· New banking areas for the Business Finance Hub of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group with the incorporation of factoring and agribusiness

· Integrated proposals for businesses as regards strategic investments, growth in size, internationalisation and innovation

· More than 50 billion euro of loans

Milan, 3 July 2014 - Mediocredito Italiano, the Business Finance Hub of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group dedicated to business finance consulting services, specialist financing and leasing strengthens its organisation with the merger of Mediofactoring, the company of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group which is the major factoring operator in Europe and one of the most important in the world with more than 50 billion euro of managed receivables, and Agriventure, the company that operates in the agricultural, food and agro-industrial sector of the Group.

These mergers thus take another step forward in the process of simplifying the corporate structure provided for in the industrial plan of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, which, at the same time, appointed Rony Hamaui to direct the new organisation of Mediocredito Italiano as General Manager.

After graduating at the Luigi Bocconi Business University and obtaining a Master of Science at the London School of Economics, Rony Hamaui has covered numerous positions in the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, including that of Managing Director of Mediofactoring. He is the president ofAssifact (Italian Factoring Association) and contract professor at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.

"It is a great honour to direct the Business Finance Hub of the Group", said Rony Hamaui, General Manager of Mediocredito Italiano. "New areas of business and professional expertise now come together in a well-organised structure on the strength of a strategic offer for corporate development with medium and long term credit services and leasing, now joined by factoring and agribusiness activities".

The business of Mediocredito Italiano, which is part of the Banca dei Territori Division of Intesa Sanpaolo, breaks down into four main business sectors which offer focused business solutions:

- Consulting/advisory: business finance consulting for company owners, extraordinary financial transactions; liability optimisation; internationalisation; aggregation into Business Networks; sector-specific approach.

- Specialist loans and subsidised credit: sector-specific loans to research and innovation activities, with specific funding, subsidised loans, co-financing with Italian public entities and European subsidised instruments.

- Leasing: real estate, operating leases, vehicles, aircraft, energy production plants, trademarks and works of art.

- Factoring: complete range of products for domestic and international customers.

Mediocredito Italian will manage the subsidised finance and research and innovation finance for the entire Intesa Sanpaolo Group, also through agreements with trade associations, business associations and other partners offering consulting services to Group customers and companies.

distributed by