Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana

Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana, commonly known as Cassamarca, was a savings bank based in Treviso, Veneto. Its institutional history was rooted in the Monte di Pietà di Treviso, a charitable lending institution founded in 1496 by the Franciscan Domenico da Ponzone. The monte provided the historical foundation for later savings-bank activity in the city and remained closely connected with the bank for much of its existence. The first Treviso savings bank was created by the monte in 1822, during the period when the region formed part of the Austrian Empire's Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. After Italian unification, the institution obtained a more independent status but became affiliated with the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, later known as Cariplo. Its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Cariplo branch in Treviso in 1872. A new savings-bank operation was established by the Monte di Pietà di Treviso in 1907 as the Banco dei Depositi a Risparmio del Monte di Pietà di Treviso. It was separated from the monte in 1913 and adopted the name Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana, referring to the historic Marca Trivigiana territory around Treviso. During the interwar and postwar periods, the bank expanded its local position through acquisitions and institutional combinations. It absorbed the Cassa di Risparmio di Castelfranco Veneto in 1928 and Banca Popolare di Asolo in 1938. Several local monti di pietà were subsequently combined with the bank, including the Treviso institution in 1942 and related institutions in Asolo, Castelfranco Veneto and Vittorio Veneto. By the late twentieth century, Cassamarca was a significant regional savings bank; Bank of Italy data placed its deposit-market share in the Province of Treviso at 24.59 percent in 1994. Italy's banking reforms under the Legge Amato reorganized the institution in 1992. The banking business became Cassamarca S.p.A., while its public-benefit and patrimonial functions were transferred to Fondazione Cassamarca, a banking foundation. Cassamarca initially had share capital of 270 billion Italian lire, excluding share premium. The reform period accelerated consolidation among Italian savings banks. In 1994, Cassamarca combined with Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona, commonly called Cariverona, to create Unicredito. Unicredito later merged with Credito Italiano in 1998, producing UniCredito Italiano, now UniCredit. Cassamarca continued as a subsidiary within the group until 2002, when UniCredito Italiano consolidated several banking brands into UniCredit Banca and other specialized divisions. The Cassamarca banking identity consequently disappeared as an operating bank brand. The foundation survived as a separate charitable organization and retained cultural, educational and property-related activities in the Treviso area. It also remained a minority shareholder in UniCredit, holding 0.23 percent of the bank at the end of 2016 according to the cited reference material. The foundation's activities included support for university facilities in Treviso, ownership and restoration of historic properties, cultural programming and management of an important art collection housed in the former Monte di Pietà headquarters. In 2002 it helped establish the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies with the University of Western Australia. The institution therefore evolved from a local charitable lender into a regional savings bank, then into a foundation whose legacy was embedded in the UniCredit group and in Treviso's cultural infrastructure.

The institutional ancestry of Cassamarca begins with the Monte di Pietà di Treviso, founded in 1496 by the Franciscan Domenico da Ponzone in the Republic of Venice. The monte was a charitable lending institution and operated from a historic building decorated with paintings and other works by artists associated with the Treviso area. Its lending and public-benefit role provided the organizational basis for later savings-bank activity. In 1822, while Treviso belonged to the Austrian Empire's Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the monte established the city's first savings bank. This initiative formed part of a broader nineteenth-century development of savings banks in the Veneto and Lombardy regions. Following the unification of Italy in 1866, the institution received an independent status but became affiliated with the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, later called Cariplo. In 1872, its assets and liabilities were transferred to the Treviso branch of that larger institution. The savings-bank operation was recreated by the Monte di Pietà di Treviso in 1907 under the name Banco dei Depositi a Risparmio del Monte di Pietà di Treviso. It was separated from the monte in 1913 and became the Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana. The name referred to the historic Marca Trivigiana, the territory surrounding Treviso. Expansion followed through the absorption of smaller local institutions. In 1928 the bank acquired Cassa di Risparmio di Castelfranco Veneto under legislation encouraging the consolidation of smaller savings banks. It acquired Banca Popolare di Asolo in 1938. The Monte di Pietà di Treviso was reunited with the savings bank in 1942, while related monti in Asolo and Castelfranco Veneto were absorbed in 1941 and 1942. The monte in Vittorio Veneto joined after the Second World War in 1949. Cassamarca developed into a major regional institution. A Mediobanca report ranked it 74th among Italian commercial banks by total assets in 1988. In 1994, Bank of Italy data indicated that it held a 24.59 percent share of deposits in the Province of Treviso, demonstrating the importance of its local franchise. The Legge Amato transformed the institution in 1992. The bank was divided into Cassamarca S.p.A., a joint-stock commercial bank, and Fondazione Cassamarca, a banking foundation intended to preserve the institution's charitable and patrimonial functions. Cassamarca S.p.A. initially had share capital of 270 billion Italian lire, excluding share premium. The reform also encouraged the creation of large banking groups, and Cassamarca became an important participant in the consolidation of the Veneto banking sector. In 1994, Cassamarca merged with Cariverona, the savings bank of Verona, Vicenza, Belluno and Ancona, to create Unicredito. Cassamarca also made minority investments in Pol'nobanka in Slovakia and Hrvatska Banka Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1990s. In 1998, Unicredito merged with Credito Italiano, forming UniCredito Italiano, which later adopted the UniCredit name. Cassamarca remained within the group for several years, but the separate bank brand ended in 2002 when the group consolidated its retail and corporate banking operations into broader UniCredit divisions. Fondazione Cassamarca continued independently. It retained properties, cultural assets and educational commitments in Treviso, including the former San Leonardo Hospital and adjacent barracks, which were developed as university facilities involving Ca' Foscari University of Venice and the University of Padua. The foundation also owned or managed properties such as Ca' dei Carraresi, Ca' Spineda, Casa Brittoni and the former Monte di Pietà headquarters. In 2002 it helped create the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies with the University of Western Australia. The foundation remained connected financially to UniCredit. It held a minority stake in the group and entered into a financing arrangement with Société Générale in connection with UniCredit's 2012 capital increase. At the end of 2016, the foundation was reported to have equity of approximately 494 million euros and a 0.23 percent UniCredit holding. Its governance and financial position attracted public scrutiny, including questions over reported losses, the valuation of its UniCredit shares and compensation paid to Dino De Poli over the period from 1992 to 2017. These matters relate to the post-bank foundation rather than to Cassamarca as an operating bank. The foundation was still described as a charitable organization in the cited 2017 reference material.

1. 2016Fondazione Cassamarca governance reforms are approved

   A revised statute changes representation and governance arrangements within the surviving foundation.

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2. 2002Cassamarca is absorbed into UniCredit divisions

   The independent Cassamarca banking brand ends as UniCredito Italiano consolidates its banking subsidiaries.

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3. 1998Unicredito merges with Credito Italiano

   The transaction creates UniCredito Italiano, the predecessor of UniCredit.

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4. 1994Cassamarca joins with Cariverona to form Unicredito

   The merger places Cassamarca within a larger Veneto-centered banking group.

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5. 1992Legge Amato split creates Cassamarca S.p.A. and Fondazione Cassamarca

   The commercial bank and the banking foundation become separate legal entities.

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6. 1942Monte di Pietà di Treviso is merged back into the bank

   The original charitable institution is reunited with the savings bank during the Second World War.

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7. 1938Banca Popolare di Asolo is acquired

   The bank adds another local banking institution to its regional network.

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8. 1928Cassa di Risparmio di Castelfranco Veneto is acquired

   Cassamarca expands through the absorption of a neighboring savings bank under Italian consolidation legislation.

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9. 1913Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana becomes a separate institution

   The savings bank is separated from the Monte di Pietà and takes its historic regional name.

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10. 1907Savings-bank operation is re-established

    The monte creates the Banco dei Depositi a Risparmio del Monte di Pietà di Treviso.

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11. 1872Treviso savings-bank assets move to Cariplo's Treviso branch

    The earlier savings-bank institution is absorbed into the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde structure.

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12. 1822First Treviso savings bank is created

    The Monte di Pietà di Treviso establishes a savings bank during the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.

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13. 1496Monte di Pietà di Treviso is founded

    Franciscan Domenico da Ponzone establishes the charitable lending institution that later provides Cassamarca's institutional ancestry.

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A locally rooted savings bank serving Treviso and the surrounding Marca Trivigiana area, with a historical connection to charitable lending and later participation in Italy's banking consolidation.

• Savings and deposit bankingRetail banking1822

  Cassamarca's core historical business was savings-bank intermediation: collecting deposits from households and local organizations and deploying funds through lending and other banking activities. The institution's regional identity was closely tied to Treviso and the surrounding Marca Trivigiana area.

• Local lending and commercial bankingCommercial banking

  The bank provided general banking and credit services to customers in its home province and neighboring Veneto communities. Its expansion through acquisitions of local banks and monti di pietà broadened its regional lending and branch presence.

• Equity investmentsInvestments

  Before its absorption into the UniCredit structure, Cassamarca held minority interests connected with regional infrastructure and development entities, including Interporto di Venezia and Veneto Sviluppo, as well as interests in foreign banks.

• Cultural and educational assetsFoundation activities1992

  After the banking business was separated, Fondazione Cassamarca supported university facilities, cultural properties and research initiatives in Treviso and abroad. These activities belong to the foundation's legacy rather than to a continuing commercial banking product line.

• 2012Support the foundation's participation in a UniCredit capital increaseOther

  Fondazione Cassamarca sought to preserve its relative ownership position in UniCredit during a capital increase.

  What changed. The foundation entered into a financing arrangement with Société Générale to subscribe to the capital increase.

  Aftermath. The transaction was intended to reduce dilution of the foundation's UniCredit holding.

  Source
• 2002Retire the Cassamarca banking brandStrategy

  Following the formation and expansion of UniCredito Italiano, the group rationalized several legacy banking brands.

  What changed. Cassamarca's banking operations were absorbed into UniCredit Banca and other group divisions.

  Aftermath. Cassamarca ceased to exist as an independent operating bank, while Fondazione Cassamarca survived as a charitable foundation.

  Source
• 1994Merge with Cariverona to create UnicreditoM&A

  Italian banking consolidation was producing larger regional and national banking groups, particularly in northern Italy.

  What changed. Cassamarca combined with Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona.

  Aftermath. Cassamarca became part of Unicredito, which later merged with Credito Italiano and evolved into UniCredit.

  Source
• 1992Separate the commercial bank from the banking foundationStrategy

  Italy's Legge Amato required or encouraged the reorganization of savings banks into commercial banking companies and foundations.

  What changed. Cassamarca became Cassamarca S.p.A., while Fondazione Cassamarca assumed the institution's charitable and patrimonial role.

  Aftermath. The separation enabled Cassamarca to participate in later banking mergers while the foundation continued independently.

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• 2017Scrutiny of Fondazione Cassamarca finances and executive compensationControversy

  Public reporting questioned the foundation's financial losses, its treatment of UniCredit share values and compensation reportedly received by Dino De Poli between 1992 and 2017. The issues concerned the surviving banking foundation rather than the defunct Cassamarca operating bank.

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• 2016New statutes approved for Fondazione Cassamarca

  A revised foundation statute, associated with reforms promoted by ACRI and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, changed aspects of representation and local governance.

  RegulationLeadership change
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• 2012Fondazione Cassamarca signs financing arrangement for UniCredit capital increase

  The foundation entered into a financial arrangement with Société Générale to subscribe to a UniCredit capital increase and limit dilution of its holding.

  OtherPricing
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• 2002Cassamarca banking brand absorbed into UniCredit Banca

  Cassamarca ceased to operate as a distinct banking subsidiary when UniCredito Italiano consolidated several banking brands into UniCredit Banca and other divisions.

  M&A
  Source
• 2002Fondazione Cassamarca establishes the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies

  The foundation established the centre with the University of Western Australia as part of its cultural and educational activities.

  Other
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• 1998Unicredito merges with Credito Italiano

  The merger created UniCredito Italiano, the group that later operated under the UniCredit name.

  M&A
  Source
• 1994Cassamarca and Cariverona form Unicredito

  Cassamarca merged with Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona, creating the Unicredito banking group.

  M&A
  Source
• 1992Cassamarca separates its banking business from its foundation under the Legge Amato

  The Italian banking reform divided the institution into Cassamarca S.p.A., the commercial bank, and Fondazione Cassamarca, the banking foundation.

  Regulation
  Source

1. Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana
2. La Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana-Cassamarca. 1913-2013