Intesa Sanpaolo, the largest Italian bank, announced that it will cooperate with BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager and the leading shareholder of this financial institution.

As part of the implementation of the mentioned partnership, digital wealth management services will be provided to clients in Belgium and Luxembourg.

By teaming up with BlackRock, Intesa Sanpaolo’s private banking unit Fideuram will expand its investment offer for customers in the specified two countries. Moreover, in this case, a larger goal is envisaged for further scaling up activities in Europe.

Carlo Messina, the bank’s chief executive officer, said that the cooperation agreement reached is a perfect fit with the financial institution’s strategy based on the growth of its wealth management business and the development of new digital solutions.

The lender has bet on investing in technology for growth.

It is worth noting that the domestic market is the main one for Intesa Sanpaolo in terms of financial performance. Most of the bank’s profits are accounted for by operations carried out in Italy.

Last year, the financial institution launched Fideuram Direct, a digital private banking channel to serve young customers. As part of this functional solution, the lender uses technology to compete in a sector where players are increasingly betting on scaling to lower costs.

Carlo Messina has repeatedly stated that no wealth management targets a bank could buy at prices that would deliver value for shareholders.

It is worth noting that Intesa Sanpaolo cannot expand into the domestic market due to antitrust restrictions after buying a smaller peer UBI in 2020.

As we have reported earlier, Intesa Sanpaolo Signs Strategic Deal With IBM.