 1 

No. of days 9 1 

Total 120 120 

No. of days 617 551.5 

Total 315 340 

No. of days 1,282 1,365 

Total 442 461 

No. of days 1,908 1,917.5

Community and Institutions 

Locally, Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria can 

consider itself a leader in the management of 

treasury services for local government entities, 

as it provides this service for more than 250 

entities, including the Provincial Authority and the 

Municipality of the provincial capital. 

Together with the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio 

di Alessandria, the Bank published a book 

entitled “Monferrato. The signs of modernity” 

This is the third volume in a series dedicated to 

the Monferrato, an important part of the territory 


Objectives for improvement 

set out in the 2005 Social 

Responsibility Report 

Initiatives aimed at Customers/ 

new markets 

Objectives for further 

improvement 

Initiatives aimed at Customers/ 

new markets 

Organisation/distribution 

network 

Steps taken 

(euro) 



Other 60,850 24,000 

Total 343,720 140,000 

• Specifi c attention was paid to developing products for non-E.U. immigrants, with 

a particular project handled by the Parent Bank and promoted by the various local 

channels with the involvement of provinces and municipalities, as well as economic 

and volunteer associations. 

• The fi rst-home 100% mortgage covering the entire value of the property was offered. 

A new prepaid credit cart called “Eura” was also launched, completing the sales 

offer, with the restyling of the credit card graphics. 

• The farming segment was also expanded to complete the offer with a new line of 

advertising communications. 

• Relationships with trade associations and underwriting syndicates continued with 

specifi c attention devoted to both conventions and seminars for entrepreneurs and 

through agreements to promote loans and other products. 

• New collaborative agreements were also signed with trade associations in the 

various provinces in which the Bank is present. 

Sviluppi previsti per il 2007 

mainly consisting of hill-land, whose cultural, 

environmental and tourist enhancement plays a 

central role in the redefi nition of the economic 

and social destiny of this area, known as the 

“Alessandrino”. 

• New products were developed in synergy with the Parent to complete the Bank’s 

offer in specifi c Customer segments. Particular emphasis will be placed on a series 

of subsidies and incentives to increase the use of renewable energy sources, 

with specifi c loans for companies and individuals who use them. The Bank will 

mainly target farmers, young people and students, non-E.U. immigrants, business 

associations and accountants. 

• New collaboration agreements will be signed with trade associations in the various 

provinces where the Bank has a presence, with a view to increasing commercial 

penetration in the various market segments. 

• Il 22007 will see the process of integration of the CRA IT system into BPM’s IT system, 

which should give rise to profi table synergies and positively impact organisation and 

costs. 

• A new “Treasury Service Centre” will be created to oversee all administrative, legal 

and operating functions on behalf of entities for which the Bank provides treasury/ 

cash services, to improve the quality of the service and contain costs 

171


Banca Akros is the BPM Group’s investment and 

private banking specialist, acting as an important 

point of reference for institutions, companies and 

individuals who participate in fi nancial markets. 

Constant fi nancial analysis of equity markets 

underpins all of the services offered by Banca Akros. 

Banca Akros, which controls Akros HFR Alternative 

Investments SGR in Italy and Akros Securities Inc. 

in the United States (New York), has signifi cant 

strategic investments in companies such as 

Group S.r.l. (for the subscription and placement of 

securities), ESN LLP (equity research) and ESN NA 

(broker dealer). 


statement fi gures 


2006 2005 

Loans and advances to banks and Customers) 

Financial assets 

423.9 300.4 

(held for trading and available 

for sale) 2,347.5 2,270.4 

Other assets 187.9 134.2 

Total assets 

Liabilities and equity 

2,959.3 2,705.0 

Due to banks and Customers 

Financial liabilities held 

1,850.3 1,978.7 

for trading 865.7 557.0 

Other liabilities 

Equity 

148.3 87.3 

(including net profi t for the year) 

Total liabilities 

95.0 82.0 

and equity 2,959.3 2,705.0 



Net income from fi nancial 

activities 36.3 33.1 

Net profi t for the year 34.0 31.7 

Other information 


2006 2005 

Indirect Customer deposits 2,207.0 1,912.0 

- of which asset management 807.0 902.0 

Number of branches 3 2 

Number of employees 

at year end 244 241 

Strategies 

La sBanca Akros has built its strategy around innovation 

and specialised expertise, with operations deeply 

rooted in Italy, integrated with competitive business 

development on all major international markets. 

Banca Akros is a leading name in the fi eld of Investment 

Services and Private Banking for: 

• mid-sized and large companies (both listed and 

unlisted); 

• institutional investors and intermediaries (banks, 

insurance companies, bank foundations, security 

houses, fund management companies, OEICs and asset 

managers in general); 

• government entities and the public administration; 

• high net-worth individuals. 

In 2006, Banca Akros participated in the PRO MAC 

S.p.A. foundation, an alternative market that allows 

small and mid-sized companies to be listed on a circuit 

for institutional investors. The subsidiary Akros HFR 

Alternative Investment SGR manages Italian funds 

of hedge funds to offer Customers investment tools 

that allow them a rational diversifi cation of risk and 

consequent optimisation of the expected return. The 

funds included in the portfolios are selected according 

to rigorous criteria of transparency and performance 

analysis. This initiative is managed in partnership with 

Hedge Fund Research, the worldwide leader in the 

selection of hedge fund managers. 

Governance 



Chairman: Graziano Tarantini; 

Deputy Chairmen: Mario Artali, Ernesto Paolillo; 

Managing Director: Marco Turrina 

Directors: Maurizio Biliotti, Roberto Cavallotti, Dario 

Martelli, Giordano Pelosato, Gianfranco Pittatore, 

Leonardo Savini. 


Chairman: Marco Baccani; 

Acting Statutory Auditors: Enrico Castoldi, Ezio 

Maria Simonelli. 


in accordance with Decree 231/20011 

Members: Alessandra Barzaghi, Ferrante Zilioli. 

The services provided by Banca Akros 

The services offered by Banca Akros cover the entire 

range of Investment & Private Banking activities. 

In the fi eld of investment banking, the Bank acts as 

trader and market maker for equities and bonds. 

It trades in derivatives on regulated and OTC 

markets. Banca Akros also handles interest and 

exchange rate hedging transactions on behalf of 

companies and institutions with the need to hedge 

their fi nancial risk. It offers its specialised expertise 

in the creation of domestic and international 

competitive fi nancial instruments in terms of yield, 


transparency and innovation, to banking networks 

and insurance companies. In the equity market, 

it assists companies in stock market listings and 

the placement of equities and bonds. In corporate 

fi nance, Banca Akros offers advisory services to 

companies and local entities, M&A consultancy 

and securitization services. Banca Akros private 

banking services include wealth management for 

high net worth individuals, with personalised asset 

management and order collections specialised 

in terms of clients’ transactions on domestic and 

international fi nancial markets. Banca Akros has 

offi ces in Milan, Rome and Turin, with a range 

of services to meet the demands of the most 

sophisticated clients. 

Financial research and analysis 

Banca Akros’ Financial Analysis team acts as the 

fi nancial research centre for the entire BPM Group. 

Its research activity covers fundamental equity 

analysis, macroeconomic research and technical 

analysis. To ensure full coverage of European equity 

markets for its clients, Banca Akros helped found 

the European Securities Network LLP (ESN). This 

company, which is owned in equal shares by the ten 

leading banks and traders in Europe and represents 

ten European countries, trades in securities and 

conducts equity research on over 800 European 

equities. ESN is based on a multi-local federal 

model, one-of-a-kind in Europe, with 130 analysts 

and 140 sales representatives for equity markets. It 

is independent with no confl icts of interest. 

COMMITMENTS: areas for improvement 

Business strategy and corporate 

governance 

Personnel 

Breakdown by level 2006 2005 

Managers 

Offi cials 


Men 24 24 

Women 1 1 

Men 77 79 

Women 35 30 

Clerical 


Men 

Women 

53 

54 

53 

54 


Personnel mix 2006 2005 

No. of employees with openended 

contracts 

No. of employees with fi xed- 

225 223 

term contracts – – 

No. part-time employees 

No. newly hired 

19 18 

employees 


0 0 


2006 2005 


University degree (long or short course) 69 34 70 28 

High school 

diploma 76 48 77 49 




at year end 154 90 156 85 

Average age of employees 

2006 2005 


Managers 48 51 47 50 

Offi cials 40 40 39 40 

Clerical 36 36 35 35 

Average age of employees 40 38 39 37 

Personnel fl ows 2006 2005 

Arrivals1 21 16 


Arrivals less departures 3 1 

1 2 

Hired under open-ended contracts Mainly voluntary resignations 

• product and process innovation to meet new developments in Customers’ needs, in 

step with the market and European regulations; 

• internationalisation and development of the corporate fi nance business. 

Banca Akros promoted these initiatives in its strategic group plan. It expects to achieve 

these targets by 2009. 

173


Bipiemme Gestioni SGR is the Bipiemme Group’s 

fund management company, boasting 20 years 

of experience in the fi eld of mutual funds after 

being founded in 1984. Bipiemme Gestioni SGR 

offers comprehensive products and services to 

meet all its clients’ needs, encompassing global 

funds and geographically specialised funds. Over 

time, the product range has been expanded to 

include important innovations: from quantitative 

management to fl exible funds, from specialist 

funds to ethical and multimanager funds. Bipiemme 

Gestioni SGR also offers various different lines of 

asset management in securities and in funds, as 

well as the chance to supplement public pension 

cover with an open-ended pension fund. The quality 

of the services offered by Bipiemme Gestioni SGR 

has won it a variety of awards over the years: 

• for the fourth year running, it ranked among the 

top large fund managers in Italy in the Premio Alto 

Rendimento organised by “Il Sole 24 Ore”: 1st place 

in 2003 and 2004, 2nd in 2005 and 2006; 

• 1st place in the Standard & Poors Fund Awards 

2007 “Specialist Group” for 2006; 

• 1st place in the Milano Finanza Global Awards 

2007 for 2006 as the Italian company with the most 

A ratings and the best average rating in the last 

three years for mid-sized managers; 

• 1st place in the Grand Prix Eurofonds for the 

best European fund managers, as the best Italian 

company with 16 to 25 funds. 

In addition: 

in 2004 and 2005, the BPM Iniziativa Europa fund 

was awarded the Premio Alto Rendimento as the 

best “European Equity Fund”. 

• the Bipiemme Valore fund won 1st place in 

the “S&P’s Fund Awards Italy 2007” for best 

performance from 2002 to 2006. 


fi gures 


2006 2005 

Net interest and other banking income 52.2 43.9 



Equity 42.5 36.3 

Mission 

To offer professional, innovative, transparent 

management with tailor-made solutions 

and instruments for individual investment 

requirements: mutual funds, funds of funds, 

pension funds and managed portfolios. 

To diversify Customers’ portfolios in the best 

way possible according to their time horizon and 

propensity for risk. 

Strategies 

• rento increasingly boost the effi ciency of 

transactions in its industry; 

• to offer a complete range of products and 

services, constantly striving for excellence in terms 

of staying in step with competitive developments; 

• to strengthen profi tability by signifi cantly 

increasing revenues and introducing measures that 

focus on management costs. 

Governance 

(updated to July 2007) 



Chairman: Marco Vitale 

Deputy Chairman: Marcello Priori 

Deputy Chairman: Gino Camillo Puliti 

Directors: Maurizio Biliotti, Roberto Cavallotti, 

Italo Ciancia, Federico Fornaro, Roberto Fusilli, 

Roberto Marmo, Mario Mazzoleni, Sergio Riboldi. 


Chairman: Marco Baccani 

Acting Statutory Auditors: Alberto Balestreri, 

Luigi Dabbicco 



Assets in mutual funds and 

Pension fund in millions of Euros 12,442.1 12,826.1 

Individual asset management schemes in millions of Euros 7,433.0 7,114.0 



in accordance with Legislative Decree no 231/2001 

Chairman: Italo Ciancia 

Members: Marco Baccani; Alberto Balestreri, Carlo 

Cesare Farma. 


Bipiemme Gestioni SGR distributes its mutual 

funds inside the BPM Group through the banking 

branches, a website and a network of private 

bankers; and outside the Group, through thirdparty 

banks, insurance companies, SIMs (security 

houses) and fi nancial consultancy networks for 

a total of 44 institutions with which the SGR has 

signed a placement contract. 

Products 

• Investment solutions 

Funds structured in such a way as to meet the aims 

of investors who delegate to the management 

company both the structure of the portfolio and 

the choice of the individual businesses that make 

it up. 

• Investment tools 

Funds that specialise in particular markets or 

geographical areas, which together can make up a 

diversifi ed portfolio for investors who delegate the 

choice of individual business to the management 

company, but who want a say in choosing the best 

investment strategy to meet their objectives. 

• Cash management 

Funds geared to individuals or legal entities that 

manage their fi nancial assets, or part of them, 

over a period of less than two years, exclusively 

using money market instruments. For companies 

and other institutional investors, BPM Gestioni 

also offers solutions that meet the need for 

effective and active treasury management, without 

overlooking tax advantages. 

Customers 

The Company maintains a constant and continuous 

fl ow of information on Customers, which permits 

maximum transparency in the analysis of the 

services offered and maximum effort in supporting 

the products and services offered with continuous 

advice and a shared approach to satisfying each 

Customer’s needs. 

The Customers of Bipiemme Gestioni SGR consist 

of banks and security houses that distribute 

its products and services or that buy them for 

themselves. Moreover, numerous institutional 

organisations (pension funds, insurance 

companies, charities, etc.) use the Company’s 

services for their own investments. Relationships 

with individuals are limited to a small number of 

Customers with particular needs. In other words, 

the Company works mainly with institutional 

Customers, both inside and outside the Group. 

External relations 

Bipiemme Gestioni SGR pays a great deal of 

attention to external relations with the media 

and with Customers. For several years now, the 

Communications and External Relations Department 

has been handling all contact with the media so as 

to make the spreading of news to the general public 

as effective as possible, by means of: 

• press releases that are sent to fi nancial/national 

newspapers, magazines and press agencies; 

• meetings with fi nancial journalists to directly 

discuss the Company’s activities and the various 

initiatives that it promotes; 

• a website that provides all of the information 

that a Customer might need on the products and 

services provided by the Company, as well as the 

latest news on the economy. 

Every year, Bipiemme Gestioni SGR organises the 

Economy and Savings Forum, an event devoted 

to the prospects of fi nancial markets with the 

participation of world-famous experts. 

175

Personnel 

Bipiemme Gestioni SGR wants to stand out for 

the high level of co-operation within the fi rm and 

for the development of its members of staff by 

adopting best market practices to attract people 

with the top professional skills and to offer high 

quality services. 

Breakdown 

by level 

Managers 

Offi cials 

2006 % 2005 % 

Men 7 6.36 7 6.36 

Women 2 1.82 3 2.73 

Men 27 24.54 28 25.45 

Women 16 14.54 14 12.73 

Clerical 

Men 33 30.00 31 28.18 

Women 25 22.74 27 24.55 

Total 110 100 110 100 

Personnel mix 

2006 % 2005 % 


long-term contracts 103 93.64 105 95.5 



No. of part-time 

1 0.91 – – 

employees 6 5.45 5 4.5 

Total 110 100 110 100 

No. of temps 2 3 

Average age 

in and out 

2006 2005 


Managers 45.57 49 44.5 47 

Offi cials 41.92 41.6 40 41.5 

Clerical 36.18 35.72 35.5 35.5 

Average 39.48 38.32 38.5 38 

Staff qualifi cations 2006 2005 



(long or short course) 

High school 

36 13 35 14 

diploma 

Middle school 

certifi cate or lower 

28 24 28 24 

high school diploma 3 6 3 6 

Total 67 43 66 44 

Institutions 

Bipiemme Gestioni SGR has on-going relations 

with the Supervisory Authorities, trade 

associations and external consultants that handle 

matters relating to the correct management 

of the company and relations with the Bank of 

Italy, CONSOB, COVIP, and with various trade 

associations and external consultants which 

handle matters relating to fi nancial products. 

Within ABI and Assogestioni it follows the 

activities of the taskforces relating to the 

Company’s areas of interest. 


Community 

Together with the Diocesan Museum of Milan 

- Fondazione Sant’Ambrogio – Bipiemme Gestioni 

SGR organises the cultural initiative entitled “Un 

Capolavoro per Milano”. 

This is an initiative which every year brings 

to Milan a work of art that is normally kept 

elsewhere, in a place where it is hard for the 

general public to gain access. 

After a short pause in 2005, Bipiemme Gestioni 

SGR returned to this initiative in 2006, in 

collaboration with the Museo Diocesano, 

inaugurating the exhibition of the Holy Family 

with Saint Elizabeth and the Infant Saint John the 

Baptist by Andrea Mantegna, from the Kimbell Art 

Museum of Fort Worth, Texas. 

Given its artistic and cultural signifi cance, the 

initiative was organised under the auspices of the 

President of the Italy and the Ministry of Culture, 

the Lombardy Region - Lombardy Culture, Identity 

and Independence, the Province of Milan and the 

City of Milan - Cultural Department. 

Year Work of art Visitors 

2002 Ecce Homo by Antonello da 

Messina 15,000 

2003 Annunciazione by Domenico 

Beccafumi 20,000 

2004 Cattura di Cristo by 

Caravaggio 50,000 

2006 The Holy Family by Andrea 

Mantegna 50,000 



Moreover, since 2000, together with the Parent 

Bank Banca Popolare di Milano, BPM Gestioni has 

organised the Economy and Savings Forum, an 

annual, high level meeting, devoted to economic 

scenarios and fi nancial markets, with particular 

attention to changes in investors’ attitudes and 

needs, and the way in which sector operators get 

organised to satisfy them. The event is reserved 

for Customers and big names in economics and 

fi nance. 

177


History 

We@Service was set up in 2000 as a commercial 

services and information technology company 

focusing principally on the Internet channels of the 

BPM Group. 

The Internet services handled by We@Service 

are aimed both at individual Customers through 

We@Bank, and at corporate Customers through 

InLineanet. 

Mission 

The Company’s mission includes the following 

objectives: 

• to maintain leadership in terms of completeness 

of service (contents and technological updating); 

• to support and guarantee the process of 

commercial and IT integration with the Group’s 

various distribution channels to produce additional 

revenue, also from dedicated Internet services; 

• to create value for the Group by fostering growth 

and loyalty among the Customer base, while making 

it possible to handle large volumes of transactions 

at low unit costs. 

Strategy 

Through its business, the Company develops and 

manages BPM’s on-line channel so as to generate 

value for Customers and for the shareholder by 

achieving effi ciency and profi tability. 

The Company’s strategic guidelines are based on 

continuous innovation so as to maintain a constant 

level of improvement in the services that it provides, 

both in terms of quality and performance, as well 

as functional completeness, also through the 

introduction of value-added services. 


fi gures 


2006 2005 

Value of production 22.2 21.9 

Production margin 6.2 6.4 


Equity 

(including net profi t for the year) 10.9 11.7 

Governance 



Chairman: Michele Motterlini 

Deputy Chairman: Sergio Fumagalli 

Managing Director: Andrea Cardamone 

Directors: Roberto Cavallotti, 

Davide Meale, Marco Montalenti, 

Michele Zefferino. 


Chairman: Piero Vergani; 

Acting Statutory Auditors: Enrico Radice, Paolo 

Salvaderi. 

Operations Committee 

This is made up of the Company’s Area Managers, 

together with the Managing Director. It lays down 

operating policies based on the strategies decided 

by the Board of Directors. 


in accordance with Legislative Decree no. 231/2001 

Chairman: Sergio Fumagalli 

Members: Francesco Gramaglia, Piero Vergani. 



Authorised Customers 257,471 206,698 

Of which users 

Of which users 

197,207 152,114 

who carry out transactions 134,283 89,695 

Number of accesses 16,032,000 13,182,527 


Personnel 

Breakdown by level 2006 % 2005 % 

Managers 

Offi cials 

Men 4 5 4 5 

Women – – – – 

Men 15 19 13 17 

Women 18 23 18 24 

Clerical 

Men 

Women 

14 

27 

18 

35 

16 

25 

21 

33 

Total 78 100 76 100 

Type of contract 2006 % 2005 % 


long-term contracts 


71 91.0 70 92 


of which 

7 9.0 6 8 

No. of part-time employees 6 5 

Total 

of which 

78 100 76 100 

No. of temps 17 21.8 13 17 

Average age of personnel 

2006 2005 


Managers 41 – 40 – 

Offi cials 41 37 40 36 

Clerical 31 34 31 32 

Average 38 35 37 34 

Training 

Training was held in 2006 to ensure the professional 

growth of human resources in their respective areas, 

as well as to lay the cultural foundation for innovation. 

To this end, a project was launched in part of the 

company to create the necessary methodology for 

profi t margin innovation in line with business targets. 

This methodology will be applied to specifi c areas. 


2006 

Men Women 

2005 

Men Women 

University degree (long or 

short course) 

15 19 17 19 

High school diploma 17 25 15 23 



Average 33 45 33 43 

Community 


Interventi nel sociale 2006 2005 

Solidarity 2,200 4,500 

Associations w– 15,100 

Total 2,200 19,600 

179

BPM Group - Banca Popolare di Milano

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?