Intesa Sanpaolo's takeover bid for Monte dei Paschi, Italy's oldest bank, is shaking up not only Siena, the historic headquarters of MPS, but the entire region of Tuscany. But another banking operation is underway in this region, smaller but far from insignificant, involving Banca Cambiano 1884, the oldest Italian mutual bank in operation before its exit from the cooperative credit sector and its transformation into a joint-stock company under the Renzi law. Cassa Centrale has surpassed the other national holding company of mutual banks, Iccrea, and has won the exclusive right to acquire a 15% stake in Banca Cambiano, becoming its largest minority shareholder. Another Cassa Centrale mutual bank, Castagneto Banca 1910, already operates in Tuscany—a leading local bank on the Tuscan coast with 24 branches in addition to its headquarters in Castagneto Carducci—which has long collaborated with Cambiano. This is why unprecedented banking scenarios are emerging, which Fabrizio Mannari, General Manager of Castagneto Banca 1910, discusses for the first time in this interview with FIRSTonline.
Director Mannari, in recent weeks, the Cassa Centrale Group, of which your Castagneto Banca is a part and the sole representative in Tuscany, won the competitive bid for a 15% stake in Banca Cambiano, an independent bank in Florence and Tuscany, beating out the competing bid from the Iccrea Group. Has this triggered a territorial game of risk in Tuscany that goes beyond the Monte dei Paschi affair and that sees Cassa Centrale as the key player?
Absolutely not. Cassa Centrale seized the opportunity to invest in a local bank, well-established in Tuscany, in areas that did not compete with our institution. It was thus able to consolidate its presence in a key region where, despite Castagneto Banca 1910's presence, many other locations remained untapped. The rules that still govern the expansion of cooperative credit banks restrict expansion into neighboring municipalities, so it would have been unthinkable to cover the entire region with our bank's expansion.
What is the significance of the offer you, as Cassa Centrale, made to Banca Cambiano for a 15% stake? Is it a point of arrival or departure for you? When will the acquisition of the stake be completed, and what do you intend to do for Banca Cambiano in the future?
These are the parent company's decisions. In my opinion, the current investment is sufficient to provide Banca di Cambiano with the capital resources needed for continued development. If further investments are needed in the future, our parent company will be able to meet future needs. I believe, and I say this from personal experience, that Cassa Centrale's closeness can provide Cambiano with authoritative support in terms of corporate organization and strategic direction, with a less self-centered vision. This leverages the best practices adopted by the group's banks and introduces a more advanced approach, in line with current supervisory regulations, which view asset quality, the percentage of gross NPLs and their coverage, and corporate capitalization as the strengths of a healthy and efficient bank. Banca di Cambiano is a bank well-established in its local area, and I believe it will be able to bring great satisfaction to our parent company and the bank's shareholders in the near future.
Considering that you've been thinking about opening a branch in Florence for some time, will there be competition with Banca Cambiano on the market or will there be an alliance with operational synergies?
I hope for an alliance that allows both banks to compete with risk-diversification strategies, even on medium- to large-scale transactions. Of course, at an operational level, it would be foolish to think there won't be disagreements due to competition between the two institutions, but at a high level, I believe there will be a fruitful collaboration. In fact, before the 2016 reform, we worked together for 40 years with Cambiano, always with mutual respect. Furthermore, the personal knowledge of much of the management team will certainly help relations between the two banks.
How did Castagneto Banca close its 2025 financial statements, and how is the 2026 financial year going?
Castagneto Banca's shareholders approved a financial statement with record figures this year. Net profit reached €18,3 million, the best result in history for the third year in a row, following €14,6 million in 2023 and €16,1 million in 2024. The CET 1 ratio also reached a record high, reaching 23,3%, steadily growing in recent years and well above the banking industry average. This figure becomes even more significant when considering the Cassa Centrale Group's CET 1 ratio, which stood at 29,1% at the end of 2025. It should be noted that within the Cooperative Banking Groups, a system of cross-guarantees is in place, allowing each bank to legitimately benefit from the group's entire assets. Credit quality figures are also excellent, with the gross NPL ratio standing at 3,4% and non-performing loan coverage reaching 78,1%, with bad debts written down to 100%. The bank thus confirms its "zero bad debt" status, as it did at the end of 2024. The 2025 financial statements also include figures that demonstrate the deep connection between Castagneto Banca and its local community: 540 new members, impressive growth in customer numbers, and 210 employees at the headquarters and 24 branches spanning the Tuscan coast, from Grosseto to Lucca. Finally, volumes: loans grew by €78 million, direct deposits by over €161 million, and indirect deposits by €140 million.
Beyond its economic results, Castagneto Banca has always stood out for its strong ties with the local area and for its social awareness, of which your new Foundation is an integral part: what are the objectives and programmes in this area?
The Castagneto Banca Foundation was established in January 2025 with the aim of strengthening the sense of belonging and closeness to our local community and to concretely transfer to it part of the value generated by our work, through support for cultural, social, and healthcare initiatives. The first of these have already been implemented in the first year of activity. Among these, I would like to highlight the contributions made to several associations in the province of Livorno that deal with autism, and the donation of equipment to the Livorno hospital for telemedicine and to the cardiology and gynecology department in Cecina. The upcoming calls for proposals this year will again focus on autism in the provinces of Grosseto, Pisa, and Lucca, while in the province of Livorno, we will support associations that assist Alzheimer's patients. All of this is combined with our cultural work with exhibitions and conferences. All of this is consistent with our bank's primary mission: to raise resources, invest them effectively in local businesses, and generate profits to be returned to the community itself, including through the Foundation. Castagneto Banca 1910 for those in need of assistance”.
