Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro SpA - Introduction

Introduction

Via Vittorio Veneto 119
Roma I-00187
Italy
Telephone: ( + 39) 06 4702139
Fax: ( + 39) 06 4702844539
Web site: http://www.bnl.it

Public Company
Incorporated: 1913 as Istituto di Credito per la Cooperazione;
Employees: 18,000
Total Assets: EUR 78.89 billion ($101 billion) (2004)
Stock Exchanges: Milan
Ticker Symbol: BNL
NAIC: 522110 Commercial Banking

Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SpA (BNL) is Italy's fifth-largest bank and one of the top 100 banks in the world with total assets of nearly EUR 80 billion ($110 billion). Formerly controlled by the Italian government, BNL is also Italy's most national bank, operating more than 700 branch offices in every region and every major provincial city in Italy. BNL offers services in commercial banking; capital market and treasury operations; asset management, through subsidiary BNL Gestioni; and credit and debit cards; as well as insurance (BNL Vita), leasing (Locafit SpA), and factoring (Ifitalia SpA). Privatized in 1998, BNL failed to complete a merger with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena that would have placed it at the top of Italy's banking industry. Instead, BNL has since become tabbed as a prime takeover target by foreign banks seeking entry into the Italian market. In April 2005, major shareholder Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) of Spain launched an effort to take full control of BNL. A merger of BNL into BBVA would then create one of Europe's first and largest cross-border banking groups, leading the way to a truly European banking market. In June 2005, however, the BBVA bid was challenged by rumors of an impending bid by Italy's Unipol Compagnia Assicuratice SpA, possibly with the backing of Deutsche Bank. BNL is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange and is led by president Luigi Abete.