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Intesa Sanpaolo: profits rise to 5.6 billion (+6.5 per cent). Messina: “The merger with MPS will create an even stronger group”

CEO Messina: “It’s the best half-year in our history; with MPS, we’ll create a group with annual profits of 16 billion. A relaunch of the OPAS bid? No chance.”

by Luca Davi

29 July 2026

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5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Intesa Sanpaolo has closed the first half of 2026 with solid results and rising profitability. And it has once again exceeded analysts’ expectations. Whilst the bank is engaged in the public takeover bid launched for MPS, the group’s accounts for the first six months of the year show a net profit of €5.55 billion, up 6.5 per cent on last year. In the second quarter alone, net profit stood at around €2.8 billion, exceeding the €2.5 billion forecast by analysts. Hence the upward revision of the forecast for the full financial year. The outlook for net profit in 2026 has been ‘revised upwards to over €10 billion’, a figure that until now had been regarded as a target.

In detail, operating revenue rose by 5.3 per cent to €14.53 billion, whilst net interest income remained stable at €7.48 billion, up by 0.6 per cent. Net commission income showed stronger growth, rising by 4.9% thanks to asset management and insurance products: the ‘Insurance’ segment was the most significant in terms of growth, rising by 5.5% to €973 million.

Operating costs remained in line with expectations, falling by 0.7 per cent, with the cost-to-income ratio dropping to 35.9 per cent (from 38.1 per cent in the first half of the year), placing it amongst the best in the European banking sector.

The capital position also remains solid, with a CET1 ratio of 13.1 per cent following the planned distributions. This level allows the Bank to maintain a generous level of shareholder remuneration: during the half-year, distributions totalling €5.3 billion were paid out, of which €4.2 billion took the form of dividends. Approximately €3.8 billion will be paid as an interim dividend in November. Added to these sums is the €2.3 billion share buyback programme, launched in July 2026. For 2026, the group expects a payout ratio of 95 per cent, split between dividends and share buybacks.

CEO Carlo Messina: ‘The best six months in our history’

However, the financial results provided CEO Carlo Messina with an opportunity to send some clear messages to the market regarding Intesa and its strategic direction, as well as the public takeover bid launched for MPS. “We have recorded the best six months in our history, thanks in part to our best quarter ever, with a net profit of €5.6 billion for the half-year and €2.8 billion in the second quarter,” the banker explained in a statement. The results “demonstrate Intesa Sanpaolo’s strong ability to fully implement the 2026–2029 Business Plan and to achieve all the targets set”.

Messina highlights the “record levels of revenue, commissions and insurance business, confirming the strength of our business model and the group’s technological leadership”. He also highlights the levels of profitability, with an annualised ROE of 20 per cent and an annualised ROTE of 25 per cent, “confirming our position at the top of the European banking sector” with “the highest levels of returns for shareholders”.

‘With MPS, a group with 16 billion in profits’

The CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo points out that, in June, the bank presented an offer to the market and to the shareholders of Monte dei Paschi di Siena that ‘gives them the opportunity to join a bank which operates – with a sustainable long-term outlook – in the service of shareholders, households and businesses’. He also highlights the new group’s net profit by 2029, which is expected to exceed “€16 billion”, with a total distribution to shareholders “estimated at 61 billion between 2025 and 2029” and a dividend per share “expected to rise from 2026 onwards”.

The aim, says Messina, is “to work together to create an even stronger and more profitable group, a key player in an increasingly complex global landscape, capable of maintaining strong roots in our country’s economy, society and development potential”. “The joining of forces between Intesa Sanpaolo, the part of Monte dei Paschi di Siena set to become part of the new Group, and Mediobanca,” adds the head of Ca’ de Sass, “will enable us to reach 2,000 billion euros in customer financial assets by 2029, to expand our leadership in services for households, businesses and asset management, to create a leading player in consumer credit, wealth management, corporate & Investment Banking, and to expand internationally.”

‘MPS Board? An unbelievable situation – we’re a safe haven’

When asked, during the conference call to present the financial results, about the internal conflict within the MPS board – as highlighted in a letter sent by four minority directors on the board to Chairman Cesare Bisoni, revealed today by *Il Sole 24 Ore* – Messina pointed out that Intesa could ‘restore normality in terms of the company’s governance’. ‘It is incredible,’ said the CEO, ‘that the company finds itself in this situation, particularly given what has happened in recent months. “There is something that needs to be assessed by counterparties with a solid reputation, which will provide MPS shareholders with a solid foundation and a safe haven.”

For Messina, the situation at MPS “is a clear illustration of what we said when we presented this deal. One of the reasons we decided to go ahead with the deal is that we can restore normality in terms of the company’s governance”.

‘No chance of increasing the offer price’

As regards Intesa Sanpaolo’s approach to the MPS deal, the head of Italy’s leading bank is clear. He dispels any speculation by stating that ‘there is absolutely no chance that we will increase the offer price’. The CEO also responds to those asking for his views on possible counter-moves to the OPAS by MPS, which, according to rumours, is reportedly considering the distribution of a special dividend and the sale of the stake held in Generali by Mediobanca, a subsidiary of MPS. On the first point, the banker points out that MPS “will need to secure approval from the extraordinary general meeting and the ECB”.

‘Generali? It’s hard to find any buyers other than Intesa’

As for the possible sale of the stake in Generali, Messina observes that ‘these are very high figures that few can afford’, and asks: ‘Who, apart from us, could buy the stake in Generali? UniCredit, or perhaps AXA or Allianz? Frankly, I don’t know.’ UniCredit ‘is, in our view, the other major player in the market, but I don’t think they’re ready to do it.’

Certainly, a direct sale on the market would, on the other hand, entail ‘the risk of a 20 per cent reduction in the value of the shares’. Messina therefore urges people to ‘stop making hypothetical and “what if” analyses that have no chance of coming to pass’, assuring that Intesa will continue “to focus on delivering our results” and that the MPS transaction “will not distract us from achieving the results set out in our Business Plan”.