By Giovanni Legorano
MILAN-- Intesa Sanpaolo SpA is actively scouting the market for
private banking, asset management and insurance acquisitions
especially outside Italy, Chief Executive Carlo Messina said on
Friday.
The potential buying spree would allow Intesa to deploy part of
a large capital buffer it accumulated as part of stress tests on
European banks. According to the European Central Bank, Intesa had
EUR11 billion in excess capital at the time of tests. Mr. Messina
said this buffer is now above EUR16 billion.
"We are looking for targets in triple-A rated countries, we
don't want [to be exposed to] any geopolitical risk," said Mr.
Messina. "In the past we made several mistakes."
Outside of Italy, Intesa owns problematic or loss-making
businesses in areas such as Egypt and Hungary.
Mr. Messina said he is particularly interested in identifying
private banking targets in Switzerland and the U.K. He is also
looking at banks with an established brand outside of its domestic
market, which would allow it to expand its business outside of
Italy where it is heavily exposed.
Mr. Messina said it is for this reason why Intesa is considering
a bid for Coutts, which is the wealth management arm of Royal Bank
of Scotland PLC. He said he would be interested in the whole bank
so Intesa could use its brand.
"The problem is that RBS wants to sell only Coutts'
international assets, so if we bought them, we wouldn't be able to
use the brand," Mr. Messina said.
Coutts was founded in the 18th century and its U.K. business has
Queen Elizabeth II as a customer.
A spokeswoman for RBS confirmed that only the international
assets of Coutts are for sale. She declined to comment further.
As far as the U.K. is concerned, Mr. Messina said the bank is
also mulling to offer private-banking services at its existing
branch in London, exploiting the fact that there are 450,000
Italian citizens living in the U.K.'s capital to whom Intesa's
brand would be known.
In a four-year strategic plan launched in March, the Italian
bank--which is the second largest by assets--is targeting annual
net profit of EUR4.5 billion in 2017, with plans to beef up its
fee-based businesses ahead of a potentially prolonged period of low
interest rates.
It also plans to sell EUR1.9 billion in stakes in noncore
businesses by 2017, echoing plans by rivals such as Mediobanca and
Assicurazioni Generali. Among assets for sale are shares in RCS
Mediagroup, the publisher of the influential daily Corriere della
Sera newspaper, shares in Telco, a holding company controlling
Telecom Italia and its stake in troubled national carrier Alitalia.
It has already sold stakes in Pirelli and Generali.
Mr. Messina said the bank would also be looking to snap up asset
managers in Asia, which together with private banking will help it
grow the revenue it earns from fees and commissions.
"The U.K. and Switzerland are large banking hubs with important
subsidiaries in Asia," said Mr. Messina, adding that Intesa could
try to reach customers in this continent though acquisitions in
London or Switzerland.
Write to Giovanni Legorano at giovanni.legorano@wsj.com
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