The Società Bancaria Italiana (SBI, lit. 'Italian Banking Company') was a significant Italian bank, based in Milan. It was established in 1904 by renaming of Società Bancaria Milanese (1898–1904), itself the successor of Figli Weill Shott & C. (1850–1898).
In the early 20th century, it was one of Italy's four dominant universal banks, together with Banca Commerciale Italiana, Credito Italiano, and Banco di Roma.[1] After narrowly surviving financial distress in 1907 thanks to government intervention, the SBI merged in 1915 with the Società Italiana di Credito Provinciale to form the Banca Italiana di Sconto.
History
The origins of the SBI go back to 1850 when brothers Alberto, Cimone and Filippo Weill Schott, descendants of a family of Jewish bankers originally from Austria, co-founded Figli Weill Shott & C. in Milan. On 1898/10/13, that family bank was reorganized as Società Bancaria Milanese, a joint-stock company with a share capital of 4 million lire. In 1901, the bank's longstanding president Alberto Weill Schott (1837–1901) died suddenly and was replaced by Count Felice Scheibler. In 1902, it opened a branch in