Banca Generali

The company began business with its current name in December 1997 when Assicurazioni Generali bought 90% of the shares of Cassa di Risparmio di Trieste Specialcredito SpA, a financial company set up in 1992, and changed its name to Banca Generali SpA.

While Banca Generali is a young company, it has witnessed rapid growth. Its history has been marked by a capacity to bind together disparate companies into a coherent whole focused on the development of the overall business.

The company's evolution, following a start-up period (1998-2000), is divided into two distinct phases:

• a first period (2000-2004) in which to bring together and reorganize the Generali group's networks of personal financial advisors, supplemented by acquisitions from outside the group
• a second phase (2005-2007) focused on the creation of wealth-management capabilities for Banca Generali and the segmentation of its distribution networks by type of client (private-banking customers, affluent investors and Assicurazioni Generali policyholders)
   

On 14 december 2011 has been announced the merging of Bg sgr into Banca Generali that has been lately approved, on June 21 2012,  from the board of directors and it became effective as of 1 September 2012. The merger, that has outlined the born of an autonomous portfolio management division, is part of a rationalisation plan aimed at increasing the efficiency of Banca Generali’s asset management activities, portfolio management activities, which are highly strategic for the bank, given their significant presence within private clients portfolios.

 Starting from January 1° 2010 Banca BSI Italia was mergered in Banca Generali, becoming a separeted unit dedicated to private banking activity , with the name of Banca Generali Private Banking. In August 2010, Generfid Spa was incorporated, a new company established from the already existing Sant’Alessandro Fiduciaria, now with expanded services and with a name directly making reference to the Banca Generali Group.

In 2009 Banca Generali has finalized the sale of 85% of Simgenia Sim Spa to other Generali Group Companies.
Generali Fund Management was founded. The new company of asset management products for the Generali Group in Europe is 51% owned by Banca Generali. The new company was created by the merger of the management companies of Banca Generali (BG Investment Luxembourg) and Generali Investments (Generali Investments Luxembourg).

The board of directors of Banca Generali agrees to acquire Banca del Gottardo Italia through its Banca BSI Italia unit.

At the start of the year, Banca Generali transfers its private-banking activities to Banca BSI Italia to strengthen its wealth management business and complete the segmentation of its organizational model into three networks segmented by type of client.
In late November, a new wholly owned subsidiary is created, BG Investment Luxembourg SA, to oversee the management of Investment Companies with Variable Capital (ICVCs or Sicavs) domiciled in the Grand Duchy.

Banca Generali shares begin trading on the Milan stock exchange on 15 November following an initial public offering.

Banca Generali decides to extend its activities to include individual and collective asset management and acquires a new unit, named BG SGR, into which are folded all the retail fund-management activities and discretionary account management of the Generali group.
To offer a specialized private-banking service to high-end clients, Banca Generali purchases 100% of Banca BSI Italia (the Italian arm of BSI SA, a Swiss unit of Assicurazioni Generali). At the same time, Banca Generali purchases a "static" trust company, S. Alessandro Fiduciaria.

Banca Generali decides to add a so-called "dynamic" trust company to its operations. This decision results in the purchase from Banca Intesa of Intesa Fiduciaria Sim, which is re-named BG Fiduciaria Sim.

Banca Generali purchases the network of financial advisors of Banca Primavera (owned by Banca Intesa, now known as Intesa Sanpaolo), adding 1,500 more advisors and extending assets under management to 13.8 billion euros. This transaction allows Banca Generali to benefit from significant synergies thanks to the resulting economies of scale.

While it is in the process of integrating and reorganizing the various activities acquired, Banca Generali launches Simgenia Sim. This company is given the task of supporting the Generali group's insurance sales agents in cross-selling Banca Generali financial services to Generali's policyholders in Italy.

The bank further strengthens its distribution system with the purchase of two more brokerages from the Generali group, Altinia Sim and INA Sim. With these two additions, Banca Generali almost doubles its number of financial advisors while assets under management increase nearly 50%.
In 2003, together with Prime Consult Sim, they are merged into a single network under the Banca Generali brand.

Banca Generali merges with Prime SpA and acquires its unit, Prime Consults Sim, from Assicurazioni Generali. This transaction marks the beginning of a new strategic vision for Banca Generali because, with Prime's assets, know-how and services, it starts to function autonomously as an integrated, multi-channel banking group with its own team of financial advisors.

The company formally comes into existence through the acquisition by Assicurazioni Generali SpA of Cassa di Risparmio di Trieste Specialcredito SpA, which is re-named Banca Generali SpA.
Initially, the company offers a range of standard banking and asset gathering services such as current accounts, investment accounts and online trading through a telephone banking service and website.
At this stage, the company was conceived as a means to allow the Generali group to complement its own product range with banking and financial services.
Banca Generali's products are also sold through Prime Consult, the Generali group's network of financial advisors, and the insurance sales agents of Assicurazioni Generali, Alleanza Assicurazioni and INA Assitalia.