The European banking group said it is to give a strategy update for its ambitions out to 2026 on 24 May.

Italy-headquartered Mediobanca, which provides services including private banking, said last week that it had logged a year-on-year 10.4 per cent rise in net profit for the nine months to 31 March 2023, at €790.5 million ($858.6 million). 

Net interest income rose by 17.4 per cent to €1.289 billion; net fee and commission income rose more slowly, up 1.9 per cent to €657 million, the bank said in a statement. Total income rose 12.6 per cent to €2.417 billion. On a quarterly basis, net profit was €235.4 million in the latest quarter, against €190.1 million a year earlier. 

Within the wealth management arm, the bank logged double-digit growth in revenues (up 13 per cent to €614 million over the nine months to end-March) and net profit (up 22 per cent, at €129 million), and logged “significant new recruitment” of financial advisors and bankers. Total financial assets rose 5 per cent on a year ago to €85 billion, of which €57 billion sit in assets under management and advice. This was helped by net new money of €4.4 billion. Within these figures, private banking had total assets under management and administration of €26.1 billion.

The bank noted that among the 55 net recruits it attracted over the nine months to end-March, it brought in a team of six senior Credit Suisse bankers in the latest quarter.

“Private banking client coverage activities continue in conjunction with CIB [corporate and investment bank], and the offering in the illiquid and portfolio management segments has been enhanced. The new market scenario has also facilitated the sale of structured products,” Mediobanca said. 

“In Premier Banking, efforts to strengthen the fixed-income product offering by leveraging on group synergies have continued. Performances in asset management have also been good, in the special situations asset class in particular,” it said. 

“The attractiveness of the Mediobanca business model has been seen in the last quarter, with some significant enhancements made to the salesforce: a total of 38 new professions have been added in the three months, including a team of six private bankers of high standing, previously at Credit Suisse,” it said. 

Strategy update
On 24 May the bank said it will set out strategic objectives for 2023 to 2026.

At the end of March, Mediobanca had a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio – a standard way of measuring capital buffer – of 15.4 per cent.

Mediobanca said operating costs rose to €344 in the latest quarter from €324 million a year earlier, caused by forces such as hiring more staff. 

“In the first nine months the group has delivered the best results it has ever posted in terms of revenues (~€2.420 billion), earnings (over €790 million) and profitability (ROTE 13 per cent, near the highest of all European banks). This has been made possible by optimising asset and liability management, benefiting from the strong positioning carved out in the businesses that have delivered unbroken growth for Mediobanca over the long term,” Alberto Nagel, CEO of Mediobanca, added.