Bibanca
Bibanca is an Italian specialist bank headquartered in Sassari that focuses on consumer credit, salary-backed lending, money transfers and payment services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Bibanca is the current name of the Sardinian banking institution historically known as Banca di Sassari. Its origins date to 1888, when it was established as Banca Cooperativa fra Commercianti Società Anonima in Sassari. The institution subsequently operated under several names, including Banca Popolare Cooperativa Anonima di Sassari and, from 1948, Banca Popolare di Sassari. These successive identities reflect its development from a locally rooted cooperative bank into a joint-stock banking company serving the Sardinian market. A major structural step occurred in 1993, when Banca di Sassari S.p.A. was established as a joint-stock company under the control of Banco di Sardegna. The bank later became part of the wider BPER group in 2001 through its relationship with Banco di Sardegna. This affiliation connected the institution to a larger Italian banking network while preserving its historical Sardinian identity. In 2004, the bank created a Consumer Division. The division concentrated on consumer-finance activities rather than the full range of conventional branch banking. Its areas included personal loans, loans repaid through the assignment of a portion of an employee's salary or a pension, money-transfer services, and the issuance and management of payment cards. Salary- and pension-backed lending, commonly known in Italy as cessione del quinto, became a particularly important part of the institution's specialist positioning. The bank underwent another significant organizational change in 2016. From 13 May of that year, its branch and agency network was merged into the Banco di Sardegna network. This reduced the distinct physical-branch role of Banca di Sassari and allowed the institution to operate through the infrastructure of its group partner. Following the integration, the bank focused exclusively on electronic-money services, personal loans and assisted salary- or pension-backed lending. On 16 April 2020, the institution adopted the name Bibanca S.p.A. The rebranding marked its evolution from a traditional Sardinian retail bank into a more specialized consumer-credit and payment-services business within the BPER group. The Bibanca brand therefore combines a historical local banking lineage with a modern operating model centered on specialized lending and electronic financial services. Public reference material describes the former Banca di Sassari network as comprising 56 offices in Sardinia and one in Rome, with approximately 575 employees at the time described by that material; these figures are historical and are not treated here as current operating statistics.
History
Bibanca traces its institutional history to Sassari in 1888, when it was founded as Banca Cooperativa fra Commercianti Società Anonima. The original organization represented a locally grounded cooperative-banking tradition in Sardinia. It later changed its name to Banca Popolare Cooperativa Anonima di Sassari and, in 1948, became known as Banca Popolare di Sassari. The next major stage came in 1993, with the creation of Banca di Sassari S.p.A. as a joint-stock company. The new company was controlled by Banco di Sardegna, placing the Sassari institution within a broader regional banking structure. In 2001, Banca di Sassari became part of the BPER group through its connection with Banco di Sardegna. This relationship provided a larger institutional framework while retaining the bank's association with Sardinia. The bank broadened its specialist consumer-finance role in 2004 by establishing a Consumer Division. Rather than focusing only on traditional deposits and branch banking, this unit handled personal loans, cessione del quinto lending secured through deductions from salary or pension payments, money transfers, and payment-card issuance and management. The move made consumer credit and payment services central to the bank's operating profile. A substantial distribution change took effect on 13 May 2016, when Banca di Sassari's branches and agencies were incorporated into the Banco di Sardegna branch network. The reorganization ended the bank's operation as a separately distributed branch network. Afterward, its activities were described as being concentrated exclusively on electronic-money services, personal loans and assisted lending based on salary or pension income. On 16 April 2020, Banca di Sassari S.p.A. changed its name to Bibanca S.p.A. The new name reflects the institution's repositioning as a focused consumer-finance and payments business within the BPER group. Bibanca's heritage remains tied to the 1888 Sassari foundation and the succession of local banking names that preceded it, but its current identity is more specialized than that of a conventional full-service regional bank. Public historical material describes an earlier operating footprint of 56 offices in Sardinia and one in Rome, as well as approximately 575 employees. Those figures describe the period covered by the reference material and should not be assumed to represent Bibanca's current scale.
- 2020
Rebranded as Bibanca
[1]Banca di Sassari S.p.A. changed its name to Bibanca S.p.A. on 16 April 2020.
- 2016
Branch network merged into Banco di Sardegna
[1]The bank's branches and agencies were integrated into the Banco di Sardegna network from 13 May 2016.
- 2004
Consumer Division created
[1]The bank established a unit dedicated to consumer lending, salary- and pension-backed loans, money transfers and payment cards.
- 2001
Joins the BPER group
[1]Banca di Sassari became a member of the BPER group through its relationship with Banco di Sardegna.
- 1993
Banca di Sassari S.p.A. established
[1]A joint-stock company named Banca di Sassari S.p.A. was created under the control of Banco di Sardegna.
- 1948
Name changes to Banca Popolare di Sassari
[1]After earlier operating under cooperative-bank names, the institution adopted the name Banca Popolare di Sassari.
- 1888
Institution founded in Sassari
[1]The institution was established as Banca Cooperativa fra Commercianti Società Anonima in Sassari, Sardinia.
Products and positioning
A specialist Italian consumer-finance and payment-services bank within the BPER group, with historical roots in Sardinia and a particular focus on personal lending and salary- or pension-backed credit.
Consumer credit · 2004
Personal loans
Bibanca's specialist model includes personal lending for individual consumers. These loans form part of the consumer-finance activities developed through the bank's Consumer Division and retained as a core activity after the branch network was integrated into Banco di Sardegna.
Consumer credit · 2004
Salary- and pension-backed loans
The bank provides assisted lending repaid through an assigned portion of salary or pension income, commonly referred to in Italy as cessione del quinto. This product area became part of the Consumer Division's remit and remains central to Bibanca's specialist positioning.
Payments · 2004
Electronic-money and payment-card services
Bibanca's post-2016 operating profile includes electronic-money services and the issuance and management of payment cards. These activities complement its consumer-credit business and represent the bank's payments-oriented offering.
Payments · 2004
Money-transfer services
Money transfers were included among the services assigned to the bank's Consumer Division. The service supports Bibanca's broader role in retail financial transactions alongside cards and electronic-money products.
Brand decisions
2020
Rebrand the institution as BibancaStrategyBackground
The former Banca di Sassari business had evolved toward specialist consumer finance and payment services within the BPER group.
Action taken
On 16 April 2020, Banca di Sassari S.p.A. changed its legal and commercial name to Bibanca S.p.A.
Aftermath
The Bibanca name became the public identity for the institution's focused lending and payment-services model.
2016
Integrate the branch network into Banco di SardegnaStrategyBackground
The group reorganized the distribution structure of Banca di Sassari and its relationship with Banco di Sardegna.
Action taken
From 13 May 2016, the bank's branches and agencies were merged into the Banco di Sardegna network.
Aftermath
Banca di Sassari no longer operated as a separately distributed branch bank and focused on electronic money, personal loans and assisted lending.
2004
Create a dedicated Consumer DivisionStrategyBackground
The bank sought to organize its consumer-finance and payment activities within a dedicated business unit.
Action taken
Banca di Sassari established a Consumer Division covering personal loans, salary- and pension-backed lending, money transfers and payment cards.
Aftermath
Consumer credit and payment services became important elements of the bank's specialist business model.
Sources2 sources
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