Intesa may look at small deals in wealth management, private banking – Bloomberg

On the heels of its acquisition of smaller Italian rival Unione di Banche Italiane SpA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA could consider taking over smaller European players in the wealth management and private banking sectors to boost some of its core business areas, Bloomberg News reported.

In a Feb. 8 interview with Bloomberg TV, CEO Carlo Messina said Intesa could look at acquiring "boutique" operators or taking over teams of private bankers in areas where there are "a lot of Italians," such as Switzerland. He ruled out a blockbuster takeover deal in the wealth management sector, saying the potential price tags for such transactions currently appear to be too high to result in sufficient synergies.

In a bid to offset low margins from Intesa's lending activities, Messina aims to expand the Italian bank's more profitable businesses such as insurance, private banking and asset management, Bloomberg noted.

During the bank's Feb. 5 earnings call, Messina said he was "not worried" about a wave of defaults on loans that have been placed under moratoriums, saying the performance of borrowers so far gives cause for optimism and that the situation is "absolutely under control."

Intesa booked a fourth-quarter 2020 consolidated net loss of €3.10 billion, compared with a profit of €872.0 million a year earlier, mainly driven to charges related to its acquisition of UBI Banca.