Interview with Dr. Gianni Franco Papa, CEO, BPER Banca

22 Oct Interview with Dr. Gianni Franco Papa, CEO, BPER Banca

Since taking over as CEO of BPER in April 2024, you have had to balance an international perspective shaped by your global career with the local heritage and cooperative roots of the bank. What were the main challenges you faced in aligning these two dimensions?

BPER was founded more than 100 years ago as a cooperative bank. It has experienced an accelerated period of growth in the last few years and with all the mergers and acquisitions over the past four or five years, BPER is a completely different bank today. We have integrated banks mostly from the northern part of Italy, the richest part of the country. However, our home base is Emilia-Romagna and the bank was established in Modena.

Today, the bank has more than 2000 branches thanks to the most recent acquisition. In July 2025, we acquired Banca Popolare di Sondrio. This bank is based in the northern part of Lombardy. We have about 73,000 employees and we serve about six million customers. We are the third largest bank in Italy following this acquisition.

The Italian banking landscape is rapidly changing. We are focused on our position today, knowing that we could move to fourth place tomorrow. We manage over four €400 billion of total financial assets on behalf of our customers. This is a very dynamic bank in the most dynamic region of Italy. Lombardy, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna are the regions that represent 35% of Italian GDP and 41% of Italian exports worldwide. As an Italian-based bank, we operate in a highly dynamic local environment. We always need to offer new products and services to keep pace and help our customers. This is a different context from the past.

How would you describe your services to these US readers that might not know your bank?

We are a commercial bank operating across multiple sectors. Our strongest area of expertise is bancassurance, where we distribute products from the insurance company Unipol. Based in Bologna, they are our largest shareholder, holding a 26% stake in BPER. We have a product range from life insurance to CPIs, which covers risk for mortgages, to motor insurance and health insurance, which are considered the best products in Italy. This area is growing fast. Annually, we are seeing 20-25% growth.

Wealth management and private banking are particularly strong. In these areas, we have an incorporated bank — BPER Banca Private Cesare Ponti — that serves the customers for their private banking and wealth management business needs. This bank was established in 1871 and renowned in Milan and across Italy. We are also involved in classic commercial banking activities for families, corporates and communities where we operate.

BPER’s “B:Dynamic Full Value 2024–2027” plan emphasizes unlocking the full value of the customer through diversification, efficiency and innovation. Which priorities of this plan do you see as most crucial to achieving long-term growth?

We launched our strategic plan, B:Dynamic Full Value 2027 in October 2024. On October 10th, we celebrated its first anniversary. This initiative gave us the opportunity to demonstrate the bank’s intrinsic value to the market. We are listed on the Milan Stock Exchange and our shareholders count amongst all the major investment funds. The acquisition brought our market capitalization to around €20 billion and we were included in several major stock indexes.

The plan is ambitious and aims to deliver full value to our customers, who are at the core of our strategy. We focus on offering personalized services designed to meet the diverse needs of our clients. Our customers range from small businesses with an annual turnover of about €1 million to multinational corporations. The market has shown strong confidence in our plan. Typically, when a company presents a new strategic plan, investors remain cautious at first, waiting to see concrete results. Quarter after quarter, we have delivered on our commitments. The bank continues to perform strongly, showing consistent growth in net interest income, fee and commission income and customer numbers.

The acquisition of a majority stake in Banca Popolare di Sondrio has been described as a turning point, positioning BPER as Italy’s third largest bank within a highly dynamic national consolidation landscape. What is the industrial vision behind this operation and how does it fit into BPER’s overall growth strategy?

Banca Popolare di Sondrio has provided us with a very large base in terms of market share of branches in Lombardy. It is the richest region in Italy and in continental Europe. We saw opportunities to grow our presence and to serve our customers better in addition to the industrial value of this M&A.

Since prior to my arrival, we have been acquiring banks that would unlock value for customers, the communities where we operate and all our shareholders. This is what motivated us to do this transaction.

In the first half of 2025, BPER reported nearly 30% profit growth, driven by strong fee income despite pressure on interest margins, while also committing to a high payout ratio with no buybacks planned. What were the key drivers behind this performance and how sustainable are they looking ahead?

We believe that these results are sustainable. We have been delivering the plan that we have indicated to the market. We are in for the long run. We transformed our strategy from a pure relationship bank and our aim is to be the bank of reference for our customers. Our volumes are growing in terms of lending in a market that has dropped in overall lending.

The current macroeconomic and geopolitical context has led to a slowdown in corporate investment in capital goods and in household demand for housing. It is important to note that we are growing with good credit asset quality. We do not want to grow for the sake of it but rather to grow with our top-class customers. As we have become a bank of reference, we are receiving much more business from them. This helped to improve and to increase the commission-driven business. It goes hand in hand with the fact that we are assisting our customers more.

What role can BPER play in helping Emilia-Romagna companies attract investment and expand internationally?

Emilia-Romagna is our home. The bank was established in Modena, in the heart of Emilia-Romagna. Modena is also home to the Motor Valley, where some of the world’s most famous automotive brands are produced. We have fantastic food and our so-called Food Valley extends throughout the region. One of our main activities is supporting the development of companies — internationalization for Italian companies is very important.

The Italian economy is a manufacturing-based economy. The things that are produced are transformed and manufactured into other products, which are then exported worldwide. We offer services for our customers such as international expansion support, trade finance and introductions to companies operating internationally. At the same time, we are also promoting foreign investment into Emilia-Romagna. If our companies want to grow beyond a certain level, they need assistance from banks in terms of credit and capital from global sources. It could come from the US or anywhere in the world. The bank provides financial intermediation and advisory support to its customers.

Do you have any connections with the local banks in the US? Do you have a branch? Are you planning to have any?

Our bank remains close to its customers. We choose to remain this way for the moment. We do have banks in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Monte Carlo. We do not have a presence in Europe or around the world — we are a proud Italian bank — however we work with banks around the world. In trade finance with the US, we operate through correspondent banking relationships with various partner banks. These relationships enable us to channel transactions either through our bank or onward to other institutions, supporting all trade flows between our regions, our customers and the rest of the world.

How do you avoid the e-crime? What securities do you offer to your clients in these terms?

Digitalization is a very important factor. There are regular requests from customers to offer digitalized services. Over the past four years, we have invested hundreds of millions of euros in these areas and, as we presented in our industrial plan, we will be investing an additional, €600 million to digitalize the bank over the next three years.

Obviously, a large part of these investments will cover cyber security to make sure that our customers areprotected. We cover our own risk regarding cyber security and investments. While doing this, we automatically cover the risk associated with our customers’ activities. This is a requirement from the Central Bank of Europe.

What is your final message for readers of USA Today?

The most important message is to invest in Italy. I am biased, but it is a wonderful country known for its craftsmanship, capability and the talent to build beautiful cars that are recognized worldwide. There is a wide choice of sectors for investment. Italy is perceived as one of the most stable countries in Europe and even our political system has shown stability.

Over the past three years, we have had one of the best-performing economies in Europe, thanks to the stability of our government. The government is actively promoting investment in Italy and supporting investors. I believe there are many sectors that could be of interest to potential investors. Our bank has a strong presence throughout Italy with more than 2000 branches, particularly in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria. We offer a wide range of banking services and products and our corporate and investment banking division is very active in assisting investors.