Credit

Baps boosts lending: 223 million to households and businesses in the first half of the year

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia is stepping up its support for the real economy. New lending has reached €223 million, whilst lending to the green sector has risen by 63 per cent. Continella: “We can continue to invest in technology, skills and people.”

by Nino Amadore

6 August 2026

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Local credit and the green transition
Schininà: ‘A model based on close ties with local communities’
Gross profit of 36.2 million
Assets and liquidity underpin lending

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia is focusing on lending and strengthening its support for households and businesses. In the first half of 2026, the bank made new gross loans totalling €223 million, confirming lending to the local community as one of the main pillars of the 2025–2027 ‘Futura’ Business Plan.

The figure relates to loans granted in the first six months of the year and not to the total stock of loans. Growth in the green sector is particularly significant: disbursements for sustainable projects and investments increased by 63 per cent compared with those made in 2025.

Local credit and the green transition

The bank’s strategy links lending support to collaboration with local businesses and manufacturing organisations. Alongside lending, Baps highlights, among the initiatives it has launched, its direct relationship with leading local organisations and its support for the three-year degree course in ‘Business Management for a Sustainable Economy’, run in partnership with the University of Catania, the Municipality and the Ragusa University Consortium.

The expansion in lending is accompanied by prudent management of credit quality. At the end of June, the gross NPL ratio stood at 2.5 per cent, whilst the net NPL ratio fell to 0.8 per cent. The overall coverage ratio for impaired loans stood at 67.7 per cent, with coverage of 86.5 per cent for non-performing loans and 66.3 per cent for loans at risk of default. Impairment charges on customer loans amounted to €17.4 million.

“A credit management framework built up over the years with rigour and business acumen,” says Chief Executive Saverio Continella, “keeps the proportion of non-performing loans at levels that render the effects of calendar provisioning marginal.”

A sinistra l’amministratore delegato di Baps Saverio Continella, a destra il presidente del Cda Arturo Schinninà

Schininà: ‘A model based on close ties with local communities’

According to Arturo Schininà, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the half-yearly results also confirm the soundness of the business model and the company’s relationship with its shareholder base.

“The results for the first half of 2026 confirm the direction the Bank has taken and the validity of a model based on close ties to local communities and the trust of our shareholder base, which now numbers over 28,000 shareholders,” he says. “Our capital strength, which ranks among the highest in the Italian banking system, represents the best guarantee for our shareholders, our customers and the communities we serve.”

Schininà also highlighted the distribution, scheduled for December, of the second instalment of dividends for 2025, amounting to a further 12 million euros: “This demonstrates the Board’s commitment to combining sustainable growth with remuneration for the shareholder base. We are working to ensure that 2026 will prove to be a very positive financial year in terms of profitability and the resulting returns for our shareholders.”

Gross profit of 36.2 million

The growth in lending comes against the backdrop of a half-year that closed with a gross profit of €36.2 million, up 9.4 per cent on the same period last year and 40 per cent above the target. Net banking income reached €112 million, net interest income €70.8 million and commission income €40.9 million.

“The first half of 2026 confirms the trajectory set out in the 2025–2027 ‘Futura’ Business Plan,” emphasises Continella, “ a gross profit of €36.2 million, up 9.4 per cent and exceeding the targets for the period, generated entirely from core operations.”

According to the chief executive, this result stems from ‘an industrial machine operating at full capacity’, with a revenue structure progressively shifting towards services and consultancy, costs already in line with the targets set for the end of the Plan, and processes redesigned “so that digitalisation frees up time to be devoted to building meaningful relationships with customers”.

Assets and liquidity underpin lending

The bank’s capital base also underpins its ability to finance the economy. The Total Capital Ratio stands at 25.3 per cent, compared with a minimum regulatory requirement of 15.06 per cent. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) stands at 222.6 per cent, whilst readily realisable assets exceed €1.7 billion.

Total assets under management, both direct and indirect, amount to €7.17 billion. The indirect component has grown by €56.8 million since the start of the year, whilst assets under management have increased by €84.1 million, exceeding €1.6 billion.

“We took action early on, when it wasn’t yet urgent,” concludes Continella, “which is why we are now able to reward our shareholders and continue to invest in technology, skills and people. The future does not belong to the biggest players: it belongs to those who are prepared.”